The Australian Cycling Team won five medals, comprising one gold to Ella Sibley (SA) and four silver, at the 2019 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships held in Germany from 14-18 August.

Sibley claimed dual medals for the Championships after winning the scratch race and silver in the keirin, while Sam Gallagher (SA) raced to dual silver in the team sprint and keirin. In the omnium, Graeme Frislie (VIC) overcame two crashes to take silver.

Medal Snapshot

• Scratch - Gold - Ella Sibley (SA)
• Team Sprint - Silver - Sam Gallagher (VIC), John Trovas (NSW) and Carlos Carisimo (SA)
• Keirin - Silver - Sam Gallagher (VIC) 
• Omnium - Silver - Graeme Frislie (VIC)
• Keirin - Silver - Ella Sibley (SA)

The versatility of South Australia's Ella Sibley was on show as she celebrated on the podium in Germany in both the endurance and sprint categories.

On the opening day of competition, a superbly executed race plan from Sibley saw her claim the rainbow jersey in the scratch race before the Adelaide cyclist capped her World Championship debut by sprinting to keirin silver on the final day of racing.

​A fearless performance from Graeme Frislie (VIC) saw him overcome two crashes to take silver in the four-race omnium event. After finishing third in the scratch and tempo races, Graeme came down in no less than two separate crashes in the elimination race before amazingly claiming third. Frislie then staged an epic battle in the points race to move up in the standings to take home the silver medal.

In the team sprint, John Trovas (NSW), Sam Gallagher (VIC) and Carlos Carisimo (SA) clocked the second-fastest time in qualifying (45.162), before defeating the Greek outfit (45.023) in round one.

In the final, the trio scorched the German track in 44.681secs, the fastest time ever ridden by an Australian Under 19 outfit, however, they were pipped for gold by just six hundredths of a second by India (44.625). 

Sam Gallagher's red hot form continued on day two, with the Victorian winning two heats on the way to winning silver in the keirin. 

On day three, Gallagher clocked a personal best in the sprint qualification (Flying 200m) to qualify second fastest (10.159), as did John Trovas who qualified tenth (10.375). Trovas won his round 1/16 heat, but his campaign came to an end in the next round which would see him finish tenth overall. Sam ended the competition in fifth after being knocked out by the eventual silver medallist in the quarter-finals.

In a disappointing team pursuit competition for Team Australia, crashes ended the green and gold assault on the podium.

In the men's, the quartet Graeme Frislie (VIC), Bill Simpson (VIC), Liam Walsh (QLD) and James Moriarty (QLD) finished fourteenth after crashing in their qualifying round (4:17.944).

Francesca Sewell (QLD), Lauren Robards (QLD), Ashlee Jones (VIC) and Ella Sibley (SA) clocked the seventh fastest time (4:39.222) in women's qualifying before a crash in round one brought down three riders. Sewell and Robards escaped with bumps and bruises, however, Jones was withdrawn from any further competition (Omnium).

It was an energetic and aggressive performance by Sewell who finished a gallant 18th as Jones' replacement in the women's omnium. 

In the individual pursuits, personal bests to Queenslanders Lauren Robards (2:22.971) and Francesca Sewell (2:24.453) ensured two Australians in the top eight in the women's event. In the men's, Liam Walsh (14th - 3:19.251) and Bill Simpson (19th - 3:22.471) finished inside the top twenty. 

James Moriarty (QLD) shone in the men's points race as he lapped the field twice, before finishing just three points off the podium in fifth. Rohan Haydon-Smith (NSW) finished tenth in the scratch race. 

In the time trials, Ella Sibley's four-event World Championships ended with 15th (36.657), while Rohan Haydon-Smith (10th - 1:03.315) and Graeme Frislie (12th - 1:03.540) finished inside the top twelve in the men's. 

Unfortunately, illness forced the withdrawal of our women's Madison team, while James Moriarty (QLD) and Bill Simpson (VIC) finished eighth in the men's final.
 
Event Information

The 2019 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships was held in Frankfurt, Germany, from 14-18 August 2019.  

• Team Australia Guide australiancyclingteam.com/juniortrackworlds
• Results jrworlds2019.veloresults.com
• Live Stream via Sportdeutschland

Meet the 2019 Australian Junior Team which will contest the 2019 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Germany from 14-18 August.

We caught up with Ashlee Jones (VIC), Lauren Robards (QLD), Francesca Sewell (QLD), Ella Sibley (SA), Graeme Frislie (VIC), Bill Simpson (VIC), Liam Walsh (QLD), James Moriarty (QLD), Rohan Haydon-Smith (NSW), Carlos Carisimo (SA), Sam Gallagher (VIC) and John Trovas (NSW). 

