Track World Cup Round 4 - CDM

Sydney, Australia, May 16-18, 2003

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An interview with Martin Barras, Head Track Coach, Cycling Australia

Barras: more than a few words of wisdom
Photo © Anthony Tan/CN

Sydney and beyond

The fourth, final and arguably most important round of the Track World Cup kicked off today at the Dunc Gray Velodrome, the venue that hosted the Olympic Games in its millennium year. With World Championship spots still available for most of the 42 countries competing including Australia, it's both an interesting an exciting time for Australian head coach Martin Barras and his 14 rider line-up.

Anthony Tan spoke with the new face of Australian track cycling success about the importance of the occasion and his best bets for the upcoming World Championships in Stuttgart.

Cyclingnews: Is this World Cup most important for you in finalising your selection for the short course events at the World's, given some of your riders for the endurance events aren't here due to commitments on the road?

Martin Barras: We're very proud of the [endurance] guys we're putting on the line, but for obvious reasons we had to go and have a look at some of the younger riders, many of whom performed above our expectations at the Oceania championships. But yes, it's the shorter events which are really important for us tonight and this weekend.

CN: With a few riders away, these events must provide a great breeding ground for you to spot future Australian talent then?

MB: At the moment, especially. It's largely a consequence of what's been done at the State institute level for the last few years, providing us [the national team] with not only high quality bike riders, but well prepared bike riders.

Aussie posse
Photo © Anthony Tan/CN

CN: In terms of the shorter track events, where do you see world championship positions still available?

MB: The women's events are the ones we really need to work on. We have guaranteed spots in the sprints, but we'd like to get a few extra points to qualify another woman to make it three in the Sprint. Same goes for the [women's] Keirin; we have one guaranteed spot, but we really need Kerrie [Meares] or Rose [Hubbard] to secure an extra spot for us. That's the only area where we need more progress and more points, everything else is essentially covered.

CN: Speaking of the Meares sisters, you must be really happy with both the Anna and Kerrie's performances so far this year?

MB: Yeah it's been great; Rose's [Hubbard] performance has been a bit behind the other two girls, but Anna rode so well in the Time Trial and the Sprint events at the Nationals, and Kerrie is also very strong.

CN: Were you a little surprised to see Anna surpass her sister for the first time at the Nationals in the Flying 200 and Time Trial?

MB: Not necessarily - it was a surprise, but a good one.

CN: I guess you've chosen your guys for the men's Keirin and Sprints, right?

MB: Yep, it's going to be Ryan [Bayley], Jobie Dajka and Mark French in the Keirin at the World Championships, and the same three plus Sean Eadie in the Sprint. The same goes for the Team Sprint, but I'm also having a good look at Shane Kelly too to see what he can do; he's wanted to do [the Team Sprint] for a long time, so if his performance warrants a ride, then I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be included.

Teams Pursuit roller session
Photo © Anthony Tan/CN

CN: Has the fact that the location of the World's has moved to Europe affected your selection for the Individual Pursuit?

MB: Yes and no. From the beginning of the season, our plan was to put Luke Roberts on the start line at the World's. But now that the World's have been moved to Europe, Bradley McGee has made himself available, so we're extremely pleased with that. Between those two, they finished first and second at the World's last year, so we're looking very strong in this area. It remains to be seen whether Mark Jamieson has qualified for a spot from his performance at the Oceania titles though.

CN: It may be slightly premature, but the question of everyone's lips is which riders give Australia their strongest gold medal chances in Stuttgart?

MB: Jobie [Dajka] definitely will be one of our gold medal contenders, however, we'll have to see how he's come out of Japan after racing the Keirin circuit because it's pretty tough over there. Out of the two pursuiters, you look at [Luke] Roberts and [Bradley] McGee and you expect at least a medal from that, and the Teams Pursuit is likely to be another [gold] as well. The Team Sprint will depend on whether we can bring [Sean Eadie] back to good form, but if we can, we've got a good chance in that as well. I think these will be our main opportunities.

CN: Finally, what about the Madison? Graeme Brown told me a few days ago he's keen to ride with Mark Renshaw - what's your opinion on this combination?

MB: Yeah, Renshaw was astounding in Cape Town [the last round of the Track World Cup] in the Madison, but in the Points Race in particular. However, given all the top-notch [Madison] teams on the track, he still needs a bit more experience and exposure at the highest level, so that we'll have to see.

By the same token though, with a rider of Renshaw's quality, we're willing to take chances and give him these opportunities, because it will pay dividends for us in the long run. I wasn't initially thinking of it, but [Brown and Renshaw] could be an awesome combination.