 Photo © Richard Morton Four days, four headlines from 2019 #OceaniaTrack The Australian Cycling Team wrapped up its start to the 2019 international track season at the Oceania Cycling Confederation Track Cycling Championships at the Adelaide Superdrome. The first stop in the qualifying process for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Oceania Championships is one of the busiest events on the team’s schedule for the summer with 40 titles awarded over four days in the elite and under 19 categories. With so many events in so few days, we have highlighted four of the talking points from the four days of racing.  Matt motors and Steph scorches There would be no stopping Australia’s king and queen of track sprinting with Matthew Glaetzer and Stephanie Morton claiming five gold between them. Donning his rainbow jersey in the sprint, reigning world champion Glaetzer scorched the cold Adelaide velodrome in qualifying (9.725secs) before taking care of New Zealand’s Sam Webster and Edward Dawkins on his way to the final where he edged teammate Nathan Hart (Australia) for the gold. "It is an important title with good (qualifying) points now the Olympic qualifying has begun," said Glaetzer who also claimed the keirin crown. Stephanie Morton equalled her 2018 Commonwealth Games performance with a triple gold medal haul. She opened her campaign with gold in the team sprint with three-time world champion Kaarle McCulloch, before taking the keirin crown. On the final day of competition, Morton clocked 10.593secs in qualifying, just .07 outside of her personal best set at April’s Games. Morton reached the final after wins over Australia’s Lara Tucker and New Zealand’s Olivia Podmore, before proving too powerful for Natasha Hansen (New Zealand). "It was a tough one, but it was good with a real quality field out there,” Morton said after her keirin win. “It is cool the Oceania Champs are here in Adelaide, and we have such a strong women's field. So to come away with the win, I am happy.”  Madison future in good (sets of) hands With the Madison set to feature at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after being reintroduced to the programme for men and added for women, the Australian chances in just under two years from now looks promising. Macey Stewart and Georgia Baker teamed to take the women’s crown, while Cameron Scott and Alex Porter dominated the men’s event. It continues a strong year in the event for Stewart, who came into the Australian Cycling Team program last month, with the Tasmanian claiming the 2018 Oceania and national titles with Kristina Clonan. "A big confidence boost to go back to back in my favourite event,” said Stewart, who on her way to Paris for this weekend’s opening Tissot UCI Track World Cup series where she will race the Madison with Clonan. “It is exciting it [the Madison] is an Olympic event now, as it has always been my favourite event. It is exciting to be able to focus on it over the next couple of years towards Tokyo."  Sharing the endurance spoils The results showed Australia’s endurance stocks run deep as the team shared the spoils across the Madison, omnium, points and scratch races and team pursuit. Australia’s world record holding team pursuit quartet showed their prowess in the bunch events, with Sam Welsford claiming both the omnium and scratch races, Kell O’Brien winning the points and, while Alex Porter took the Madison (with Cameron Scott). "The omnium was fun today! It has been a while since I have raced on the track, so it was good to get out there," said Welsford. "The Oceania Championships is good to see how you are going at the start of track season and as I have a bunch focus at the World Cups, it is perfect for peace of mind and confidence to get the win." In the women’s events, veteran Ashlee Ankudinoff continued her strong 2018 with three wins on the week in the scratch, points, plus the team pursuit where she teamed with team newcomers Kristina Clonan and Macey Stewart, plus Georgia Baker. “We have had two newbies in Kristina and Macey come into the squad, and I think they stepped up tremendously, we couldn’t be happier to start our season off with a gold medal,” said Ankudinoff. Like Ankudinoff, Baker celebrated triple gold on the week, triumphing individually in the omnium, with Stewart in the Madison and the team pursuit.  Long haul celebration
There was little time for celebration following the Championships, with a 13-member contingent checking in for a long haul flight to Paris on Sunday night. The team will have a few days to acclimatise and shed the jet lag ahead of this weekend’s opening Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup Series in Saint Quentin en Yvelines. The team set to contest the opening round is:
Following Paris, the sprint crew is set to race on a third continent in three weeks at the Series’ second round in Canada. The endurance contingent will head to the London Six-Day event.
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 The Tokyo 2020 games are now under 800 days away.
