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Track World Cup 04-05 Round 4 - CDM

Sydney, Australia, February 18-20, 2004

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Day 1 - February 18: Men's Scratch 15 km, Women's Points Race 20km, Men's Keirin, Men's Individual Pursuit, Men's Kilometer TT, Women's Sprint

Australia 3 - Netherlands 3

By John Stevenson and Les Clarke

The first set of finals at the Sydney World Cup was like an Australia versus Netherlands derby as the big, hot southern country and the small, flat Northern one shared the gold medals, shutting out the rest of the world.

The Netherlands took out the men's individual pursuit, scratch race and keirin, while the host nation landed resoundingly popular victories in the women's points race, men's kilo time trial and women's sprint.

Kersten conquers kilo

Ben Kersten (Australia)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
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The biggest roar of the night came for local rider Ben Kersten in the men's 1000m time trial as the Wollongong Whirlwind broke his own personal best and came close to Jason Queally's 2000 Olympic gold medal time, set at this velodrome.

Knocking three-tenths of a second off his PB and clinching the world cup kilo title Kersten let the world know that Australia has yet another kilo contender for the world championships in Los Angeles next month.

French rider Francois Pervis set the early standard at 1:02.711, then nettherlands Tim Veldt shaved off almost a tenth, giving Kersten a mark to beat of 1:02.615. Thunderous applause greeted Kersten every time he steamed past the stand in the finish straight.

At the halfway mark Kersten was already 0.6 seconds up on Veldt's mark, and it was obvious we were witnessing something special. As Kersten crashed through the 62-second mark for only the second time in his career, the crowd erupted. This was what they'd come to see: a hometown hero in the best form of his life. Rolling though on his victory lap, Kersten acknowledged the crowd with a wide two-armed salute that said "this was for you as well as for me." His time: 1:01.645. The venue record is believed to be Queally's 2000 1:01.609.

The question for Kerston now is, can he go any faster? "Yeah, I could go much faster," he said. "I blitzed myself out there!" Kersten was quick to praise those who had shown faith in him, not forgetting the furore of 2004.

"It was great riding here tonight with family and friends - it's just such a special feeling," said Kersten who placed third in the Los Angeles World Cup in December and second in last month's Manchester round where he cracked the 62 second mark for the first time. "I did that PB in January and I thought 'what the hell's going on?'

"I trained a whole year (in 2004) and didn't do that once and now I've done it twice," said Kersten who has his eyes on the podium at the Los Angeles World Championships in March. When asked how much faster he can go the Sydney rider was optimistic. "Who knows - heaps I hope."

Australian track coach Martin Barras said he hadn't expected Kersten to ride so well, and agreed that he was capable of mixing it with the world's best. "I think he'll carry this form into LA, based on past experience. Ben is riding with a very focused outlook and that is why he can ride so fast, said Barras,"

Barras added that he has faith in the ability of NSWIS coach Gary Sutton to deliver Kersten ready to race well in Los Angeles. "All I have to do is keep him refreshed just before the World Championships," he said.

Stroetinga takes scratch

Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
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In the men's scratch race Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands) and Alex Rasmussen (Denmark) duked it out too the line in the finale of a frankly lackluster race that saw very few serious attacks. But the race came alive in the final few laps when series leader Rasmussen tried to get away and Stroetinga went after him and took the victory by a length.

American veteran Jame Carney was unimpressed by the docile pace, commenting that there were "usually that many attacks in the first five laps!" as in the whole race, and Stroetinga was surprised that it came down to a sprint.

"I didn't think it would come to a sprint," he said. "Normally there are some guys who get away and you've got to stay on their wheel. That's what I did tonight. I stayed on Rasmussen's wheel and when he went up I just went through."

Stroetinga said he'd felt good going into the race, despite the recent long journey from the Netherlands to Australia, and hadn't had to work too hard during the race. "I'm not really feeling the effects of any jet lag, and hopefully I can repeat in the points race tomorrow night, he said."

Gilmore takes control

Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
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Rochelle Gilmore proved that the structured training she was planning back in December is paying dividends when she made total domination of the women's points race look like a Sunday afternoon spin round the park.

Gilmore won the first four sprints to give herself an almost unassailable lead and kept a watchful eye on all attempts to slip off the front. The only retaliation to a 20 point lead is to try and take a lap (and so gain an extra 20 points, plus any sprints you pick up on the way) but Gilmore was wary of escape attempts by Yunmei Wu (China) and Wan Yiu Wong (Hong-Kong) and never allowed them to threaten her lead.

