Qantas Cup - State of Origin Series

Australia, March 21 - 23

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Qantas Cup - Round 3 - Dunc Gray Velodrome

WA fights hard, but NSW wins Qantas Cup series for second year

By Karen Forman
In Sydney
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Ben's back
Photo: © Tom Balks

New South Wales won the third and final round of the 2002 Qantas Cup State of Origin track series on Sydney's super-quick Olympic Dunc Gray velodrome on Saturday night and retained the overall title for the second consecutive year.

Despite a serious challenge from first-round and inaugural series winner Western Australia, NSW riders - triple world champions Ben Kersten and Mark Renshaw, world cup dual silver medallist Rochelle Gilmore, Steven Wooldridge and Natalie Bates - managed to stay in front to finish well clear with 104 points.

WA was second on 84, Queensland third on 81, Victoria fourth on 64, Tasmania fifth on 53 and ACT finished well out of contention with 10.

Gilmore also won the individual women's title with 39 points, ahead of Tasmania's Belinda Goss on 29. World keirin champion Ryan Bayley took the men's individual title for Western Australia with 47 points, ahead of Renshaw on 43. Both Gilmore and Bayley had led the individual charge on the first night in Launceston.

The final round ran smoothly and was in stark contrast to the previous night's round set down for Brisbane's 333 metre, outdoor Chandler, which was rained out before it had even begun.

Sydney spectators gave a particularly warm welcome to comeback rider Kersten, who has reappeared after disappearing off the cycling scene after his initial success as a junior. If he sticks with it and continues in the form he exhibited on Saturday night, he will doubtless be one of the keys to Australia's future track racing success.

With a hot and firing Kersten, a Bayley obviously on the way back up to form after racing unusually flat for the past few weeks in Victoria and a Renshaw who says he is the best form of his career, the times recorded during the night were fast, the competition stiff and the eventual win hard fought for.

Gilmore dominated the women's events, showing that two-time Olympic silver medallist Michelle Ferris, who was riding for Victoria, may not have it all her way at the Australian national championships in three week's time. Queensland sisters Kerrie and Anna Meares, both national 500m time trial champions, proved quite a threatening combination, particularly in the sprint events, as was Western Australia's Kristine Bayley, who has been dominating the Victorian events this season.

Tasmanian rider Steven Rossendell had to sit out most of the second half of the program after touching wheels with Victorian Jason Niblett in the three-lap Olympic sprint and crashing out of contention. First aid attendants had to work for some time to remove bits of lycra skinsuit from a deep timber burn on his thigh and dress other wounds on his arm and shoulder, but he wasn't letting it get to him.

" It was my misjudgement," the 19 year old said. "I'm ok. I still want to ride the last race." He did, in fact, line up for the 10km men's scratch race.

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Kerri Meares
Photo: © Tom Balks

Among the highlights of the night was the women's match sprint - won by Kerrie Meares ahead of Gilmore in a sizzling game of cat and mouse conducted high on the steeply banked board track.

With Michelle Ferris relegated by commissaires who decided she had interfered with Gilmore in their heat, it was a chance for the younger riders to strut their stuff.

Nineteen year old Meares, the girl from country Queensland who astonished cycling officials when she beat open national time trial times as an under 17 year old and now hungry for a spot in the Commonwealth Games team, led out and Gilmore, fresh from two World Cup silver medals and the Australian criterium championship, did her best to force the pace from behind.

Meares, however, had the upper hand and despite an all-out bid by Gilmore to pip her on the post, won by half a wheel in 12.90.

She said after completing her victory lap that she had learnt a lot from the more experienced riders, including Gilmore and Ryan Bayley, since starting training with the Australian Institute of Sport in Adelaide in January. "I am happy with how things are going," she said. "I have been training really hard lately and I hope to do well in the sprint, the time trial and the keirin at the nationals."

Asked who she is most afraid of, she replied: "Michelle Ferris. And my younger sister, Anna."

The men's sprint also netted some fast times. Mark French, riding for Victoria, beat Hopkins for third and fourth in 11.28, then Bayley thrilled the crowd as he led Queenslander Danny Day up and down and all over the track in the final.

Day stayed three lengths off Bayley's wheel and never took his eyes off the world keirin champion. He was ready when Bayley started his trademark windup-in-small-gear for the sprint at the bell, but wasn't able to get around him in time. The time for the 200 was 10.86, inspiring guest commentator, 1956 Melbourne Olympics gold medallist Ian Brown, to dub it the "perfect race".

"I am pretty happy with this," Bayley said afterwards. "For a few weeks I haven't been going that well, but I seem to be coming together tonight. Danny turned up and I was getting pretty worried about him - he's pretty smart."

He said he was heading for some decent results at the nationals, where he would ride "the sprint, the keirin, the kilo, whatever, I don't mind riding them all."

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Happy winners
Photo: © Tom Balks

He then earned a cheer from the crowd when he gave his floral bouquet to a small girl in the crowd.

