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Dauphiné Libéré
Photo ©: Sirotti


World Track Championships - CM

Melbourne, Australia, May 26-30, 2004

Event program and results

Day 1 Wrap

Morning session

Action from the first heat
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
Click for larger image

The hastily-scheduled morning session on the first day of the World Track Championships was devoted entirely to heats for the men's points race.With only three riders out of 27 to be eliminated, the biggest surprise of the morning was the DNF of a rider who has been riding strongly in the world cup, but whose form deserted him this morning.

Evening session

Riders down!
Photo ©: Mark Gunter
Click for larger image

On a rainy Thursday night, the Vodafone Arena looked like a pretty comfortable place to be for the crowd that filed in from the cold to catch all the action in the team sprint, the final of the points race and the qualifiers of the individual pursuit.

Both of the gold medals on offer this evening went to riders from the same nation, and there was lots of self-conciliatory talk among the runners up about preparing for the Olympic Games in Athens - but as one bronze medallist put it, "My expectations were higher."

But after a masterful display of points racing, and some thrilling action in the team sprint, with all three medal-winning teams cracking 60km/hr, the crowd's expectations seemed fulfilled.

Photography

Images by Mark Gunter