"My heart rate indicated that I wasn't doing it too tough," Gilmore said. "It was an interesting race, and I took the opportunity to prove that I can race after getting the call from Ian McKenzie on Monday night."

"I thought it would be a lot harder, it would be a lot more attacking, there were a lot of names I didn't know, so I didn't know which ones to chase," explained Gilmore. "This whole series has been about getting a ride at the Worlds and having a good ride and proving to Ian McKenzie (National Endurance Coach) that I could have a good ride when I'm in good form."

Next stop for Gilmore will be the Geelong round of the women's road World Cup. Although she switched to concentrating on track training about two weeks ago, Gilmore believes she can still perform well in Geelong. "It's a tough course but a good course," she said.

Mixing road and track training over the last few months has paid dividends, Gilmore believes. "It's a fine balance doing the right sort of training," she said.

Meares back in charge

Anna Meares (Australia)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
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Anna Meares (Australia) didn't quite repeat her dominating performance of the Australian nationals tonight when she won the women's sprint, but she nevertheless signaled that she's back in international-class form and another rider to watch at the world's next month.

Meares came up against fastest qualifier Yvonne Hijgenaar of the Netherlands in the semi-finals, but where the Dutch woman had speed on her side, Meares more than made up with sheer combativity and after a tussle that went all the way to three heats, Meares was through to the final to face China's Shuang Guo. Guo, a triple junior World Champion in 2003, reached the final by disposing of reigning Olympic champion Lori-Ann Muenzer in two heats.

In the gold medal final Guo got an early gap in the first heat but Meares was strongest diving down off the banking in the second-last turn to accelerate hard and catch Guo in the final bend, to huge ccheers from the crowd.

In the second heat Goa went early gapping Meares, but the speedy Queenslander bided her time and as the crowd held its breath - had the favourite left it too late? - she unleashed a stunning turn of speed down the back straight. By mid-turn it was all over and the crowd went wild at the return to full racing power of the Olympic kilo champion.

"I'm just happy to win," said Meares. "The Chinese girl pushed me quite a lot, made me work hard and it's great to see such good riders coming down here to compete." Asked whether she enjoyed her ride, Meares said that "it's always fun, especially the crowd."

Meares had said she was feeling a little flat before the race, and attributed this in part to leaving it late to take victory in the first race of the final. She is now going to concentrate on recuperating in preparation for the World's next month. Despite a very busy schedule in the last couple of months, Meares is cofident of her chances and has scheduled with a week of recovery and some speed work as the main parts of her training before Los Angeles.

Heimans pursues Netherlands record

Levi Heimans (Netherlands)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
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With a victory in the men's individual pursuit to add to the earlier scratch race win, the Netherlands is beginning to build strength in the endurance track events to match the sprint power of Theo Bos. Levi Heimans set a new Dutch record in qualifying this morning and attempted to break it this evening, almost casually despatching Britain's Edward Clancy on the way. Heimans caught Clancy with four laps to go and although his coach was waving at him that he'd done enough and could stop, Heimans powered on, to try and beat his own record. An appreciative crowd cheered on the attempt, but it was not to be - pursuit records are hard to break with nobody to chase!

Heimans was a picture of excellent pursuiting form, with flat, rock-solid upper body and legs churning away underneath, and he credited his technique as a factor in his win. "I rode very flat, and with good training you're able to do that," he said. He added that he thought it was very possible to catch Clancy from their performances in qualifying. "If you look at the times, I was eight seconds faster, and it showed," he said.

Nevertheless, it wasn't easy although, "it only hurt on the last lap; but when you're winning, it's okay." Heimans now goes back to the Netherlands to focus his training on the World's in March.

The bronze in the men's IP was a certainty from about the fourth of 16 laps as it became obvious that Alessandro Mazzolani (Italy) had gone out far too hard at the start and had nothing left in the tank. By the mid-race point Ivan Kovalev (Russia) was a quarter lap up and it looked as if he might continue to close the gap and catch Mazzolani, but the Russian was content to stay on pace and land the bronze.

Turbo Bos clinches kierin

Theo Bos (Netherlands)
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
Click for larger image

Theo Bos demonstrated that he's as quick in the hurly-burly of a six-man sprint as he is calculated one-to-one when he won the men's kierin this evening.

