World Track Championships - CM

Melbourne, Australia, May 26-30, 2004

Event program and results

Tales from the track

News and gossip from day 5 of the Melbourne World Track Championships

Luckless Gilmore crashes out of her only race

By Karen Forman in Melbourne

It hasn't been an easy year for two-times world scratch race silver medallist Rochelle Gilmore. First she was laid low by a mystery illness which left her so fatigued that she found her performance was severely lacking during the women's World Track Cup series for 2004.

Then, arriving in Australia to contest the final round in Sydney two weeks ago, she was advised to withdraw from the Australian team by team doctors so she could get well and give herself her best chance for the scratch race at this week's World Championships in Melbourne.

After a week of treatment for an illness she said involved some hormonal imbalances and "other things", she was feeling better and indeed appeared much healthier when she lined up for the women's scratch race at Vodafone Arena today.

After winning the silver medal in 2002 and 2003 (behind Czech Lada Kozlikova and then Russian Olga Slusareva) she was fully focussed on taking the gold medal this year.

Indeed, Gilmore appeared to be on track to do that today. With no-one wanting to go to the front, the pace was steady and there were no real upsets. It soon became obvious that the medals would come down to a bunch sprint at the end . . . .which is just what the 22 year old most loves.

But then disaster struck. With two laps to go, Gilmore crashed heavily on to the boards after appearing to be bumped by Mexican Belem Guerrero Mendez, who also fell.

At first the Australian lay without moving, devastated at her turn of lousy luck and in severe pain from a collarbone injury, creating alarm in the Australian camp. Event doctor Andrew Garnham and team doctor Peter Barnes decided to send her to hospital for x-rays.

Cyclingnews was awaiting the results of her hospital examination as we posted this story.

Day 5 News from the Melbourne World Track Championships

• A perfect world's, according to the UCI As the final medal ceremony concluded and the sell-out audience's applause subsided, the UCI press officer, Enrico Carpani, told Cyclingnews the 2004 Track Cycling World Championships had been "perfect".
• Florian Rousseau has one of the most impressive palmares in all of track racing. Three world sprint championships (Manchester 1996, Perth 1997 and Bordeaux 1998); twice world kilo champion (Hamar 1993, Palerme 1994) and five-times men's team sprint champion (Perth 1997, Bordeaux 1998, Berlin 1999, Manchester 2000 and Antwerpen 2001). Not forgetting the two gold medals in the sprint and keirin at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the gold sprint medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics…
• It hasn't been an easy year for two-times world scratch race silver medallist Rochelle Gilmore. First she was laid low by a mystery illness which left her so fatigued that she found her performance was severely lacking during the women's World Track Cup series for 2004.