Sam Welsford (WA) is excited to be back on the World Championships stage and is champing at the bit at the chance of claiming his third team pursuit rainbow jersey for Australia in four years.

2017 world champions Australia did not defend its rainbow jersey at the 2018 World Championships due to team’s target event of the year being the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The strategic decision not to attend both events was rewarded with Welsford, Leigh Howard (VIC), Kelland O’Brien (VIC) and Alexander Porter (SA) setting a new work mark of 3mins 49.804secs en route to winning gold.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been to the worlds, we missed out on last years but I think all the boys were really really eager to get out there and race,” said Welsford. “We had the rainbows in 2017 so I’m pretty confident I can say on behalf the boys that we want to go and get those back so that’s what we’ll be striving for.”

Australia’s team pursuit outfit in Poland will feature the world record holders in Welsford, Howard, O’Brien, Porter, in addition to Cameron Scott (NSW) who will make his elite World Championships debut. 

The quintet combined to win team pursuit gold at the UCI Track World Cup in Germany in December and Welsford is predicting fast times when the team pursuit opens on day one of competition in Poland. 

“Team pursuit times are getting so fast now, a lot of teams are getting down to that low (three minutes) 50 (second) barrier,” he said. “I think we should be able to go out there and ride a really good time, but it really depends on the conditions of the Poland track.

“I think we’re at a good level at the moment and in good form so we can produce a really good time that could go close to that world record.”

Welsford will also contest the omnium, and the national champion will be one to watch in the four-race event after also claiming World Cup gold last December. 

“Pretty keen to test the Omnium again at the World Championships, it’s been a while since I’ve done that,” he added. “I had some early success in the World Cups last year so I’m really keen to give it a big crack. “I really think that the work we’ve been doing on the bike and in the gym will put me in a good spot, so I’m really keen to give the Omnium a crack again.”

A veteran of the team at just 23, the two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist Welsford is also thrilled to be a part of teammate Scott’s debut. 

“Training with Cam and racing the Madison with him, he’s a good mate of mine so for him to come into the program and go to his first worlds is always pretty special,” Welsford said. “I remember my first one in 2016 and you’ll never forget your first worlds, so I think he’ll be loving it over there.”

The Australian Team is scheduled to arrive in Pruszkow, Poland on Wednesday 20 February ahead of the 2019 UCI Track World Championships which will be held from 27 February to 3 March. 

Welsford will be in action in the team pursuit on the first two days, before taking on the omnium on day four. 

SCHEDULE

• Wednesday 27th February: W - Team Pursuit Qualifying; M - Team Pursuit Qualifying; W - Scratch 10 km; W - Team Sprint; M - Team Sprint
• Thursday 28th February: W - Sprint Flying 200m & rounds; M - Team Pursuit; M -  Scratch 15 km; M - Keirin; W - Team Pursuit
• Friday 1st March: M - Points race 40 km; M -  Kilometre t.t.; M - Individual Pursuit; W - Omnium; W - Sprint
• Saturday 2nd March: M - Sprint Flying 200m & rounds; W - 500m t.t.; W -  Madison 30 km; W - Individual pursuit; M - Omnium
• Sunday 3rd March: W - Points race 25 km; M -  Madison 50 km; W - Keirin; M - Sprint

ABOUT 

Australian Cycling Team #AusCyclingTeam

• Australiancyclingteam.com
• Facebook AustralianCyclingTeam
• Instagram @australiancyclingteam
• Twitter @AusCyclingTeam

2019 UCI Track World Championships - Poland

• www.pruszkow2019.pl
• facebook.com/PZKol
• twitter.com/pzkolarski​

The Australian Cycling Team has been crowned overall 2018/19 UCI World Cup winners following an emphatic final World Cup round held at the Hong Kong Velodrome.

Australia claimed three gold, three silver and two bronze across the three days, highlighted by dual gold to Thomas Clarke, 23, in the sprint and team sprint with teenagers James Brister, 19, and Matthew Richardson, 19, plus omnium gold to Cameron Meyer.