Bos qualified comfortably, winning his first and second round heats, and found himself in fourth position as the moto peeled off in the final. Hong Kong's Kin Chung Wong tried to make the most of poll position, leading Pavel Buran and Laurent Gane as the group split briefly in two. But the Netherlands' young super-sprinter was having none of it and as they steamed through the bell, Bos moved on to Gane's wheel and powered over the top of the Frenchman. Gane tried to retaliate, but Bos' final lap speed was unanswerable and the likable Dutchmaan was able to sail through the finish saluting the crowd.

Had he felt in control of the race? "Not 100 percent for sure," said Bos. "I felt strong during the semis and I thought if I continue like this it would be good."

He said it would be hard to go faster at the World's in LA next month, but it may be possible. "I'll be concentrating on the kilo, which means that my training will change slightly to focus on developing more speed, away from the road and weights training I've currently been doing."

Although he came past Gane as though the Frenchman was standing still, Bos said, "It's never easy. Gane is a great rider and the level was high."

Bos has been in Australia for two weeks, and is happy to have had the opportunity for some quality training. "We've trained very hard here and done a lot of kilometres on the road," said Bos who escaped the Northern Hemisphere winter. "The weather has been great."

Christian Stahl won a 7-12 final that saw the night's ugliest crash as Angel Martorell (Mexico), Dean Edwards (South Africa) and Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece) went down went down in a 60km/h tangle of bikes, bodies and fractured carbon wheels. Martorell manged to remount and finish the race, while a badly shaken Edwards was able to walk away. Keloglou was less lucky, exiting the track by stretcher and earning a disqualification for causing the crash.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Mark Gunter/Cyclingnews.com

Images by John Veage

  • Crash! Three riders go down in the 7-12 final of the men's keirin. Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece), Dean Edwards (South Africa) and Angel Martorell (Mexico)
  • The bike of Dean Edwards (South Africa) shows the scars of the crash

Results

Men individual pursuit qualifying
 
1 Levi Heimans (Netherlands)                  4.24.788  (54.383km/h)
2 Edward Clancy (Great Britain)               4.33.487  (52.653km/h)
3 Ivan Kovalev (Russia)                       4.34.895  (52.384km/h)
4 Alessandro Mazzolani (Italy)                4.36.016  (52.171km/h)
5 Hayden Godfrey (New Zealand)                4.36.237  (52.129km/h)
6 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukraine)                 4.37.074  (51.972km/h)
7 Yuriy Yuda (Kazakhstan)                     4.37.167  (51.954km/h)
8 Robert Lea (USA)                            4.38.163  (51.768km/h)
9 Ahmad Lutfi Mohd Fauzan (Malaysia)          4.58.795  (48.194km/h)
 
Men kierin 1st round
 
Heat 1  
 
1 Laurent Gane (France)                       10.735  (67.070km/h)
2 Christian Stahl (USA)
3 Dean Edwards (South Africa)
4 Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
5 Jose Ruschansky (Argentina)
 
Heat 2  
 
1 Kin Chung Wong (Hong-Kong)                  11.146  (64.597km/h)
2 Kasper Jessen (Denmark)
3 Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece)
4 Joel Leonard (Australia)
5 Angel Martorell (Mexico)
 
Heat 3  
 
1 Theo Bos (Netherlands)                      10.765  (66.883km/h)
2 Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
3 Pavel Buran (Czech Republic)
4 Liheng Yan (China)
 
Men kierin repechage
 
Heat 1  
 
1 Joel Leonard (Australia)
2 Pavel Buran (Czech Republic)                10.873  (66.219km/h)
3 Dean Edwards (South Africa)
4 Jose Ruschansky (Argentina)
 
Heat 2  
 
1 Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
2 Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece)                11.066  (65.064km/h)
3 Angel Martorell (Mexico)
4 Liheng Yan (China)
 
Women sprint qualifying 200m
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)              11.282  (63.818km/h)
2 Shuang Guo (China)                          11.469  (62.778km/h)
3 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)                   11.659  (61.755km/h)
4 Anna Meares (Australia)                     11.662  (61.739km/h)
5 Elisa Frisoni (Italy)                       11.677  (61.660km/h)
6 Jennie Reed (USA)                           11.725  (61.407km/h)
7 Dana Glöss (Germany)                        11.726  (61.402km/h)
8 Willy Kanis (Netherlands)                   11.750  (61.277km/h)
9 Kerrie Meares (Australia)                   11.972  (60.140km/h)
10 Elisabeth Williams (New Zealand)           12.031  (59.845km/h)
11 Yawei Gao (China)                          12.094  (59.534km/h)
12 Magdalena Sara (Poland)                    12.263  (58.713km/h)
13 Annalisa Cucinotta (Italy)                 12.575  (57.256km/h)
14 Chrysoula Zacharioudaki (Greece)           12.997  (55.397km/h)
 
