Longo switches to track and keeps on winning

French women's cyclist Jeannie Longo continued her remarkable career this week by claiming her nation's individual pursuit championship title on the track. The former world champion out-paced Cathy Moncassin, cousin of former Tour de France stage winner Frédéric Moncassin, to claim the win in a time of 3'48"896 minutes.

"I started off a bit less quick than Cathy but from half-way I gave it all I had," Longo told AFP.

The 49 year-old cyclist remains one of France's top women's riders. Just over a week ago she proved her road skills just keep getting better by claiming both the road and time trial national titles.

Longo's national titles on the road secured the rider a spot at August's Olympic Games in Beijing, China. It will be Longo's seventh Olympic Games, with the rider having contested every Olympiad since women's cycling events were added in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Longo is the most successful women's cyclist of all time. During her career she has won 13 world titles, as well as four Olympic Games medals; with silver medals in the 1992 Barcelona, Spain road race and 1996 time trial, a bronze in the Sydney, Australia Olympic Games time trail in 2000 joining her gold from Atlanta.

Longo has also claimed an impressive 10 UCI World Track Championship medals, including four golds. Nine of those medals were for the three-kilometre pursuit, with one coming in the points race at the 1989 event in Lyon, France.