Watch the play list below to learn more about each of our team members! 

Watch the UCI Junior Track World Championships 2019 Live Online here.

“It is always great to work with a fresh group of athletes, we have learned a lot about them of individuals and they have gelled as a team really quickly,” said Gilmore during the team’s final training camp at the Australian Cycling Team Headquarters at the Adelaide Superdrome. 

“We have been working hard we don’t apologise for that, it is a really good stepping stone for them to understand what it is like to be a national team member. 

“Ultimately, we have focussed on the processes, get the process right, nine times out of ten, the outcome will be there as well.” 

VIS Sprint Coach Kelly is excited about the wealth of knowledge and experience the pair can provide to the athletes. 

“Between myself and Matt, there is a bit of experience and we work well together, it has been a really good partnership,” Kelly said. “We draw on the experience and how can we get them best prepared for the big show.”

The 2019 UCI Junior Track World Championships will be held in Germany from 14-18 August 2019.  

>>> Visit the Team Hub.

Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the athlete selections for the Australian Team for the 2019 UCI Junior Track World Championships (14-18 August, Frankfurt, Germany) and the 2019 UCI Junior Road World Championships (22-29 September, Yorkshire, Great Britain). 

2019 Junior Track World Championships

Track Endurance

• Ashlee Jones (VIC)
• Lauren Robards (QLD)
• Francesca Sewell (QLD)
• Ella Sibley (SA)
• Graeme Frislie (VIC)
• Bill Simpson (VIC)
• Liam Walsh (QLD)
• James Moriarty (QLD)
• Rohan Haydon-Smith (NSW)

Track Sprint

• Carlos Carisimo (SA)
• Sam Gallagher (VIC)
• John Trovas (NSW)

2019 Junior Road World Championships

• Patrick Eddy (VIC)

 Jonathan Norfolk, Head of Performance Pathways and People. 

"The Junior World Championships provides a privileged opportunity to represent Australia on the international stage and we are pleased to be able to select a number of athletes who have a genuine opportunity to challenge for a podium performance. 

"The performance level at the Road World Championships is set very high and this is reflected in our selection criteria where the focus is on the ability of the athlete to achieve a podium performance at the World Championships as well as giving them an experience which will positively contribute to their long term development.

"This long term development of our up and coming athletes is our priority and we are invested in creating additional opportunities for meaningful endurance development through a number of European based road racing camps in those categories where the Road World Championships is currently not able to create this developmental impact. 
​
"To all the athletes who have been selected, we wish you the best and hope you enjoy the honour of representing the green and gold."

Brunswick Cycling Club's Luke Plapp claimed silver in the junior men's time trial at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.

Plapp powered across the 27.8km course to post the fastest time of the day to that point, however Belgian Remco Evenepoel powered home to claim gold almost one and a half minutes ahead of the Australian. Italian Andrea Piccolo claimed bronze. 

The medal adds to the Melbourne cyclist's dual track world titles (Points Race & Madison) he won at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Switzerland in August. 

WATCH >>> See Luke's ride here

Luke Plapp

I woke up so excited, just wanted to race and send it! 'No nerves, no hope' I thought to myself when the butterflies started flying around!

I wasn't sure how to feel about my time crossing the line. I was confident my time would be up there, but little did I know how much it would get beaten by!

Pretty stoked with the silver and has been an unreal couple of months. It is a bitter-sweet feeling of silver.  'Never put a number on to come second' but there was nothing I could have done to get the top step!

The course was crazy, it had a little bit of everything. So many climbs and so many descents!

Copyright Casey Gibson

The Australian Cycling Team enjoyed a successful week at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, with three world titles, nine medals and a handful of world and Australian records. 
 
Melbourne’s Luke Plapp celebrated dual world titles in the points race and in the Madison with Blake Quick (QLD) (read more here), while Sydney’s Thomas Cornish stormed to the kilometre time trial world title in world record time (read more here).
 
Leigh Hoffman (SA) set a new Australian record in the men’s sprint, while Sophie Edwards (SA) broke Amy Cure’s eight-year-old national mark in the individual pursuit. 
 
