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TOKYO 2020 | ​Track Cyclists on Target for Tokyo

19/3/2020

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Australian Olympic Committee Release

Fifteen track cyclists have been announced on the Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2020 today, featuring six Olympic debuts, seven athletes making their second Olympic Team and Annette Edmondson and Matthew Glaetzer returning for their third Games.
 
Matthew Glaetzer, Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton will compete in the sprint events, with Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson, Maeve Plouffe, Leigh Howard, Kelland O’Brien, Lucas Plapp, Alex Porter and Sam Welsford selected for the endurance events.
 
With athletes who have medalled at the Olympics and claimed World Championship titles in their career, the 15-strong squad will compete from 3-9 August in Tokyo’s Izu velodrome over 12 events, including the Olympic return of the two-rider Madison event for the first time since Beijing 2008.
 
Australian Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020 Ian Chesterman welcomed the cyclists to the Australian Olympic Team, acknowledging the current unprecedented uncertainty around international sport.
 
“Athletes have waited four years, and in some cases longer, for this opportunity,” Mr Chesterman said. “We are in uncharted waters, but we want to set a course to ensure they can prepare for the Games in the best possible environment and they can get to the Games safely. Part of that process is to announce athletes as they are nominated and selected to the Australian Olympic Team.
 
“Australian track cyclists have a phenomenal Olympic legacy and I want to congratulate the fifteen athletes selected today to continue that tradition.
 
“This is the result of more than a decade of unrelenting hard work by our athletes and it is worth celebrating. This is an achievement for the athletes, the whole Cycling Australia team, coaches, family, friends and supporters.
 
“The resilience these athletes have already shown is inspiring – Matt Glaetzer’s named to his second Games despite the challenge of thyroid cancer; Kaarle McCulloch overcoming the disappointment of missing Rio 2016 to become World Champion in 2019 and make her Olympic return; each athlete selected today has a story of perseverance and we’re proud to select them to the Australian Olympic Team today.
 
“There’s certainly disruption in preparing for the Games for many sports, but I encourage the fifteen cyclists announced today and all athletes pursuing their dream of competing at Tokyo 2020 to continue taking care of what they can control – training and preparing as best as possible to be ready for Tokyo.”
 
2019 World Champion and London 2012 bronze medallist Kaarle McCulloch was proud to be selected for her second Games, just weeks after she secured a 2020 World Championships Team Sprint silver with Steph Morton off limited preparation.
 
“The dream I had when I was 12 watching the Sydney Olympics with my dad feels as real as yesterday,” McCulloch said. “I’ve always had the Olympic spirit within me and I’m ecstatic to be able to be back competing.
 
“My motto into the world championships was “perfect preparation doesn’t predict”. This is the same kind of attitude I’ll be taking with me into Tokyo amidst all the uncertainty and nervousness in the world right now.
 
“Nothing changes for me in terms of my application to my training but a lot is changing in the way we train. As athletes, we are role models for everyone for health. We are taking quite serious steps in our training to ensure we are being responsible athletes but also people. We are following all the guidelines as set out by our medical professionals and we are prepared to face this challenge.
 
“We as humans are facing a challenge but we have also shown we are able to overcome. The world will recover from this and I believe everyone has within them part of the Olympic spirit, this is why the Olympics are so special - it brings the world together when we need it the most.
 
At just 19, Lucas Plapp will make his Olympic debut as the youngest member on the 2020 Track Team after a monumental rise in the past 12 months.
 
“I had a little tear in my eye when I found out I made the Tokyo Team, it was a pretty special moment and I was just speechless,” Plapp said.
 
“After the Brisbane World Cup [December 2019] I really started to believe I could make this Team.
 
“I’ve learned so much from [teammate] Sam Welsford from his experiences four years ago and the rest of the team create such a good environment to learn and train in – it helped me realise it’s where I want to be and helped me take my own performance to a new level.
 
After the Danish team broke the World Record held by Australia at the World Championships in February 2019, Plapp is looking forward to the challenge.
 