The night also saw some impromptu performances by riders who used their skills in other track disciplines to win particular events. In the men's points race, Rodney McGee - who was riding in a Victorian jersey on the night, despite being from NSW - pulled off his win by taking off mid-race and while not lapping the field, put in a quite reasonable individual pursuit-distance effort. It was enough to take three intermediate sprints and given that there were no double points on offer for the final sprint, McGee secured the win even before the bell was rung.

In the following event, Bayley also won the men's keirin in 10.66 ahead of Shaun Hopkins, while Gilmore took the women's keirin ahead of Kerrie Meares and Michelle Ferris in a gutsy sprint to the line in 12.29. "I gave it all I had," she said.

The men's team sprint, a timed 750 metre all-out effort, was won by the NSW team of Kersten, Renshaw and Wooldridge in 48.72, with the Queensland team close behind in 48.77. In the women's points race, Gilmore showed that her many recent road miles had paid off as she won in controlled fashion, taking the final sprint, with the even younger Tasmanian rider Belinda Goss in second and Narelle Peterson in third.

The Qantas Men's Derby then saw another impromptu performance; this time Ben Kersten attacked the field with more than three laps remaining and did a reasonable one kilometre time trial, with enough left to stay clear of the chasing bunch led home by the ever-present Ryan Bayley. It would seem that after the disappointment of the 2000 Olympic selections, where Kersten was controversially overlooked, the young New South Welshman is motivated and riding strongly.

The men's combined madison-scratch race went to Renshaw and Steve Wooldridge, who said teamwork was the key to the win. "I really enjoyed that," Wooldridge said afterwards, "even though it was a short event. Last week I did the national madison championship with a younger rider, Jono Davis, but last year I won it with Mark. We have been riding around the track in circles together . . . that's what makes us understand each other."

Renshaw, who started cycling at the age of 10 and says he doesn't know what he would do without it now, said: "We certainly know each other's styles inside out. We can do it without thinking."

He said he was probably in the best form of his career and was looking forward to the nationals when he will contest the individual and teams pursuits, the scratch race and pointscore.

The women's scratch race was another dynamic Gilmore victory. Despite a serious last minute effort in the straight by the Meares sisters, Gilmore came from behind, went around the outside and sprinted across the line.

Brown, commenting later, said: "She probably won't like me saying this, but she races like a man. That's a compliment."

The final event of the night, the 10km men's scratch race, was a dynamic affair figuring Bayley, who attacked off the front with 15 to go but was caught after three laps, and Mark Renshaw, who wasn't having a bar of Bayley snitching any more points for WA.

Not that NSW was in any great danger going into the start - it was leading the pointscore with 99 points ahead of WA's 83. Queensland was hanging in there on 76 and Victoria, Tasmania and ACT were well out on 64, 53 and 10 respectively.

With three to go NSW was on the front and controlling the pace, with Bayley sitting just behind.

At the bell, Kersten charged to the front, but Renshaw crept around the outside, hit it hard and flew home in 11.28. Queenslander Chris Klem was second and Danny Day was third.

 

Photos

Photos by Cyclingnews / Tom Balks

 

Results

Overall
1 NSW      104
2 WA        84
3 Qld       81
4 Vic       64
5 Tas       53
6 ACT       10
 
Women's sprint
 
1 Kerrie Meares (Qld)                    12.90
2 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW)
3 Michelle Ferris (Vic)
4 Rebecca Ellis (ACT)
 
Men's 200m sprint
 
1 Ryan Bayley (WA)                       10.86
2 Danny Day (Qld)
3 Mark French (Vic)
4 Shaun Hopkins (NSW)
 
Mens points race
 
1 Rodney McGee (NSW)                       19
2 Steve Wooldridge (NSW) 
2 Peter Dawson (WA)                        12
4 Brodie Cullen (WA)
 
Mens keirin
 
1 Ryan Bayley (WA)                       10.66
2 Danny Day (Qld)
3 Ben Kersten  (NSW)
4 Mark French (Vic)
 
Womens points race-elimination
 
1 Belinda Goss (Tas)
2 Narelle Peterson (Vic)
3 Anna Meares (Qld)
4 Kerry Cohen (WA)
 
Womens keirin
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW)
2 Kerrie Meares (Qld)
3 Michelle Ferris (Vic)
4 Kristine Bayley (WA)
 
Mens team sprint
 
1 NSW                                    48.72
 
Womens points race
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW)                    17
2 Belinda Goss (Tas)                        10
3 Narelle Peterson (Vic)                     8
4 Anna Meares (Qld)                          5
4 Kerry Meares (Qld)
6  Kerry Cohen (WA)                          4
 
Mens derby
 
1 Ben Kersten (NSW)
2 Ryan Bayley (WA)
 
Mens madison-scratch race
 
1 Mark Renshaw and Steve Woolridge 
 
Womens scratch race
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (NSW)
 
Men's scratch race
 
1 Mark Renshaw (NSW)
2 Chris Klem (Qld)
3 Danny Day (Qld) 
 
 
More results to come

 

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