Overall across the six-round World Cup series, Australia won 34 medals including 13 gold, 12 silver and nine bronze.
 
“It is a great team effort, a mixture of committed athletes, committed staff, everyone working together, I think it is a great thing to celebrate,” said Jon Norfolk, Head of Performance Pathways and People, Cycling Australia.

“Across this season we witnessed great results and performances from athletes within the Podium program and the Podium Potential Academy.  It is so great to have two separate tiers of our program able to perform on this kind of stage, to be able to refine and improve.

“It is also great to see both programs supporting each other as well, we have podium athletes supporting our younger athletes, and in turn, they are being inspired by racing and training with their heroes.  

“It is a really infectious environment.”

RECAPS: 

Sunday 

Forty-eight hours after teaming winning gold in the team sprint, Podium Potential Academy members Thomas Clarke, 23, and James Brister, 19, battled each other for gold in the individual sprint with Clarke taking the top step of the podium.

In a heartbreaking end to the men’s 30km Madison, Sam Welsford, 23, and Kelland O’Brien, 20, were edged into the silver medal position by New Zealand in the final sprint of the 120-lap race.

Alexandra Manly staged an epic comeback inside the final twenty laps of the points race to win bronze in women’s omnium.  

Teenage debutant Alexandra Martin-Wallace shone in the scratch race, coming over the top of a fast finishing bunch to win silver.

Read full Sunday report

Saturday

A calculated performance from Cameron Meyer, saw the 31-year-old claim an emphatic gold in his first international omnium competition.

In her first race at the World Cup level since 2016 after suffering a broken foot and chronic back injuries, Caitlin Ward, 24, netted her best World Cup performance finishing eighth with a competition personal best 11.022seconds in the flying 200m.

Read full Omnium & Women's Sprint report
​
Friday

The Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy riders stole the show on the opening day of competition with teenagers James Brister, 19, and Matthew Richardson, 19, bolting from the gates on their World Cup debut, with Thomas Clarke, 23, to win gold in the men’s team sprint.

In the team pursuit, the teenage quartet of Jarrad Drizners, 19, Godfrey Slattery, 18 Conor Leahy, 19, and Luke Plapp, 18, won bronze in just their second World Cup event.

The women’s endurance quartet of Maeve Plouffe, 19, Alexandra Manly, 22, and World Cup debutantsAlexandra Martin-Wallace and Sophie Edwards, both 18, finished fifth overall.

Read full Team Pursuit & Team Sprint reports

What was your favourite cycling moment in 2018?

There were so many incredible moments for Australian cycling in 2018 it was difficult to narrow it down, but we have twelve amazing moments which make up our 2018 JLT Australian Cycling Moment of the Year.  

The Australian Cycling team figures prominently in the list via Rohan Dennis, Alistair Donohoe, Matthew Glaetzer and Luke Plapp's world titles, Steph Morton's triple gold at the Commonwealth Games, our team pursuit's stunning 3:49.804 ride at the Commonwealth Games, Logan Martin’s BMX-factor at the FISE World Series, and Amanda Spratt's stellar silver at the UCI Road Worlds!

Choose your favourite moment via the survey and you could be celebrating another fantastic year at the 2018 Cycling Australia Awards in Melbourne on Friday 23 November.  

Terms & Conditions 

​Two of Australia’s world record team pursuit quartet will switch the fixed gear for the road bike this week, with Kelland O’Brien and Sam Welsford to suit up for the Australian Cycling Academy in the National Road Series.
 
The Australian Cycling Team members will reunite again for the Tours second event for men, the Campolina-Visit Victoria Tour of the Great South Coast, a five-day, six-stage Tour beginning in Mt Gambier on 15 August.
 
In April, O’Brien scorched the Anna Meares Velodrome with Alex Porter, Sam Welsford and Leigh Howard, with a time of 3mins 49.804secs in the gold medal ride at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the first sub 3:50 time in history.
 
“I can't believe how fast time has gone since April! That day is probably the most memorable day of my career to date for sure,” said O’Brien, who revealed the quartet celebrated with a tattoo of the new mark. “The atmosphere in the velodrome day one of the Commonwealth Games was electric. During racing, I can never hear the crowd, but in that final, the crowd was so loud that it was all I could hear!”