Women sprint eighth final
 
Heat 1  
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)
 
Heat 2  
 
1 Shuang Guo (China)
 
Heat 3  
 
1 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)                   12.821  (56.158km/h)
2 Chrysoula Zacharioudaki (Greece)
 
Heat 4  
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     12.840  (56.075km/h)
2 Annalisa Cucinotta (Italy)
 
Heat 5  
 
1 Elisa Frisoni (Italy)                       12.204  (58.997km/h)
2 Magdalena Sara (Poland)
 
Heat 6  
 
1 Jennie Reed (USA)                           12.605  (57.120km/h)
2 Yawei Gao (China)
 
Heat 7  
 
1 Dana Glöss (Germany)                        12.194  (59.045km/h)
2 Elisabeth Williams (New Zealand)
 
Heat 8  
 
1 Willy Kanis (Netherlands)                   12.444  (57.859km/h)
2 Kerrie Meares (Australia)
 
Women sprint 1/4 final
 
Heat 1  
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)              13.808  (52.144km/h)
2 Willy Kanis (Netherlands)
 
Heat  2  
 
1 Shuang Guo (China)                          11.950  (60.251km/h)
2 Dana Glöss (Germany)
 
Heat  3  
 
1 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)                   12.390  (58.111km/h)
2 Jennie Reed (USA)
 
Heat 4  
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     12.079  (59.608km/h)
2 Elisa Frisoni (Italy)
 
Men scratch
 
1 Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands)                18.29.575  (48.667km/h)
2 Alex Rasmussen (Denmark)
3 Gregory Henderson (New Zealand)
4 Rafal Ratajczyk (Poland)
5 Chris Pascoe (Australia)
6 Kam-Po Wong (Hong-Kong)
7 James Carney (USA)
8 Ioannis Tamouridis (Greece)
9 Alexey Shmidt (Russia)
10 Alain Lauener (Switzerland)
11 Claudio Masnata (Italy)
12 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukraine)
13 Juan José De La Rosa (Mexico)
14 Ilya Chernyshov (Kazakhstan)
DNF Martin Gilbert (Canada)
 
Women sprint semi-final
 
Race 1, heat 1  
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     11.855  (60.734km/h)
2 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)
 
Race 1, heat 2  
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)              12.076  (59.622km/h)
2 Anna Meares (Australia)
 
Race 1, heat 3  
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     12.307  (58.503km/h)
2 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)
 
Race 2, heat 1  
 
1 Shuang Guo (China)                          11.998  (60.010km/h)
2 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)
 
Race 2, heat 2  
 
1 Shuang Guo (China)                          11.962  (60.191km/h)
2 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)
 
Women sprint 5-8
 
1 Jennie Reed (USA)                           12.459  (57.790km/h)
2 Dana Glöss (Germany)
3 Elisa Frisoni (Italy)
4 Willy Kanis (Netherlands)
 
Men kierin round 2
 
Heat 1  
 
1 Theo Bos (Netherlands)
2 Laurent Gane (France)
3 Joel Leonard (Australia)
4 Dean Edwards (South Africa)
5 Kasper Jessen (Denmark)
6 Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece)
 
Heat 2  
 
1 Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
2 Pavel Buran (Czech Republic)
3 Kin Chung Wong (Hong-Kong)
4 Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
5 Christian Stahl (USA)
6 Angel Martorell (Mexico)
 
Women points race
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                24 pts
2 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    12
3 Yunmei Wu (China)                           10
4 Catherine Sell (New Zealand)                9
5 Belinda Goss (Australia)                    8
6 Marlijn Binnendijk (Netherlands)            6
7 Jaqueline Marshall (Great Britain)          6
8 Wan Yiu Wong (Hong-Kong)                    5
9 Alena Prudnikova (Russia)                   4
10 Leow Hoay Sim Uracca (Malaysia)            1
11 Anna Webb (USA)
12 Katarzyna Jagusiak (Poland)
13 Alias Norazian (Malaysia)
DNF Annalisa Cucinotta (Italy)                3
 
Sprints
 
70 to Go
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                5 pts
2 Belinda Goss (Australia)                    3
3 Catherine Sell (New Zealand)                2
4 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    1
5 Annalisa Cucinotta (Italy)                  0
 