Cycling Australia’s (CA) commitment to Olympic and Paralympic Gold medal performances and Athlete Wellbeing continues. In line with the Cycling Australia High Performance Strategy announced in October 2017, additional athletes will join the Australian Cycling Team in October 2018, as part of the new Podium Potential Track Academy. The Track Academy is a vital part of the elite athlete pathway and one of the cornerstones of the Australian Cycling Team’s long-term strategic plan. These talented young athletes will train alongside the Podium Athletes, be based in Adelaide, and be provided with resources and support to develop them towards 2024. As well as these longer-term prospects, it is possible that a small number of these athletes will bridge the gap to the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Simon Jones, Cycling Australia’s Performance Director: “Our goal is as clear now as it was when I started. Success at the Olympics in 2020 and 2024 is our goal, and we define ‘success’ as Olympic Gold. Our plan is all about continuing our focussed trajectory to Tokyo and beyond. “An important element of the team’s balance and make up is to ensure a consistent flow of talent enters into the performance program, and we look forward to welcoming new riders into the Australian Cycling Team later in the year.” As well as the new athletes set to join the Podium Potential Track Academy later this year, the Australian Cycling Team is also set to welcome three new elite riders:
While the Australian Cycling Team is set to welcome many new riders, with a limited number of Team places available, four athletes will be transitioned out of the Australian Cycling Team system. Those athletes are:
Simon Jones: “It is always difficult to make these tough decisions and it is stressful for all parties in these circumstances. Of course, we recognise and understand it is especially tough for the athlete. “I want to take this opportunity to recognise the contribution these four athletes have made to the Team and wish them all the best going forward. We will ensure in the short term that they have a support network around them and readily accessible support via our Senior Personal Excellence Advisor Mark Gregory, who is there to guide elite athletes through these complex transitions. The Australian Cycling Team’s commitment to improving athlete wellbeing is further reflected via a new AIS directorship centred around Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement. CA will seek to engage the new director Matti Clements to develop an even deeper understanding of this critically important piece of the elite athlete success puzzle. Further, the Australian Cycling Team has appointed Dr Ruth Anderson to the newly created role of Performance Psychologist and Behaviours. Dr Anderson is set to join CA in July. While this role will focus primarily on performance optimisation, Dr Anderson will also be an integral part of the support team that will oversee the implementation of additional athlete wellbeing and engagement tactics. Finally, Cycling Australia have recruited Dr Paolo Menaspa as Head of Performance Solutions. Dr Menaspa will play a key role in supporting the coaching and performance support team to identify and deliver performance enhancing solutions. Further depth will be added to the team shortly, with recruitment currently underway for a new Strength and Conditioning Coach and a new Para-cycling Technical Director; a replacement for Peter Day who will be retiring in September after decades of service to Cycling Australia. Simon Jones: “Ultimately, we believe that our Performance Strategy will continue to deliver an optimum overall makeup of the Team as we strive for excellence at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic, for 2024 and beyond”. Cycling Australia will shortly publish a full list of Australian Cycling Team Track and Para-cycling Athlete Members. 
2018 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships | Rio De Janeiro | 22-25 March 2018
The Australian Cycling Team’s journey towards the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games begins this Thursday in Rio at the 2018 UCI Para-cyclingTrack World Championships. From March 22-25, the Championships offers the first vital opportunity for nations to grab valuable qualification points towards Tokyo 2020, with the 16-rider Australian team to vie against 200 of the world’s best from 30 countries. It will also be a return to the velodrome for many of our 2016 Paralympic heroes, in particular reigning world champions David Nicholas (QLD) and Amanda Reid (NSW). “I think everyone has travelled quite well over to Rio from Australia, still getting over a bit of jetlag as expected, but everything is looking good so far for some good performances,” said Nicholas, who claimed 2016 Paralympic gold in in the individual pursuit and will be aiming for a strong performance in his world title defence. “Being back here in Rio at the Velodrome where I won gold two years ago feels amazing, first hit out on track was great. “Certainly will try to defend my title, but if I do a great performance that I know I can do, I will be happy and the result will be what it will be.” Dual reigning world champion Reid is eager to get the competition underway after completing a week of training on the track. “Felt great to be back here on these boards again after 2016, spending time getting used to the slightly different shape of the track again before ramping up the training as the week progressed,” added Reid, who announced herself in 2017 with rainbow jerseys in both the time trial and individual pursuit. “I'm feeling really more and more excited about the competition as we get closer to it. “I'm confident about my chances of retaining my world crown in the 500 time trial which is my main goal, and I'm also looking for a personal best in the individual pursuit.” The Championships begin what will be a busy two weeks for 2016 world champions and Paralympic bronze medallists Jessica Gallagher (VIC) and Pilot Madison Janssen (VIC), with the pair also set to represent Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “Personally, Maddie and I are really excited to race, we have a busy few weeks ahead with the back up straight into the Commonwealth Games, so managing our training loads and taper has been incredibly important,” said