 
The youngest cycling team member and one of the youngest gold medallists at the Commonwealth Games, O’Brien only turned 20 in May and has revelled growing in Tim Decker’s endurance program.
 
“My parents always treated me as an equal person and not a child, and from the moment I came into this program I was treated with the same respect and what comes with that is I an expected to operate at the professional level the older guys do,” he remarked.
 
“Being a part of Tim's program has been a dream come true for me.  Not to say it hasn't been without its challenges, but I love the challenge, working in our group is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I couldn't be more proud to say I belong there!”

​Since a break after the Games, O’Brien has mixed track and road, with two trips to Japan including a win and podium in two Madisons with Welsford at the Japan Track Cup in July.
 
“I had some time off relaxing after the Commonwealth Games, but I was very keen to get stuck into it again! It felt awesome to get back on the track bike and get a win with Sam in Japan, we had won that event in 2017, so it was a good feeling to go back and win it again.”

 
​For the Campolina-Visit Victoria Tour of the Great South Coast, O’Brien will team with Welsford, fellow Australian Cycling Team member Cameron Scott – who took a stage win at the Tour of Qinghai Lake last month.
 
Following the NRS season, O’Brien has his sights set on the summer track season starting with the Oceania Championships in Adelaide in October, followed by the UCI World Cup Series and December Nationals in Melbourne.
 
“Summer track season is my favourite time of the year, and with even more racing on than usual I can't wait to get back to Adelaide with the team in preparation for that busy time of the year,” added O’Brien, who is now eyeing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
 
“Although sub 3:50 was a fantastic achievement, we as a team see that as a great result on the way to our ultimate goal.
 
“Next for the team is to regroup for the next two years leading up to Tokyo.”
 
The seventh edition of the Campolina-Visit Victoria Tour of the Great South Coast will start with a traditional morning criterium in Mount Gambier on Wednesday 15 August, with the Tour to end with a grand finale street race on Portland’s waterfront on Sunday 19 August. 

Campolina-Visit Victoria Tour of the Great South Coast: Teams / Results

​Following last month’s racing in France and the Czech Republic, members of the Australian Track team headed to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Velodrome in Izu for Japan Track Cup.
 
The Cup featured two carnivals over three days, and for many of the team, it was their first hit out on the boards since the Commonwealth Games which netted 19 medals including ten gold
 
Three months on from their stunning and the stunning sub 3:50 team pursuit world record ride, Sam Welsford and Kelland O’Brien partnered across the two days in the Madison. 
 
With their bikes delayed in transit, they were unable to find their feet early in the first race finishing with bronze. However, on the third day of competition, the pair treated the crowd to a classy display of Madison riding, controlling the race from start to the finish and doubling their nearest rivals on the points tally.
 
In other events, Welsford won the omnium, while fresh from their European schedule, Macey Stewart and Kristina Clonan grabbed silver and bronze in their two Madison appearances. 
 
“Great to see them in action again even though they are just beginning to start their training again over the last few weeks,” said Senior Men's Track Endurance Coach Tim Decker.
 
“We will start to build slowly from here with the team towards the beginning of the World Cup season.”

The sprint team enjoyed the podium across the three days, with Kaarle McCulloch winning the keirin and sprint bronze on day one.
 
Pat Constable bagged keirin bronze in a strong field on day two, while Jacob Schmid collected two top-five results in the sprint. 
 
“It was a great trip to start the season after a good break following the Comm Games,” said National Senior Track Sprint Coach Nick Flyger.
 
“It was good for the sprinters to check out the 2020 velodrome, and we were able to focus on the processes and applying the skills and tactics we had been working on since the Games.
 
“For the squad, it was nice to also catch up and train with Matt Glaetzer while he is competing in the Japan Keirins.”
 
The squads will be back in action on home soil at the 2019 Oceania Track Championships in Adelaide from 10-13 October.

Visit morecadence.jp for more on the Japan Track Cup. 

