World Track Cup

"Cyclists' mission 2000, says Walsh"

Australia's cycling team will enter this month's world championships and next year's Commonwealth Games more intent on developing its young riders than capturing a swag of medals, head coach Charlie Walsh said yesterday.

Walsh said while all riders selected for the world titles beginning in Perth on August 27 and the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur would be committed to success, the team's sole priority continued to be the 2000 Olympics.

The Australian team for the world titles will be announced today following the final round of the World Cup track meeting in Adelaide.

Missing will be top pursuit rider Brad McGee (illness and fatigue) while triple world champion Gary Neiwand remains doubtful after missing the meeting with an ankle injury.

Walsh said the absence of experienced riders would allow youngsters such as Nigel Grigg, Luke Roberts, Tim Lyons and Baden Cooke (who won bronze in the 4km team pursuit on Saturday) a valuable chance to experience top-flight international competition.

"There are no pre-set goals (for the world titles) as far as number of medals are con-cerned because while there are some people who are ferociously committed to achieving success, we have other groups we are targeting as part of the develop-mental process," Walsh said.

"That doesn't mean to say we are going in with a soft attitude.

"We would always love to do well in our home, but at the end of the day there is only Sydney 2000 and that's all that matters."

Walsh also indicated some of Australia's top riders such as dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Stuart O'Grady might choose to skip next year's Kuala Lumpur Games, prefer-ring to continue their preparation for Sydney elsewhere.

"We are likely to be going into that event with a very inexperienced team," he said.

"I'm not sure whether the likes of O'Grady or Brad McGee will be even bothered to go to the Commonwealth Games because they might have other commitments."

O'Grady, still coming to terms with track racing after his Tour de France debut, was one of two Australians involved in controversy at Saturday night's session before being awarded gold in the 30km points race.

O'Grady finished ahead of New Zealand's Glen Thompson but was relegated to third after he was deemed to have ducked underneath the New Zealander during one of the sprints.

But after studying film, officials overturned the decision and O'Grady was reinstated to the delight of his home crowd.

Earlier, Australia's Anthony Peden finished first in all three heats of the men's sprint ride-off for bronze against national team-mate Sean Eadie, but was relegated to second place in two races for rule breache and forfeited the medal.

South Africa's Jean-Pierre Van Zyl won gold in the sprint ahead of Latvia's Ainar Kiksis, while in the all-Canadian women's sprint final Tanya Dubnicoff comfortably accounted for Lori-Ann Muenzer.

Italy's Olympic champion Antonella Bellutti broke Australian Lucy Tyler-Sharman's Adelaide track record by more than four seconds to win the women's individual pursuit from American Karen Kurrek, with Australia's Karen Barrow taking bronze.

"Ferris sunk by mystery Chinese competitor"

Olympic silver medallist Michelle Ferris gambled with a new bike and new riding position in the 500m time trial at the World Cup in Adelaide last night, picking up the silver medal behind mystery Chinese cyclist Cuihua Jiang.

Jiang was a surprise victor in the race, having failed to contest the previous world championships nor any of the World Cup series events this year, but Chinese officials said Jiang was a former junior world record-holder and was placed seventh at the Olympics.

Ferris disagreed. "Nonsense, that was another girl," she said.

Chinese officials said Jiang, 22, from the Ice Mountain club in the north-eastern town of Liaoning, had prepared a "long time" for the time trial.

The Chinese Government has injected coaching resources and money into the event for Chinese women, especially as the time trial is now an Olympic event.

But AIS Adelaide-based Ferris, who clocked 36.28s to Jiang's 35.82s, was not daunted by the Chinese juggernaut despite the world championships in Perth being just eight days away.

"The Chinese have only beaten me once before, in a World Cup grand prix in Japan, and I have beaten them every time since and although this is a new girl - and her time was pretty good - it still was a fraction off my national record," said Ferris, at the sixth round of the World Cup series.

Ferris said she'd had just two days experience on a new bike, using the aero position - with forearms resting on the handlebars, similar to triathlon.

"At the world cups all the girls seemed to be using it, so I thought I would give it a try," she said. "I liked it and I think I will stay with it for the world championships, although I will have to work on getting into the position a lot quicker than tonight."

Ferris, 20, said scientists believed she could pick up a second over the 500m distance, but only if she didn't compensate for the forward position by taking the pressure off the pedals.

"I've lost nothing by trying it tonight; it was my best World Cup finish all year and I am still in training for the worlds."

Italian Olympic individual pursuit champion Antonella Bellutti was third in last night's time trial, clocking 36.60s.

Meanwhile, the Australian Olympic sprint team survived a last-minute change of personnel when Graham Sharman wrenched his shoulder during the warm-up.

Sprinter Sean Eadie took to the starting line with just minutes' notice, but Eadie, along with Anthony Peden and Danny Day, stormed the Superdrome velodrome to clock 47.27s to beat Poland by one-and-a-half seconds.

The result was all the more impressive given that all three team members are regular Olympic sprint riders. Instead, the illustrious trio of Gary Neiwand, Shane Kelly and Darryn Hill won the world championships in Manchester last year and will start favourite for the race in Perth.

Australian cycling selectors are tipped to announce their biggest team today for the Perth world championships. Stalwarts like world champion Kelly, Hill, Olympic silver medallist Ferris and Olympic bronze medallist Lucy Tyler-Sharman, will be named in the Australian team, but it will be an anxious wait for Olympic silver medallist Gary Neiwand and Peden.

The two sprinters have to wait and see whether the international cycling body, UCI, will grant Australia extra berths for the sprint event in Perth.

Neiwand's position on the Australian team is secure however, through his position to ride the keirin regardless.

It will be interesting to see whether the Australian selectors permit teams pursuit rider Luke Roberts to ride the individual pursuit berth, vacated by Olympic bronze medallist and former world champion Bradley McGee, who is ill with fatigue.

There are also spots available for extra women time triallists and women sprinters, but the selectors are unlikely to deviate from the current four women in the national squad.