Gallagher. The pair will contest the Tandem time trial and sprint at both the World Championships and the Games. “We are riding fast and with good race conditions anticipated we have high expectations particularly in the sprint. It's safe to say the entire team are all ready to get out there and race!'” Similarly in the men's Tandem, Brad Henderson (SA) and Thomas Clarke (SA-Pilot) will fine-tune their Games preparation at the Worlds. “This is a really good chance for Tom and I to have some international race experience in a strong field before the Commonwealth Games,” said Henderson. “We are aiming to execute everything we’ve been doing in training, come out with some personal bests and see how we compare amongst the worlds best.” The team also features reigning world champion Simone Kennedy (NSW), plus 2016 Paralympic Games silver medallists Alistair Donohoe (VIC) and Kyle Bridgwood (QLD). Follow the World Championships Follow the Australian Cycling Team
Australian Cycling Team
 Photo © Casey Gibson Two final day medals wrapped up the Australian Cycling Team’s 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships campaign in the Netherlands, with the team's six medals equalling Germany, Great Britain and Italy for second most behind hosts the Netherlands (12 medals). Each of the four members of the team celebrated on the podium during the Championships, with sizzling wins from Matt Glaetzer (sprint) and Cameron Meyer (points race) highlighting the performances. Stephanie Morton (sprint) and Glaetzer (time trial) claimed silver, while Callum Scotson bookended his Championships with bronze medals in the scratch and in the Madison with Meyer. Madison Dual Madison world champion Cameron Meyer teamed with Callum Scotson to ensure Australia finished on the podium for the second straight year with the pair taking bronze in a punishing men’s Madison. “To be on the podium in a Madison world championships isn’t an easy to do, it is one of the hardest events to back up a win, even just to back up a podium appearance,” said Meyer after claiming his sixth World Championship Madison medal. “So for us to be consistent two years in a row, last year with silver and this year with bronze, it is another step in the right direction and it shows that we are around the mark.” The major contenders kept their cards close to their chests in the opening laps of the 200-lap race, with Belgium, Spain, France and Italy figuring prominently in the first five sprints. The first major move of the day came from Austria, with the duo of Andreas Graf and Andrew Muller taking a lap, and the twenty points, to move into the lead (30points) after fifty laps. A deliberate move from Meyer and Scotson at the halfway mark saw them pounce on a lull in the action to claim two straight sprint maximums, and a lap on the field, which catapulted them into the joint lead with Austria on 30pts. With 70 laps remaining, Germany’s Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt and Spain’s Albert Torres Barcelo and Sebastian Mora Vedri rocketed into the top two positions on 40 and 31 points respectively after taking a lap. With the race beginning to splinter as the pace hovered at an excruciating pace just shy of sixty kilometres an hour, Australia and Belgium joined forces in the hunt at the front for a lap on the field. However sensing the imminent danger, the Germans and Spanish duos nullified any notion of an attack by keeping the teams within a bike length’s distance. In a classy finish to their masterful race, Germany won two of the final four sprints to to all but secure their victory heading into the final sprint on 53points. In an pulsating final few laps, Australia held off a late surge by Great Britain to hold onto bronze (37pts), just eight points behind Spain (45pts) who grabbed the silver medal. “It was quick out there again tonight, there was a bit of a stand off in the first half of the race, all the favourites didn’t want to move too early knowing it was going to be a tough end to the race,” said Meyer. “We saw an opportunity and went for it. “The actual moment to win the world title was there, we saw it, but unfortunately we didn’t quite have the legs. But Germany was super strong, so was Spain.” With the Madison back on the program for Tokyo 2020, the bronze continues the pair’s strong campaign towards Olympic glory. Their season also including winning the prestigious London Six Day last October and Madison gold at the UCI World Cup in Poland in November. “I think the bigger thing for us in that we are consistently on the podium, we are the most consistent country which is not easy in this event,” said Scotson, who won scratch bronze on day two. “You always feel disappointed straight after a race, but I am sure we are going to take some really good points out of this race and hopefully we can edge closer to the top of the podium as we get closer to Tokyo,” who reflected on his and the team’s performance at the Championships. “To achieve two medals myself, and our team here, everyone worked together well and the results showed how good the culture was over here. “It is quite impressive for us to pull off so many medals for just the four of us. We are all really happy.”  Time trial Less than twenty-four hours after claiming his maiden sprint world title, Matthew Glaetzer was back on track with an eye on the time trial podium. In November, Glaetzer became the first person to ride under one minute in the kilometre time trial at sea level with a sizzling 59.970secs ride at the World Cup in Manchester. The powerful South Australian then eclipsed this time with a scorching 59.759secs at the National Championships in Brisbane. On the final day of the World Championships in Apeldoorn, Glaetzer rocketed to two blistering times to beat his world mark (59.733 in qualifying and 59.745 in the final). However, this was good for silver in the event with Dutch hero Jeffrey Hoogland riding a wave of parochial hometown support to gold with two sizzling times to set a new world-mark (59.517, 59.459). MORE Australian Cycling Team #AusCyclingTeam Photo Casey Gibson Cycling Australia (CA) is proud to announce the Australian Cycling Team. The name ‘Australian Cycling Team’ will now be used to encompass the national squad athletes, coaches and performance support staff, previously branded the CA High Performance Unit, or HPU.