“It’s a new scenario now to be the hunter and not the hunted, we’ll be using that to our advantage to try to come out and show the world what we’re capable of.”
 
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Cycling Australia Steve Drake congratulated the athletes on their selection to Tokyo 2020.
 
“It is exciting to see a team with a rich blend of experienced Olympians and a number of rising stars set to make their debut, with all selections a testament to the hard work and performances of our athletes and to the commitment and dedication of our coaches, and performance support staff,” Mr Drake said.

“These are unprecedented times, with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting communities across the world. The impacts to sports including cycling are widespread, but we will continue to work through these challenging times to ensure our athletes and staff remain healthy and prepared for the Games.”
 
With individual event determinations expected closer to the Games, the endurance athletes will compete across the Team Pursuit, Omnium and Madison events with sprinters taking on the Individual Sprint, Team Sprint and Keirin events.
 
Today’s selection takes the selected Team size for Tokyo 2020 to 43 athletes. Cyclists in the road, BMX, BMX Freestyle and Mountain Bike disciplines are expected to be nominated and selected in the coming months.

Find out more with full Australian Olympic Team athlete bios at www.olympics.com.au/olympians
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TRACK | Team focussed on Tokyo

2/3/2020

 
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Australia has finished the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships with three medals after Stephanie Morton won a bronze medal in the final event of the Championships, the women's keirin.

Morton's bronze added to the team sprint silver won with Kaarle McCulloch on the opening day of competition. All three of Australia's medals came through the sprint squad with Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, and Thomas Cornish winning team sprint bronze on day one. 

Despite Australia exiting a Track World Championships without a gold medal for the first time in twelve years, Australian Cycling Team Performance Director Simon Jones remains focussed on the team's overarching strategy which is aiming to deliver success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

"Australia has had a pretty glittering history of winning world titles - in 2017 we won more world titles than you could poke a stick at and that is not what we are trying to achieve this year," Jones said. 

"We want to win in Tokyo. Yes, we were aiming for podium performances here, or very close to, and you can't hide the fact we have come up short in some areas. But we have to learn from it. 

"We tried several different things here, and we have to settle on a plan and then train to it. Now we have finished this period. We gave everyone opportunities, and now we have to gather the facts and make some decisions now.

"There are five months to the Games, which is a long time." 

Jones was impressed by the results of debutants Maeve Plouffe, 20, Luke Plapp, 19, and Tom Cornish, 20, who moved into the team via the Podium Potential Academy. 
​

"The youngsters did very well, it is great to see, and that is a testament to the Academy in that we are providing opportunities to younger talent. They also provide upward pressure, and that is really good to see."

TRACK | All Aussie sprint clash in Berlin

1/3/2020

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Women’s 500m Time Trial    

2019 World Championship time trial bronze medallist Kaarle McCulloch ended her 2020 Worlds campaign with a fourteenth placing (34.139) in the 500m time trial.

The 32-year-old teamed with Stephanie Morton on the opening day of competition to win silver in the team sprint in what was a stirring result considering injuries sidelined the pair for parts of 2019. 

“Seeing what form I had in the sprint and time trial makes that team sprint result so much special,” said McCulloch, who reached the Round 1/16 of the individual sprint before being knocked out by the eventual silver medallist Anastasiia Voinova (RUS). “For Steph and I to do that under the pressure of being defending champions, in good time too and while not even near our best, is a great sign.” 

McCulloch will now enjoy six days rest before heading back to team training in Adelaide on Friday where she will await the Australian Olympic Team announcement on 18 March.

“I feel really confident that we have a clear strategy, a clear plan, I trust my team, I am backing my coaches,” a confident McCulloch. “I know that I am not the athlete I was twelve months ago in Poland, and I am not the athlete I want to be now in Berlin. But that is because I am working hard to make sure I am the athlete I need to be in Tokyo.”

Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich (33.121) took gold. 

Men’s Sprint

After teaming to win bronze in the team format of the sprint on the opening day of competition, Nathan Hart and Matthew Richardson became adversaries in the individual event on Saturday. 

