Open Men 4,000m Individual track pursuitNZ's Gary Anderson and Julian Dean were the dominant men's riders. Dean beat fellow NZ rider Brendon Cameron by 5.95 seconds in a time of 4:45.90. Anderson lapped Australian Stephen Woolridge five laps before the finish. He is a 1992 Barcelona Olympic bronze medal holder and will be favourite for the final.
Qualifying: 1. G Anderson (NZ) 4.45.17 2. J Dean (NZ) 4.46.82 3. B Cameron (NZ) 4.55.59 4. S Woolridge (Aus) 5.02.45 Semifinals: Anderson bt Woolridge by elimination Dean 4.45.90 bt Cameron by 5.04 sec Open women 3,000m Individual track pursuitKathy Watt was narrowly defeated by her "arch-rival" Lucy Tyler-Sharman in the semi-final of the Women's 3000 Individual Pursuit. The lead swung backwards and forwards (changing 4 times) until Tyler-Sharman won. The time was a very slow - 3.49.79 seconds. Watt was 1.99 seconds behind. The final will be between Tyler-Sharman and another Australian Karen Barrow tomorrow.The last time the two rivals met was in March 1996 at the Australian championships in Perth. Then it was Watt who easily beat Tyler-Sharman and set an Australian record into the process. Watt was rather nonchalant about losing this time. She is reported as saying when asked if she had a big desire to win against Tyler-Sharman: "Not really, I just see her as another competitor. In the pursuit you just have to psyche yourself up to ride as fast as you can. It was good to get the crowd going though. There's no conflict as far as I'm concerned - I'm just racing the clock and the fastest person wins." Everyone seemed to acknowledge that Watt, who has been suffering from persistent injuries which have prevented her from training properly, was back in good form. Her coach Carey Hall said that she was rusty and it was a surprise for her to get close to Tyler-Sharman.
Qualifying: 1. Lucy Tyler-Sharman (Aus) 3.51.89 2. Kate Barrow (Aus) 3.53.38 3. S Ulmer (NZ) 3.53.48 4. Kathy Watt (Aus) 3.56.49 Semifinals: Tyler-Sharman 3.49.79 bt Watt by 1.99sec Barrow 3.50.73 bt Ulmer by 1.64secUnder-19 Men 3,000m Individual track pursuit Qualifying: 1. B. Gilbert (NZ) 3.38.74 2. D. Cheatley (NZ) 3.45.03 3. S. Melrose (NZ) 3.45.73 4. J. Robinson (NZ) 3.46.14 5. D. Pell (Aus) 3.48.04 6. D Hunt (Aus) 3:50.24 7. G Bates (Aus) 3.54.60 8. O. Roy (NCA) 3.55.18 Quarterfinals: Robinson 3.46.77 bt Pell by 1.96sec Melrose 3.40.55 bt Hunt by 8.33sec Cheatley 3.39.54 bt Bates by 15.99sec Gilbert 3.37.09 bt Roy by 18.39sec. Madison, Open men (100 laps)1. New Zealand (G Thomson, T Carswell) 45 points (time = 31.06.79) 2. New Caledonia (R Sassone, C Pierron) 41 3. New Caledonia (J Goyetche, J Tejada) 20 |