Summary

Gold

• Men's Madison - Luke Plapp (VIC) / Blake Quick (QLD)
• Men’s Points Race- Luke Plapp (VIC)
• Men's Kilometre Time Trial - Tom Cornish (NSW) & world record 1:00.498

Silver

• Women’s Points Race - Sarah Gigante (VIC)
• Men’s Sprint - Thomas Cornish (Australian Record - Leigh Hoffman 10.037)

Bronze

• Men’s Team Pursuit - Luke Plapp (VIC), Blake Quick (QLD), Matthew Rice (ACT) and Luke Wight (SA)
• Women's Madison - Alice Culling (VIC) & Alexandra Martin-Wallace (QLD)
• Men’s Omnium - Blake Quick (QLD)
• Women’s Individual Pursuit - Sophie Edwards (SA) (Australian record - 2:22.577) 

​
Melbourne’s Sarah Gigante left the World Championships with a silver medal and smile as wide as the Aigle velodrome after coming to within one sprint of a world title.

“I don't think I have ever been so excited for a race,” Gigante told Cycling Australia. “Not only was the experience of racing for my country, at a world level and overseas, completely foreign and novel but it was made especially special by the fact that I had had no clue whether I would be healed in time to race for about three months.”

It was a battle to make it to the start line in Aigle after the six-time 2018 national champion crashed on a descent in a club road race in May which left her with a broken left elbow, left shoulder and right wrist. Surgery quickly followed for the Brunswick Cycling Club rider before she suffered another blow after dislocating her shoulder on one of her first recovery rides. 
​ 
“Even most of the doctors I saw laughed when I said that I wanted to race in August, so you can imagine that I felt beyond grateful and fortunate to have the chance to pull on the treasured green and gold.”

It was a quick start to the points race, with Gigante figuring in the first serious attack from a group of riders which took a lap.  Inside the final 20 laps, Gigante stunned the field by taking a lap of her own and the race lead.  However, the fast-finishing Italian rider Silvia Zanadri took the final sprint win and the double points on offer, which gave her the title by just five points. 

“I ended up taking silver, which I am stoked about,” Gigante said. “Just being at Worlds was amazing enough, so to place in one of my favourite races in a great field was so crazy!

“I felt so good to be back! I can't thank my support network enough. I wouldn't be here right now without them, let alone with a silver medal around my neck. To Holden Team Gusto, Brunswick Cycling Club, Cycling Australia, my friends, heroes, and my family, especially my brilliant mum, and everyone else who helped me to get here, thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you all.”

In other results, Sophie Edwards (SA) broke Amy Cure’s eight-year-old national mark and won bronze in the individual pursuit, while Alice Culling (VIC) & Alexandra Martin-Wallace (QLD) took bronze in the women’s Madison.

In the sprint, Alana Field (VIC) enjoyed three top ten finishes and personal best (11.373) in the flying 200m. Field took sixth in the sprint after being edged by the eventual silver medallist in quarterfinals, while also grabbing eighth in the keirin and ninth in the time trial.

The Australian Cycling Team enjoyed a successful week at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, with three world titles, nine medals and a handful of world and Australian records. 
 
Melbourne’s Luke Plapp celebrated dual world titles in the points race and in the Madison with Blake Quick (QLD) (read more here), and Sydney’s Thomas Cornish stormed to the kilometre time trial world title in world record time.
 
Leigh Hoffman (SA) set a new Australian record in the men’s sprint, while Sophie Edwards (SA) broke Amy Cure’s eight-year-old national mark in the individual pursuit. 
 
Summary

Gold

• Men's Madison - Luke Plapp (VIC) / Blake Quick (QLD)
• Men’s Points Race- Luke Plapp (VIC)
• Men's Kilometre Time Trial - Tom Cornish (NSW) & world record 1:00.498

Silver

• Women’s Points Race - Sarah Gigante (VIC)
• Men’s Sprint - Thomas Cornish (Australian Record - Leigh Hoffman 10.037)

Bronze

• Men’s Team Pursuit - Luke Plapp (VIC), Blake Quick (QLD), Matthew Rice (ACT) and Luke Wight (SA)
• Women's Madison - Alice Culling (VIC) & Alexandra Martin-Wallace (QLD)
• Men’s Omnium - Blake Quick (QLD)
• Women’s Individual Pursuit - Sophie Edwards (SA) (Australian record - 2:22.577)

It was a spectacular week for Sydney’s Tom Cornish who scorched his way around the Aigle track on his way to claiming a world record, a world title and a silver medal. 

The Southern Cross Cycling Club member won sprint silver on Saturday with a personal best 10.041secs, which broke the seven-year-old Australian record. However, it was short-lived with teammate Leigh Hoffman lowering the new mark just two rides later with a stunning 10.037seconds.

Unfortunately for Australia, the pair met in the semi-finals, which Cornish took in three closely fought heats.  In the final, Cornish was edged by Poland’s Laczkowski in two heats.

