TRACK | Baker & Australia boast all the right ingredients

Australia’s women’s endurance squad boasts incredible depth, experience, and proven success across all levels with multiple world champions such as Annette Edmondson, Amy Cure, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly. 

At the 2020 World Championships in Berlin, the stellar squad will be joined by 20-year-old debutant Maeve Plouffe who comes to the team from the Podium Potential Academy ranks. 

The squad heads into the Championships as the defending world champions in three events, team pursuit, individual pursuit and points race. However, the World Championships will offer more than just rainbows in 2020 as it is the final opportunity for the world’s best to refine and rehearse ahead of August’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“In every other year, the World Championships is the focus, it is the key priority for us,” Tasmania’s Baker explained. “But this year is a special year being an Olympic year, so it provides an opportunity to trial some different things. 

“We are making sure that we have everything right for Tokyo, while still having our eye on the prize here too."

In the team pursuit. Australia enters the Championships as the reigning world champions after Baker, Edmondson, Ankudinoff, Cure and Manly soared to the world title one year ago in Poland. 

In 2020, Australia’s team pursuit outfit will feature Baker, Edmondson, Ankudinoff, Cure plus debutant Plouffe across the two-day, three-round event which opens the Championships on Wednesday morning. 

The squad has enjoyed success this summer with silver and gold during the World Cup season, during which they unveiled a new strategy which involves the front riders making their turn in the straight, rather than the traditional bend change. 

“As we go from different tracks, we have to make some adjustments the last two track sessions have been focusing we get our swings right, to make sure that we nail them,” said Baker. “It has been going really well in training and we are used to that swing now.

Four years ago, the then 21-year-old Baker finished fourth in the points race and fifth in the team pursuit while on her elite World Championships debut. A few months later she made her Olympic debut in Rio where she rode in all three rounds as Australia finished fifth in the team pursuit.

As she aims for a second Olympic selection and the team strives for Olympic glory, Baker, 25, can see similarities in Plouffe’s path onto the team and is revelling in mentoring her younger teammate where possible. 

“Maeve has been a really big breath of fresh air.  She definitely deserves the spot to be in our team, she is so strong and I look forward to seeing her debut this week,” said Baker.   

“It is funny, I think she is doing exactly the same thing I was doing four years ago. I learned so much from the last Olympics, and I would love to pass on as much as I can to Maeve. 

“If we want to have the best result, then every piece of information we have to give to her is really important.  She is great with that, she is absorbing everything and taking it all in.”

Baker has excelled over the last twelve months in the Madison, claiming World Championship silver (with Cure) and triple World Cup gold during the recent 2019-20 season (twice with Edmondson twice and once with Manly). 
 
As the Australian team continues to determine the best possible options and combinations for all three endurance events at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Cure and Edmondson have been slated to race the Madison in Berlin. 
 
Baker has been provided with an individual opportunity in the third Olympic event, the four-event omnium, which she will contest on Friday. 

“It is a great opportunity for us in Berlin. It is our last chance at a major competition to test everything out before the Olympics,” said Baker. “We want to trial everything we can, to make sure we have the best Madison pairing in Tokyo, and the best team pursuit squad in Tokyo. 

“I am super excited to take on the omnium, it will be my first at this level, so I will be taking each event as it comes and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do.”

In the remaining endurance events, Ankudinoff will look to defend her individual pursuit crown with national champion 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. 

AUSTRALIAN SCHEDULE

DATE (IN AUS)    TIME (AEDT)

Thurs 27/2: 430am - 8am
W - Scratch 10 km - Alexandra Manly
W Team Pursuit - Qualifying 11pm AEDT
    
Fri 28/2: 430am - 730am
W - Team Pursuit - Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson, Maeve Plouffe
    
Sat 29/2: 430am - 815am
W - Omnium - Georgia Baker
    
Sun 1/3: 230am - 6am
W -  Madison 30 km - Annette Edmondson/Amy Cure
W - Individual pursuit - Ashlee Ankudinoff; Maeve Plouffe
    
Mon 2/3: 12am-3am
W - Points race 25 km - Alexandra Manly

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Live on FOXSPORTS Australia Channel 506
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Photos - John Veage, Hikari Media