Speed, crashes and plenty of quality racing in Sydney

By Les Clarke in Sydney

Women's sprint

At the 05-06 Track World Cup Round 4 in Sydney, Australia, Anna Meares beat Abassova in race 1 of the semi finals, with Jennie Reed taking her opening race against Italian Elisa Frisoni. In race two of the Meares/Abassova duel the Australian rode an extremely smart race to head into the decider against either the American or Italian. It was the American who would ride against Meares for the gold medal with a dominant win over Elisa Frisoni where she led from start to finish to prove she was a worthy adversary for Meares, who has been recovering from a back injury for several months.

Meares only required two races to defeat Jennie Reed in the final for first and second, the American having shown great form of her own to reach the final. But in the final she was up against a very lean and fast Meares who accounted for her in two near-perfect performances.

The experienced American tried going out hard and fast in both races, because according to Meares she knew that the Queenslander "has a faster jump" than Reed and hitting the front early would nullify Meares' ability to use this to her advantage. But it didn't matter as the younger of the speed sisters won both races in similar fashion, the latter victory bringing a huge smile to her face. "Tonight's ride was all about timing," said Meares after her win. "Marv's been encouraging me to time it [the sprint] from the back. He's been saying 'whatever you do have one good go,' and I saved that one for last."

For the full results, report & photos of the first day of the 05-06 Track World Cup Round 4 in Sydney, Australia, click here.