The 55-strong group of Olympic and Paralympic cycling discipline athletes will receive program support for Track and Para, and Individual Athlete Performance Support (IAPS) for Road and BMX, and form the core group from which CA launches its Tokyo 2020 attack. Meet the Athletes: Track | Road | BMX | Para-cycling Athletes named in the Australian Cycling Team have achieved, or have the potential to achieve, success at the highest level and are acknowledged and supported under the Australian Sports Commission’s athlete categorisation guidelines as Podium Potential or above. Specifically, the team consists of 22 Track athletes, 15 Para (Track & Road), 13 Road and five BMX athletes (4 Super-cross and 1 Freestyle), with an Olympic and Paralympic event focus. CA’s Performance Director, Simon Jones, said that the new name (Australian Cycling Team) explains more simply what we are, and what we are about, and provides a clear destination for those further down the athlete pathway to aspire towards. “The Australian Cycling Team is a group of world-class athletes who have achieved success at the highest level, or who are on their way, with huge potential. Being part of the team means that they will be supported with the best possible coaching and performance support they need to achieve their goals. “Underpinning the team is our national high performance network of state institutes and state bodies, which will continue to play a key role in the athlete pathway by identifying and supporting a further 74 Emerging and Developing international athletes with the objective of preparing them for a successful progression into the Australian Cycling Team, based at the Adelaide Super-drome.” Athletes in the Australian Cycling Team may receive a range of individualised performance support services, such as:
Athletes can also receive financial support from the AOC Medal Incentive Fund, which is performance-based funding following podium performances in Olympic disciplines at identified benchmark competitions Jones said it was important to note that inclusion in the Australian Cycling Team does not provide automatic selection to World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Olympic or Paralympic teams. “Those opportunities still have to be earned, according to the respective discipline selection criteria” Jones said. “We want a supportive yet challenging environment that sees athletes reaching their potential and achieving their goals and dreams. We want a system that provides upward pressure for limited places in the Podium categories from the athlete pathway which is supported by our state institutes and state sporting body partners that make up the High Performance Network, and by BMXA and MTBA. The new Australian Cycling Team provides a clear destination for the Emerging and Developing athletes in the high performance network to aspire to be part of the next generation of champions. The announcement of the team has been supported by the release of a number of new documents and collateral, and a dedicated Australian Cycling Team website. The Performance 1st summary sets out the team’s gold medal targets, and the performance and operational support that the athletes will have access to. The Australian Cycling Team High Performance Plan provides a one-page summary of the key elements of the Australian Cycling Team Strategy 2020 – 24, delivered by Simon Jones in October 2017. A dedicated website features profiles of the selected athletes along with updated Australian Cycling Team Discipline Specific Selection Criteria for all the key events of the year, including timelines for selection period, appeals process and team announcements. CA’s Australian Cycling Team Strategy 2020 – 24 prioritises resources into Olympic and Paralympic cycling events and athletes with the desire and capability to perform at a world-class level. Aside from any funding or investment obligations, the Olympics and Paralympics are the world’s biggest multi-sport events and give us the chance to inspire and capture the imagination of a huge audience, including the future stars of our sport. |
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