Just four one-thousandths of a second separated the pair in the afternoon’s flying 200m qualifying with Hart (16th - 9.624) just edging his younger teammate Richardson (17th - 9.628).  
Unfortunately for the pair, they were seeded into an all-Australian round 1/16 knock out heat.  

Hart prevailed in their clash but was knocked out in the next round heat by five-time track world champion Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands).

​The men’s sprint continues on Sunday with Lavreysen through to the semi-finals along with Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia), Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) and Mateusz Rudyk (Poland). 
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TRACK | Men's surprise surge to World Championship bronze

27/2/2020

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Photo - Casey Gibson
Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson and Thomas Cornish surged to bronze in the team sprint in what was Australia’s highest finish at a World Championships in eight years. 

With Matthew Glaetzer withdrawing on the eve of the Championships due to a leg injury, Podium Potential Academy member Cornish, 20, received a call up for his maiden elite World Championships. 

The addition of Cornish meant a reshuffle of positions within the team for the three-lap event, with the youngster moving into the first-wheel position and Richardson to third. Despite the changes, the Australian trio opened their 2020 campaign with the fourth-fastest qualifying time and a combination-best time (42.996), before powering into the bronze medal final by defeating Poland in the first round (43.044). 

The trio then scorched France to take the bronze medal with another combination-best time of 42.829secs to put Australia on the podium for the first time since 2012. The group averaged 63km per hour over the three laps. ​

#Berlin2020 “Didn’t think this would be the outcome, to be honest. I just took it race by race today and it came together. Just really happy how I rode and the team rode.” 20yo debutant Tom Cornish on winning World Championships bronze with Hart & Richardson. #AusCyclingTeam pic.twitter.com/Uyl0BZklim

— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) February 26, 2020
Tom Cornish - “I didn’t think this would be the outcome, to be honest. I just took it race by race today and it came together. I’m just really happy how I rode and the team rode.” 

Nathan Hart - “It was unfortunate with Matt Glaetzer getting injured quite recently, but we backed Tom Cornish here and he delivered exceptionally today. It was really great to string three solid rides together. I have never podiumed since my first champs in 2014, so this is definitely a highlight of my career so far.” 

Matthew Richardson - “We just took it ride by ride, being the starter, {then] going to third wheel was a challenge, but I just dug deep and took it home for the boys.”

The Netherlands took an emphatic gold medal, setting world records in both qualifying and the final.
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TRACK | Team Australia Guide for Berlin Track Worlds

20/2/2020

 
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Photo - Hikari Media
The 17-member Australian Team departed Adelaide on Wednesday evening bound for the 2020 UCI Track World Championships in Berlin, Germany. 

The five-day Championships, to be held from 26 February - 1 March, offers the world's best a final opportunity to refine and rehearse ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. 

In all, 20 titles will be decided in Berlin, with particular interest on the six Olympic events - Team Pursuit, Madison, Omnium, Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin. 
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Photo - Casey Gibson
ENDURANCE 

  • Ashlee Ankudinoff - St George CC, NSW - 2019 individual & team pursuit world champion
  • Georgia Baker - Northern Districts CC, TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Amy Cure - Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Annette Edmondson - Norwood CC, SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Alexandra Manly - Central Districts CC, SA - 2019 points race & team pursuit world champion
  • Maeve Plouffe - Port Adelaide CC, SA - World Championship debut
  • Leigh Howard - Geelong CC, VIC - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Cameron Meyer - Midland CC, WA - 9-time career world champion 
  • Alexander Porter - Scotch College CC, SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Cameron Scott - St George CC, NSW - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Samuel Welsford - Northern Beaches CC, WA - 2019 scratch & team pursuit world champion
  • Luke Plapp - Brunswick CC, VIC - World Championship debut
​
Australia heads into the Championships as the defending champions in five events - men's and women's team pursuit; men's scratch, women's points race and women's individual pursuit. 

Australia's title defence in the men's team pursuit will begin in the opening session and will feature world record holders Sam Welsford, Alexander Porter, Leigh Howard, plus Cameron Scott. 

