Australian Cyclists Set for Mexico World Cup

Cycling Australia has confirmed its 16 riders to contest the second round of the UCI Track World Cup series in Aguascalientes, Mexico starting today through December 7.

The women’s team pursuit will feature two WAIS scholarship holders with 2012 London Olympian Melissa Hoskins joined by fellow Perth cyclist Isabella King in a squad that also includes Amy Cure (TAS), Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSW) and Rebecca Wiasak (ACT).

Australia’s track cyclists began the 2013/14 World Cup season in November with five medals in Manchester through Shane Perkins (sprint), Luke Davison (omnium), Rebecca Wiasak (individual pursuit) and both men’s and women’s team pursuit quartets.

The busy start to the season continued last week with a haul of seventeen gold medals at the 2014 Oceania Championships in New Zealand, with Anna Meares (SA), Matthew Glaetzer (SA),Stephanie Morton (SA) and Davison all claiming titles.

After suffering a virus which forced him to withdraw from the Oceania Championships, Victoria’s Shane Perkinsis fit and ready for racing on the high-altitude velodrome.

“Thankfully I am feeling quite fresh now after seven or eight days off, and I think it was a good decision, although I didn’t like it, to pull myself from Oceanias,” said Perkins, who will line up in the team sprint and keirin in Mexico.

“I have had some great training sessions over the past couple of days and finishing up ahead of flying out on Sunday.

“I haven’t raced there myself, but I have heard so many things about how fast the (Aguascalientes) track is and I am sure we will be seeing some really quick times in the 200.

“I am really looking forward to riding the keirin on a super fast track as it will make for interesting tactics,” said Perkins, who will line up in the Melbourne Cup on Wheels Carnival on December 21 upon his return.

Teams pursuit cyclist Amy Cure is looking forward to hitting the boards for racing after a thorough three week camp in Mexico.

“Our training days have been pretty full on here training on both the road and the track, (in particular) getting used to the altitude,” Cure said from Mexico. “It is a bit of an unknown for us here, as for myself and a lot of us, it is our first experience in altitude.

“But obviously we aim to give it our best shot for the top of the podium next week.”

– CyclingAustralia