60 to Go
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                5 pts
2 Annalisa Cucinotta (Italy)                  3
3 Catherine Sell (New Zealand)                2
4 Leow Hoay Sim Uracca (Malaysia)             1
5 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    0
 
50 to Go
 
1 Yunmei Wu (China)                           5 pts
2 Alena Prudnikova (Russia)                   3
3 Marlijn Binnendijk (Netherlands)            2
4 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    1
5 Leow Hoay Sim Uracca (Malaysia)             0
 
40 to Go
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                5 pts
2 Jaqueline Marshall (Great Britain)          3
3 Catherine Sell (New Zealand)                2
4 Wan Yiu Wong (Hong-Kong)                    1
5 Alena Prudnikova (Russia)                   0
 
30 to Go
 
1 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                5 pts
2 Catherine Sell (New Zealand)                3
3 Jaqueline Marshall (Great Britain)          2
4 Wan Yiu Wong (Hong-Kong)                    1
5 Anna Webb (USA)                             0
 
20 to Go
 
1 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    5 pts
2 Belinda Goss (Australia)                    3
3 Marlijn Binnendijk (Netherlands)            2
4 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                1
5 Jaqueline Marshall (Great Britain)          0
 
10 to Go
 
1 Giorgia Bronzini (Italy)                    5 pts
2 Rochelle Gilmore (Australia)                3
3 Belinda Goss (Australia)                    2
4 Jaqueline Marshall (Great Britain)          1
5 Alena Prudnikova (Russia)                   0
 
Final
 
1 Yunmei Wu (China)                           5 pts
2 Wan Yiu Wong (Hong-Kong)                    3
3 Marlijn Binnendijk (Netherlands)            2
4 Alena Prudnikova (Russia)                   1
5 Anna Webb (USA)                             0
 
Men keirin 7-12
 
7 Christian Stahl (USA)                       11.296  (63.739km/h)
8 Matthew Crampton (Great Britain)
9 Kasper Jessen (Denmark)
10 Angel Martorell (Mexico)
DNF Dean Edwards (South Africa)
DSQ Panagiotis Keloglou (Greece)
 
Men keirin final
 
1 Theo Bos (Netherlands)                      10.475  (68.735km/h)
2 Laurent Gane (France)
3 Pavel Buran (Czech Republic)
4 Joel Leonard (Australia)
5 Kin Chung Wong (Hong-Kong)
6 Kazunari Watanabe (Japan)
 
Women sprint 3/4 Race #1
 
1 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)                   12.217  (58.934km/h)
2 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)
 
Women sprint 3/4 Race #2
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)              12.180  (59.113km/h)
2 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)
 
Women sprint 3/4 Race #3
 
1 Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands)              12.111  (59.450km/h)
2 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada)
 
Women sprint Final Race #1
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     12.116  (59.426km/h)
2 Shuang Guo (China)
 
Women sprint Final Race #2
 
1 Anna Meares (Australia)                     11.866  (60.678km/h)
2 Shuang Guo (China)
 
Men individual pursuit 3rd and 4th
 
1 Ivan Kovalev (Russia)                       4.36.408  (52.097km/h)
2 Alessandro Mazzolani (Italy)                4.39.554  (51.511km/h)
 
Men individual pursuit final
 
1 Levi Heimans (Netherlands)                  4.25.873  (54.161km/h)
2 Edward Clancy (Great Britain)
 
Men 1000m time trial
 
1 Ben Kersten (Australia)                     1.01.645  (58.399km/h)
2 Tim Veldt (Netherlands)                     1.02.615  (57.494km/h)
3 François Pervis (France)                    1.02.711  (57.406km/h)
4 Jonathan Norfolk (Great Britain)            1.03.434  (56.752km/h)
5 Yusho Oikawa (Japan)                        1.04.545  (55.775km/h)
6 Kin Chung Wong (Hong-Kong)                  1.04.816  (55.542km/h)
7 Travis Smith (Canada)                       1.04.945  (55.432km/h)
8 Marco Jäger (Germany)                       1.05.388  (55.056km/h)
9 Kleanthis Bargas (Greece)                   1.05.426  (55.024km/h)
10 David Cresswell (New Zealand)              1.05.475  (54.983km/h)
11 Liheng Yan (China)                         1.05.504  (54.958km/h)
12 Jamaludin Amirruddin (Malaysia)            1.06.395  (54.221km/h)
13 Adam Ptacnik (Czech Republic)              1.07.123  (53.633km/h)
14 Leandro Botasso (Argentina)                1.07.202  (53.570km/h)

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