Australia wins team pursuit at home

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Another night, another consistent performance from the local team in Melbourne, with the men’s team pursuit squad recording a brilliant sub-four minute time and Team Jayco rider Scott Sunderland taking a great win in the men’s 1km time trial.

In between there were crashes, relegations and a host of gold medal events decided, including the women’s points race, the women’s team sprint and the men’s keirin.

Men’s kilo

With Sir Chris Hoy missing from the Melbourne event, the door was left open for the likes of Team Jayco’s Scott Sunderland and Cofidis’ Dutchman, Teun Mulder to make their mark on the world cup standings.

Mulder’s time of 1.02.404 wowed the crowd after Gideon Massie had set a competitive time of 1.03.706 but Sunderland’s 1.02.171 had those same locals on their feet with a consistent, powerful display.

That same endurance that had proven so crucial in securing the team sprint the previous night came to the fore again, the West Australian pleased with his performance. “I’m very happy with that. Last year at this point in the season I rode a 1.02.40 and at worlds I rode the same time,” said Sunderland.

“To do the time I did tonight, which is what I did at worlds last year, is a great indication of what’s yet to come,” he added.

“I woke up this morning and I felt a little bit sore but I came down here and had a pedal to ride myself into it, which felt good. Initially, in the warm up tonight I didn’t feel that great but I just told myself it’s the rollers and nothing else,” he added.

Sunderland said he managed to put four tenths of a second into Mulder’s time in the last lap, an incredible performance at the end of the ride. “I just backed myself and to come through with that ride… I felt good the whole way through although I felt a bit tired in the last half, but that’s natural,” he explained.

Women’s points race

In the women’s points race Giorgia Bronzini showed why she’s world champion with a consistent performance to comfortably take out the event. In a tentative race, she scored at regular intervals to beat American rider Shelly Olds by five points in the final reckoning and in the process relegating local favourite Belinda Goss off the podium.

Silver medalist Shelley Olds used all her racing nous to combat the efforts of the Italian, although she was aware of the task ahead of her before the start. “I knew Giorgia was the most dangerous rider in the pack, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go with the sprint or if I was going to ride aggressively,” said Olds.

“Once I saw no laps were going to be taken because there were too many teams in there, I just started to set myself up for sprints and try to be poised for the rest of the race and pick up points where I could get them,” she added.

The American used her superior endurance, gained as a result of a full road season, to full advantage in the quest to constantly pick up points. “You always wonder if you’re lacking in speed and when you do so much on the road you just feel like you’re doing miles and miles and miles. In a race like this when it’s in a set amount of time, it really helps,” she said.

Women’s team sprint

It wasn’t the colour they had hoped for, but World Cup leaders Anna Meares and Emily Rosemond took home the bronze medal in the women’s team sprint with a solid time of 34.238 to beat French duo Clara Sanchez and Sandie Clair.

In the ride for gold, China’s Jinjie Gong and Lin Junhong put on a powerful display to record a 33.500 against Dutch pair Willy Kanis and Yvonne Hijgenaar. The Chinese riders have ridden consistently throughout the event so far, tonight’s win just reward for their efforts.

Men’s team pursuit

It was a familiar scenario in the men’s team pursuit: Australia versus the old foe, Great Britain, in the final for gold. The Ashes cricket series was won by the English earlier this year and the stage was set for another showdown of the same proportions.

Unlike that series however, Australia prevailed with a dominant performance, taking the gold medal in a sensational time of 3.59.599, beating the Australian all-comers record set by Germany at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. It was the second occasion a time under four minutes was recorded in Australia, an indication of what lies in store for the youthful squad.

Leading the British team at every time check, the smooth, consistent and powerful Australian quartet, led out of the blocks by Michael Hepburn, dominated the four kilometres and increased its lead as the race progressed. When Great Britain was down to three men with three laps remaining, it was all over. All that was left was to do was drive for a place under that magical four-minute barrier.

The young Australians managed that, driven by the efforts of Cameron Meyer and Luke Durbridge. “I generally ride third or fourth wheel – I’m OK when I’m up and going, and when I’m there it’s when guys like myself and Cam Meyer come into our own,” Durbridge said after the finish.

Durbridge explained the formula to the team’s successful rider, with a well-spread mix of speed and strength. “Riders like Rohan [Dennis], Jack Bobridge and Michael Hepburn have that punch at the start to get us up there. I think my role really is as a strongman at third or fourth wheel,” he said.

Another aspect working in the Australian’s favour is the increased depth within the squad, something that has been absent somewhat since the nation’s successful Athens Olympics campaign in 2004. “We’ve been in camp for three weeks together and we all get along really well. I think we all know our place and when the other guys come in – riders like Glenn [O’Shea], Leigh [Howard] and Jack [Bobridge] – there’s extra pressure, but it’s healthy to have that pressure. We all know our spots and what we have to go for,” said Durbridge.

Men’s keirin

Ross Edgar was the man to beat heading into the Melbourne event, the only rider on Sky +HD’s sprint roster. Having made it through to the semi final, he was eliminated in an entertaining match up which saw Azizul Awang, Tang Qi and Shane Perkins progress to the gold medal showdown.

In the gold medal final this was the trio to watch although the party was spoilt by German rider Carsten Bergemann, who hit out over the last lap to take a comfortable win, with Azizul Awang finishing second following Shane Perkins’ relegation for crowding.

It was Ng’s first world cup medal since 2006 and a glorious return for Awang, who said he was obviously happy with the Malaysians’ performance – with two riders on the keirin podium – and the team’s approach to this event.

Men’s scratch race

Having been in the mix during last night’s points race young New Zealander Tom Scully made good on that promise to take the final race of the second night in Melbourne, the men’s scratch race.

It was a topsy turvy affair, seemingly over after 40 laps when classy Italian rider Alex Buttazzoni attacked solo and took a lap’s advantage on the field within the space of four laps. It was an audacious move that paid off, although when a group of six riders, including eventual winner Scully and last night’s points race silver medalist, Ioannis Tamouridis, negated Buttazzoni’s earlier efforts.

For Scully, it was then a matter of positioning himself appropriately and making his run to the line. What happened on the final lap was unexpected however, as the 20-year-old turned on the gas and made it to the finish alone, with a 20-metre gap on the home straight.