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World Track Championships - CM
Melbourne, Australia, May 26-30, 2004
Tales from the track
News and gossip from day 1 of the Melbourne World Track Championships
By Karen Forman in Melbourne
"It's a crazy feeling" says new World Points Champ
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New World Points Race Champion Franck Perque didn't have a minute to absorb the news that he was indeed champion of the world before he was surrounded by French speaking journalists tonight, wanting to know just how he felt about the whole thing.
Perque, still dripping with sweat after coming off the track - and not even warmed down - could only say "well, it's great to be able to carry the French emblem", before suddenly realising that he had actually won the event he was wearing the French colours in.
"I don't feel like a champion of the world," he said. "It's a crazy feeling!"
What made the win even more special was the fact Perque was sick last week and hadn't been able to train. "I didn't know where I was," he said. "But then (when I got better) I trained hard."
The race, he said, was "very hard". "I had to keep going, keep going, keep going and always have energy for the last sprint," he said.
"This is a 40km race. It is very long. You don't just have to be able to overtake but also be strong with good tactics and sprint. I was very exhausted at the start and I had to think about my tactics and execute them until the last sprint."
He paid tribute to his family, saying he would not have been able to win without their support. "They have supported me in my cycling my whole life." He also thanked his French team, saying there was a great atmosphere between the team members.
"The object of this year is to participate in everything we can," he said. "There are things we cannot foresee; anything can happen really. But we want to do well."
More Day 1 News from the Melbourne World Track Championships
By Karen Forman in Melbourne
- Melbourne abuzz with World Championship spirit - The cosmopolitan Australian city of Melbourne was abuzz with excitement today as the 2004 World Track Championships opened at Vodafone Arena.
- World Cup gold medalists have to be content with bronze at World's - Craig McLean was cautiously optimistic after his British team qualified second fastest in the first round of the men's team sprint, just 0.6 seconds behind the French leaders, at Melbourne's Vodafone Arena velodrome today.
- Australia qualifies for Olympic team sprint - but knocked out of the medals - Host country Australia has achieved its goal to qualify for the Olympics in the team sprint, but failed to made it through the second round and into the medals tonight.
- Unlucky day for Renshaw - Australian first-year FdJeux.com roadie Mark Renshaw had had high hopes for the points race at the World Track Championships in Melbourne tonight, but bad luck intervened.
- Cesario beats viral infection to get on track for Athens - There was a time that doctors feared Chilean team pursuit specialist Enzo Cesario wouldn't ride his bike again - let alone achieve his goal to ride at an Olympic Games.