Podium Potential Academy member Luke Plapp comes into the team to replace world champion and world record holder Kelland O'Brien who will not race the World Championships as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone sustained in January. Plapp, a dual 2018 junior world champion, will make his elite Worlds debut in the individual pursuit and is listed as a reserve for the team pursuit. 

Nine-time career world champion Cameron Meyer will take on the omnium, and the Madison with Sam Welsford, while Welsford will take to the track in defence of his scratch race world title. 
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Photo - Hikari Media
Reigning women's world champions Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson will team with World Championship debutant Maeve Plouffe in the team pursuit. 

Ankudinoff will look to defend her individual pursuit crown with Plouffe also set to ride the individual race against the clock. Alexandra Manly will line up to defend her title in the points race and will also contest the scratch race. 

Edmondson and Amy Cure will pair up for the Madison, while Baker will tackle the omnium. 
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Photo - Casey Gibson
SPRINT 

  • Stephanie Morton - South Coast CC, SA - 2019 team sprint world champion
  • Kaarle McCulloch - St George CC, NSW - 2019 team sprint world champion
  • Nathan Hart - ANU CC, ACT - 2018-19 Track World Cup gold medallist  
  • Matthew Richardson - Midland CC, WA
  • Thomas Cornish - Southern Cross CC, NSW - World Championship debut

Reigning world champions Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch begin their team sprint title defence on Wednesday's opening day of competition. Triple World Championship sprint silver medalist Morton will also race the individual sprint and keirin.  

McCulloch, a triple medallist in 2019, will take on three events; the team sprint, individual sprint and 500m time trial. 

2018 sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer is a late withdrawal from the Championships after sustaining a leg injury at training last week. With his 2020 focus on a third Olympic Games selection, Glaetzer, who was slated to ride the team and individual sprint plus the keirin, will remain in Australia to focus on his recovery. 

Podium Potential Academy member Thomas Cornish will replace Glaetzer for the team sprint, scheduled for the opening day of competition, where he will team with Nathan Hart and Matthew Richardson. 

Hart and Richardson will also contest the sprint, while Cameron Scott and Alexander Porter will line up in the 1000m time trial. 
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Photo - Hikari Media
SCHEDULE - DATE (IN AUS); TIME (AEDT)

Thurs 27/2 430am - 8am
  • W - Scratch 10km    Alexandra Manly
  • W - Team Sprint    Stephanie Morton/Kaarle McCulloch
  • M - Team Sprint    Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, Thomas Cornish
  • M & W Team Pursuit    Qualifying 11pm AEDT
    
Fri 28/2  430am - 730am
  • M - Team Pursuit   Leigh Howard, Sam Welsford, Cameron Scott, Alexander Porter
  • M -  Scratch 15km    Sam Welsford 
  • M - Keirin   NA
  • W - Team Pursuit   Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson, Maeve Plouffe
  • W - Sprint   Qualifying 1230am 
    
Sat 29/2   430am - 815am
  • M - Points race 40km   TBC
  • M -  Kilometre Time Trial   Cameron Scott, Alexander Porter
  • M - Individual Pursuit    Luke Plapp
  • W - Omnium    Georgia Baker
  • W - Sprint    Stephanie Morton; Kaarle McCulloch
    
Sun 1/3   230am - 6am
  • W - 500m Time Trial    Kaarle McCulloch
  • W -  Madison 30km    Annette Edmondson/Amy Cure
  • W - Individual pursuit    Ashlee Ankudinoff; Maeve Plouffe
  • M - Omnium    Cameron Meyer
  • M - Sprint    Qualifying 9pm 
    
Mon 2/3   12am-3am
  • W - Points Race 25km    Alexandra Manly
  • M -  Madison 50km    Cameron Meyer/Sam Welsford 
  • W - Keirin    Stephanie Morton
  • M - Sprint    Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson

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The ‘Australian Cycling Team’ encompasses the Olympic and Paralympic cycling discipline athletes, coaches and performance support staff who will receive program support for Track and Para, and Individual Athlete Performance Support for Road and BMX.

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