“It was tough, we'd battled each other at Oceanias and Nationals before but he would always get the better of me, so to come out on top was a bit of a surprise,” Cornish told Cycling Australia. 

“I couldn't have imagined winning sprint silver, my goals coming into the sprint were to be top five, so I was pretty happy when I made the gold/silver final. My goals for the sprint final were to make sure I gave him a run, but I was pretty tired from the semi against Leigh though.

“I felt happy with silver, but also a little disappointed, I'd come so close to the gold.”

Less than twenty-four hours later, Cornish produced an eye-popping 1min 00.498sec ride to break the junior kilometre time trial world record on his way to claiming his maiden world crown.

“To break the world record and win the kilo, I am pretty excited! Never thought I'd be able to achieve something like this,” added Cornish, 18, who thanked coach Shane Kelly, himself a three-time kilo world champion who won the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games time trial bronze the year Cornish was born. 

“I'd like to thank Shane for coaching me through the Junior Worlds campaign, my parents and family for supporting me, and everyone else in the team for being there and cheering me on.”

In a strong debut, Hoffman finished fourth in the sprint and sixth the in keirin. Matthew Rice claimed fourth in the kilometre time trial. 

The Australian Cycling Team enjoyed a successful week at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, with three world titles, nine medals and a handful of world and Australian records. 
 
Melbourne’s Luke Plapp celebrated dual world titles in the points race and with Blake Quick (QLD) in the Madison, while Sydney’s Thomas Cornish stormed to the kilometre time trial world title in world record time (read more about Tom's ride here).
 
Leigh Hoffman (SA) set a new Australian record in the men’s sprint, while Sophie Edwards (SA) broke Amy Cure’s eight-year-old national mark in the individual pursuit, while Sarah Gigante's comeback from injury resulted in silver (read more here).  
 
Summary
​
Gold

• Men's Madison - Luke Plapp (VIC) / Blake Quick (QLD)
• Men’s Points Race- Luke Plapp (VIC)
• Men's Kilometre Time Trial - Tom Cornish (NSW) & world record 1:00.498

Silver

• Women’s Points Race - Sarah Gigante (VIC)
• Men’s Sprint - Thomas Cornish (Australian Record - Leigh Hoffman 10.037)

Bronze

• Men’s Team Pursuit - Luke Plapp (VIC), Blake Quick (QLD), Matthew Rice (ACT) and Luke Wight (SA)
• Women's Madison - Alice Culling (VIC) & Alexandra Martin-Wallace (QLD)
• Men’s Omnium - Blake Quick (QLD)
• Women’s Individual Pursuit - Sophie Edwards (SA) (Australian record - 2:22.577)

Recap - Plapp celebrates dual world titles in Switzerland 

Melbourne’s Luke Plapp revealed he celebrated his maiden world title at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Switzerland by sleeping in his rainbow jersey.
​
“I was so sweaty, and it was so tight and hard to put on the jersey,” Plapp told Cycling Australia. “But I didn’t take it off for the next 12 hours and slept in it. I honestly could not stop smiling the whole day and night. Also, to receive all the support from back home was something else!

Plapp, who rides with the Brunswick Cycling Club, took three laps on the field to win the points race on 70pts. After the race, he quickly dedicated the win to his teammate James Moriarty who was forced to watch from the sidelines after breaking a collarbone in training crash two days out from the start of the competition.

“I would like to dedicate this race to James, this was meant to be his race,” explained Plapp. “I raced it on his behalf, and I’m sure he would have been in the same position as I would was in the race. It meant a lot to be able to win it for him, and I’m sure next year he will do it!

Plapp capped the week off in style by winning the Championship’s final event, the Madison, with Blake Quick. There the pair figured all but two of the fourteen sprint decisions to take the crown on 47 points ahead of Russia and Denmark.

“The Madison has been my goal for so long,” revealed Plapp. “And to achieve it with such a fantastic mate was so special and once again having one of the previous best Madison riders in Matt Gilmore guiding us was unreal.

“You’d probably be able to tell after the 100 hugs and the celebrations after the race, that this one is going to take a while to sink in.

“I want to thank Matty Gilmore and Shane (Kelly) for coaching us over the last few months and Bernie for being an amazing team manager.  Also to the Brunswick Cycling Club and Cam McFarlane for all his support and guidance and for just keeping me enjoying my cycling. And of course mum and dad.”

It was a triple treat for Plapp and Quick with the pair each claiming three medals for the week.  On the opening day, the pair teamed with Matthew Rice (ACT) and Luke Wight (SA) to win bronze in the team pursuit, while Queensland’s Quick also won omnium bronze.