In one of the most amazing rides ever seen on a track, let alone the Commonwealth Games, Sam Welsford lifted the roof at the Anna Meares Velodrome with gold in the men's scratch race. 

Teammates Cameron Meyer and Leigh Howard covered constant attacks and reeled in England’s Ethan Hayter on the final lap, leaving Welsford to time his final lap sprint to perfection.

The win was Welsford's second of the Games after teaming to clock the first sub 3:50 ride in history in the team pursuit with Leigh Howard, Kelland O'Brien and Alex Porter.  

In a superb week for Welsford, he also clocked a stunning 4min 13.595sec individual pursuit ride on Friday which was fifth fastest in what was one of the fastest IP events in history. 

“That was such a hard race, it was on from the start and I had to be patient and my teammates are amazing,” Welsford said.

“Cam Meyer and Leigh Howard, hats off to them, they were in every move and looked after me all race. I think Australia, the whole team is so tight nit and it’s showing in the results this week.

“Coming into the last lap my visor was falling off and I was mid-sprint so didn’t want to adjust it, and it fell off in the last couple of minutes anyway.
​
“I’m over the moon, my second goal and this race is such a lottery, 60 laps and lucky enough I caught him last lap.”

The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Track competition will take place at the Anna Meares Velodrome (Brisbane) from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 April.

It will feature 20 events - eight endurance, eight sprint and four para-cycling - with the eight track endurance events to include the points race and scratch race, and the team and individual pursuits.  The team pursuit is set to make its Commonwealth Games debut for women.
 
The 2018 Games is likely to provide a milestone for team, with Australia having won 96 Commonwealth Games cycling gold medals.

 A six-member women’s endurance squad with a rich blend of World Championship, Olympic and Commonwealth Games experience will line up for Australia at the Games.
 
Reigning Games scratch race champion Annette Edmondson, 26 (SA) is back on the track for her second Games, with the dual world champion eyeing a spot in Australia’s team pursuit quartet for the event’s debut.
 
Edmondson’s 2015 team pursuit world champion teammates Amy Cure, 25 (TAS) and Ashlee Ankudinoff, 27 (NSW) will provide tremendous experience and multiple options for all four events.
 
Cure, a dual 2014 Games medallist and 2014 points race world champion, is fresh from two national championship crowns in the scratch and points races. Ankudinoff, Australia’s only dual world champion in the team pursuit, boasts two World Championship medals in the individual format.
 
Dual individual pursuit world champion Rebecca Wiasak, 33 (ACT), who narrowly missed selection to the 2014 Commonwealth and 2016 Olympic teams, will make her major Games debut.
        
2016 Olympian Georgia Baker, 23 (TAS) overcame heart surgery in November to make her first Games team, while Alexandra Manly, 22 (SA) will also make her debut.  Manly, with Cure, Ankudinoff and Wiasak claimed silver at the 2017 World Championships, less than half a second behind world champions USA.

The seven-member men’s endurance squad might feature six Games debutants, but the team enjoys a wealth of experience, collectively boasting 19 rainbow jerseys and countless options for the pursuit and bunch races.
 
Triple 2010 Games gold medallist Cameron Meyer, 30 (WA) returns to the Australian team and enters fresh from claiming the points race world crown last month, his ninth career rainbow jersey.
 
Like his fellow Perth native, Olympic team pursuit silver medallist and reigning individual pursuit national champion Samuel Welsford, 22 (WA) will be a threat in any race, as will three-time world champion Leigh Howard, 28 (VIC) who receives his first Games nod.  
 
Hometown fans will be eager to see Jordan Kerby, 25 (QLD) in action, with the 2017 individual pursuit world champion rocketing to cult hero status after riding to the third fastest time in history just months after returning to track cycling.    
 
Rounding out the side is 2017 world champions Alexander Porter, 21 (SA), Nicholas Yallouris, 24 (NSW), plus Kelland O’Brien, 19 (VIC) - the youngest member of Australia’s 36-member cycling team.
 
