News for March 24, 1997

Watt has chance to qualify

The Australian Cycling Federation has responded to criticism for its controversial selection policy by extending the qualifying deadline which will open the doors to riders including injured Olympian, Kathy Watt, to still be selected.

The ACF alteration, revealed on Saturday night at the close of the national track titles in Launceston, moved the deadline for recording qualifying times to make the national squad from March 22 to July 15.

The ACF has also said it will make other changes to its "Athletes Agreement" which accompanied the selection policy and required cyclists to sign before having their selection confirmed. These include flexibility to clauses referring to the promotion of personal sponsors and on media and public relations protocol which initially limited cyclist's individual rights and their income-earning clout.

The news will certainly be welcomed by riders who doubted signing the document released last Friday, due to its rigid guidelines.

NSW Olympic pursuiter Brad McGee was one rider who had still not signed yesterday.

"I'll be looking at it very deeply before signing it, with my manager and solicitors," said McGee, who has been named in the 22-strong national squad, also announced on Saturday.

Changes on sponsors' promotion and media protocol still have to be ratified. But the deadline extension on qualifying times has been approved and means riders such as Watt, who missed the nationals due to injury, can still earn selection.

The new deadline of July 15 is the closing date for entries to the Adelaide round of the 1997 World Cup in August where only national squad members can race, and from which the final team to contest this year's world titles in Perth will be selected.

To be in the hunt for one of two berths in the 3000m pursuit, Watt must ride 3m 40s or under, a time West Australia's Lucy Tyler-Sharman and Victoria's Karen Barrow have already bettered.

The time must be recorded in competition, or in a trial sanctioned by the ACF and within 14 days' notice of an attempt.

Yesterday, Watt's manager and fiance, Carey Hall, said he welcomed the ACF's policy change, even though he was still concerned about some areas which could be misinterpreted.

"I am happy there is room for people (to earn selection) who have an injury. I think the policy is now heading in the right direction," Hall said.

"There are still some things which need to be rewritten regarding areas of subjectivity and could be misinterpreted; areas which need to be clearer. But I'm happy something positive is at last happening in cycling."

It is likely Watt will make her bid to qualify overseas. She is still four to six weeks from reaching race conditions after recovering from a hamstring injury, and by the time she does Australian temperatures will be cooler and less suitable for fast times.

"Kathy is fit and she is down to race weight. She rode 800km last week, but she is not race-fit. Certainly we now have a lot of planning to do," Hall said.

"Australia has world-class tracks in Perth, Adelaide and Launceston, but it'll be cooler in Australia when she's ready.

"You need warmer conditions for fast times, so we'll probably look overseas."

The calibre of the senior and junior Australian track squad announced on Saturday night confirms that Australia still has plenty of depth to rely on for the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000.

"It's a great team. There is no doubt that we are very healthy (on talent). I have to say that when I came here, I thought we were down," said ACF chairman of selectors Alex Fulcher.

"But on leaving we are very happy, especially with the times recorded.

The first squad to begin its international campaign is the nine-rider track endurance squad. It leaves Australia for Italy on Wednesday to compete in road races before heading to Buttgen in Germany on May 19 for trackwork.

Watt gets set for long, hard campaign

Former Olympic champion Kathy Watt was uncertain how she would qualify for the Australian track cycling team, after her omission from the world championship squad named late on Saturday night.

Watt missed the Australian championships with a hamstring injury and did not satisfy the selection criteria which was only made available last Friday.

But the selection policy, which took eight months to finalise, was amended within the first eight hours of its very belated release, allowing for Watt and other fringe squad candidates, such as NSW female sprinter Felicity Myers and men's sprinter Anthony Peden, until July 15 to make a qualifying time.

Watt had originally planned to attempt the time for the 3,000m individual pursuit at two world cup meetings, but has had her plans disrupted because she wasn't named on the squad.

Only official Australian squad members can contest world cup meeting.

"We are not sure what we are doing because we have only just found out," Watt's manager Carey Hall said yesterday.

"I don't think we can do the time here because it is too cold [cyclists produce faster times in warmer conditions] so we will look at what road races she will be doing and work something out.

"But we are definitely still focusing on riding both the track and road this season."

Watt's battle to ride at the world championships in Perth in August is going to be a long campaign.

She has to rely on the current pursuit squad members, newly-crowned national record holder Lucy Tyler-Sharman and fellow Victorian Karen Barrow, to qualify Australia for the two world championship places available through their results from four scheduled world cups in Cali, Allentown, Novo Mesto and Adelaide.

Then, if Watt makes the required squad time, she will have to oust either Tyler-Sharman or Barrow from the world team through further time trials.

If the time trials provide inconclusive data about the best cyclists for the team, there will be a ride-off in Adelaide just weeks before the world championships.

The only other surprises when the national squad was announced were the exclusions of NSW cyclists Anthony Peden, who was the third fastest sprinter in qualifying, Stephen Wooldridge, who qualified through his efforts in the NSW teams pursuit team, and Tasmanian teams pursuit rider Jason Colquhoun.

Chairman of selectors Alex Fulcher said Wooldridge was concentrating on his studies, Colquhoun was being targeted for the points race and would undergo testing at the Australian Institute of Sport in Adelaide later this year and Peden would have further qualifying opportunities.

Australian madison champions Stephen Pate and Brett Aitken were named in the squad, allaying Pate's fears that he might be victimised because he was not a member of the AIS.

Meanwhile, officials are still reconsidering the controve rsial athletes' agreements that the squad members have to sign, after confirmation that key cyclists such as Bradley McGee have problems with the wording.

Cycling officials have already agreed to amend the highly contentious clause six which precludes cyclists from promoting personal sponsors while at training or competition when a national squad member.

"We're prepared to listen to cyclists - as far as we're concerned, we have no worries about personal sponsors as long as they don't clash with Australian Cycling Federation sponsors," federation executive director Graham Fredericks said.

They are also looking at changing the gag order on officials, coaches and cyclists, who are banned from talking to the media about performances other than their own.

West Australian cyclist Sandra Smith was named the champion of champions at the week-long championship after she collected medals in all five women's events.

Smith, who teamed with her visually impaired Perth boss, Terry Poole, to win two gold medals at the Atlanta Paralympics, will now focus on her own cycling future after winning the points race and scratch race and was a placegetter in the sprint, time trial and individual pursuit.

Fourteen-year-old sensation Kerrie Meares - who cracked the world under-19 record in the 500m time trial only to have it disregarded because she didn't use a starting gate - the track had not been surveyed and there was no drug testing available on the night - won an award for the best performance of the championship.

Her effort surpassed that of McGee, who smashed the Australian record in the 4000m individual pursuit, Ben Kersten who broke his own under-17 Australian record in the 500m time trial or Lucy Tyler-Sharman who sliced a remarkable five seconds off Watt's national record in the 3,000m individual pursuit.

The national squad is:

Men: B Aitken (SA), N Clarke (Tas), B Cooke (Vic), B Dawson (NSW), D Day (Qld),
S Eadie (NSW), N Grigg (SA), D Hill (WA), S Kelly (Vic), S Kelly (Vic), L Kuss
(SA), T Lyons (SA), B McGee (NSW), G Neiwand (Vic), S O'Grady (SA), S Pate
(Vic), L Roberts (SA), M Sparnon (SA), G Sharman (WA).

Women: K Barrow (Vic), M Ferris (Vic), S Smith (WA), L Tyler-Sharman (WA).