While the men’s, and women’s, track endurance teams bypassed March’s World Championships a part of the Australia Cycling Team strategy to focus on the Games, the quartet of O'Brien, Yallouris, Kerby and Howard soared to Oceania gold last November in 3min 52.421secs - one of the top ten fastest pursuit times in history. 
 
The focus for both squads lies firmly with the team pursuit on day one, with the exact line up for each of the four events, to be confirmed closer to the competition start date.

WHEN ARE THEY RACING? 

• Day 1 - April 5: Women's 4000m Team Pursuit; Men's 4000m Team Pursuit  
• Day 2 - April 6: Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit; Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit  
• Day 3 - Sat April 7: Women's 25km Points Race; Men's 15km Scratch Race  
• Day 4 - April 8: Women's 10km Scratch Race; Men's 40km Points Race  

HOW CAN I WATCH?
​

• ​TV - Channel 7 will broadcast GC2018 on three free-to-air channels – 7, 7TWO & 7Mate
• Mobile - download the 7CommGames app from both Google Play & Apple store
• Web - 7commgames.com.au 

HOW DO I FOLLOW?

Follow all the action at commonwealthgames.com.au, or via the official CommGamesAUS social media channels / #TeamAus ​

Photos © Kevin Anderson, and Cycling Australia. 

Commonwealth Games Australia is pleased to announce a strong 36-member team to contest the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Reigning Commonwealth Games champions Stephanie Morton, Matthew Glaetzer and Annette Edmondson headline the track selections, in addition to the return of 2010 Gold medallists Cameron Meyer and Kaarle McCulloch.  

Reigning road national champions Alexander Edmondson and Shannon Malseed, triple world championship medallist Katrin Garfoot and 2006 Commonwealth Games road race gold medallist Mathew Hayman feature in the road selections. 
The team will vie for 26 gold medals - track (16), para-cycling track (4), road (4), and mountain bike (2) competitions in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast from 4-15 April. 

Australian Team Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti welcomed the athletes on to the Australian Team.

“We enjoyed strong success at Glasgow 2014 from the Cycling team, so with the depth and experience we have in this team we look forward to more success at Gold Coast 2018,” he said.

“The cycling program is an incredibly exciting one for fans, with competition at the new Anna Meares Velodrome, road cycling events that are free and open to all spectators and mountain biking at the Nerang trails.

“With many of these athletes spending a lot of time abroad, Gold Coast 2018 provides a unique chance for these athletes to compete in front of a home crowd,” Moneghetti said. 

With the announcement of the 36 cyclists today, the Australian Team currently numbers 222, or just under half the anticipated total of 470 athletes.

TEAM OVERVIEW

The men’s track endurance squad is replete with rainbow jerseys, with reigning team pursuit world champions Samuel Welsford, Kelland O’Brien, Leigh Howard, Alexander Porter and Nicholas Yallouris, plus individual pursuit world champion Jordan Kerby; named in their first Games’ team.  

Three-time world champion Leigh Howard will also debut, with eight-time world champion and triple 2010 Games Gold medallist Cameron Meyer rounding out the strong line up.  

Defending scratch race Gold medallist and dual world champion Annette Edmondson, dual 2014 Games medallist and world champion Amy Cure and 2010 representative Ashlee Ankudinoff will lead the women’s endurance squad. 
Dual world champion Rebecca Wiasak, Rio Olympian Georgia Baker and rising star Alexandra Manly all receive their first Commonwealth Games’ selections.

“It’s really not that often someone gets to represent their country in a home Commonwealth Games in their career, so for me, it’s something very special that I’ll never forget,” said Cure, a dual medallist from 2014. 

“(I am) super excited to have the team pursuit on the calendar at the Games. I’m really excited to see what the team can achieve; as one of our three Olympic events, it’s great to get another opportunity to race this race in front of big crowds.”

Australia’s sprint crew is awash with Commonwealth Gold with defending sprint champion Stephanie Morton to form a formidable women’s sprint duo with 2010 team sprint champion Kaarle McCulloch. 

2014 keirin Gold medallist Matthew Glaetzer will spearhead an impressive men’s sprint quartet with Rio Olympians Nathan Hart and Patrick Constable, and Jacob Schmid. 

A host of Australia’s WorldTour elite highlight the road selections, with reigning national champion Alexander Edmondson, 2006 Commonwealth Games road race Gold medallist Mathew Hayman, Steele Von Hoff, Mitchell Docker, Callum Scotson and Meyer, forming a versatile six-member men’s road squad.

“I have very fond memories of the 2014 Commonwealth Games from Glasgow, so I am really excited about lining up in the road race in 2018,” said Edmondson, who won Gold and Silver in the pursuit events on the track four years ago.
“Of course being a home games there’s a bit of added pressure, but we are going to have a home crowd cheering us on which is going to be huge.

“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of racing in the green and gold on home soil!”

Triple world championship medallist and 2014 Commonwealth Bronze medallist Katrin Garfoot will head the six-member women’s team with reigning road national champion Shannon Malseed, dual national road champion Gracie Elvin and 2010 Games Bronze medallist Chloe Hosking, who gains a third team selection.

2010 team member Tiffany Cromwell returns while Sarah Roy makes her debut. 

“It's a bit of a pinch yourself moment,” said Hosking who becomes just the third Australian female cycling behind Anna Meares and Kathy Watt to be named to contest three Commonwealth Games. 
“To think I represented Australia at 20 in Delhi and I'm still racing and still getting stronger and still pulling on the green and gold. I would never have dreamt this growing up.”  

The Tandem Para-cycling selections are led by 2016 world champions Jessica Gallagher and Pilot Madison Janssen, while Bradley Henderson will make his debut with Pilot Thomas Clarke who won Bronze at the 2014 Games. 
2014 Bronze medallists and dual Olympians Daniel McConnell and Rebecca McConnell (nee Henderson) will contest the mountain bike cross-country competition.

“I'm very excited about the upcoming Games, to have a home Commonwealth Games is going to be a great experience,” said McConnell who grabbed a top ten finish at last year’s World Championships in Cairns. “I have pretty high expectations going into the Games.

“I really like the course, I think it suits my strength pretty well. I just want to get to the start line 100% fit and ready to go, if I can do that anything is possible.”
Similarly, Rebecca McConnell is hoping the home course advantage plays into her hands when she lines up against a world-class field.

“I have been fortunate enough to race on the course at the Nationals Series in January, it's a great course, with technical climbing and descending and the strongest rider will win,” said Henderson.  
“With world champions and World Cup winners in both the men's and the women's field the racing is going to be fast and exciting so we hope to see lots of spectators in April!”

Australia has enjoyed strong success at recent Games with a 24-medal haul including seven gold in Glasgow in 2014, and 21 medals (14 gold) in Delhi in 2010. 

Tickets still available to 12 sports across the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games competition schedule. 

Commonwealth Games Australian Cycling Team

ROAD

• Tiffany Cromwell                                
• Gracie Elvin                                       
• Katrin Garfoot                        
• Chloe Hosking                         
• Shannon Malseed*                
• Sarah Roy*                            
• Mitchell Docker*                     
• Alexander Edmondson                      
• Mathew Hayman                    
• Cameron Meyer                                 
• Callum Scotson*                                
• Steele Von Hoff*                    

MTB   

• Daniel McConnell                              
• Rebecca McConnell (nee Henderson)

TRACK ENDURANCE          

• Ashlee Ankudinoff     
• Georgia Baker*
• Amy Cure       
• Annette Edmondson  
• Alexandra Manly*
• Rebecca Wiasak*      
• Leigh Howard*           
• Jordan Kerby*
• Cameron Meyer         
• Kelland O’Brien*
• Alexander Porter*      
• Samuel Welsford*      
• Nicholas Yallouris*    

TRACK SPRINT

• Kaarle McCulloch      
• Stephanie Morton 
• Patrick Constable*     
• Matthew Glaetzer 
• Nathan Hart   
• Jacob Schmid*           

PARA TRACK (TANDEMS)

• Jessica Gallagher* / Madison Janssen* - Pilot         
• Bradley Henderson* / Thomas Clarke - Pilot

​* Commonwealth Games debutant