WAIS Athletes Compete at Junior Track Champs

Two WAIS cyclists took to the boards on the opening day of the UCI Junior Track World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland.

Debutant Jade Haines and Tahlay Christie – who is contesting these titles for the second time – were both in action for Australia, with Haines part of a record breaking women’s team pursuit effort.

Australia set the third fastest time in qualifying, with their effort of 4:36.762mins setting a new Australian record as the group prepare for the first round against New Zealand on Thursday, which will determine if the girls ride for gold or bronze in the medal round.

The Australian team of Haines, Kristina Clonan, Nicola McDonald and Ruby Roseman-Gannon has now set its sights on improving on that time again.

“Setting a new Australian Record in qualifying feels really good and gives us a bit of a boost heading into the semis and finals tomorrow, but we are hungry to improve our time,” Clonan said, speaking on behalf of the group after their qualifying ride.

“After speaking with Jason Niblett (coach) there are a few areas which we can refine heading into tomorrow, so we are very keen to get on the boards again and pedal our legs off.”

Tahlay Christie and her Queensland teammate Brooke Tucker finished seventh in the women’s team sprint, after posting a time of 28.915secs across the two laps.

New Zealand claimed gold in 28.006secs with Italy (28.357) and China (28.312) rounding out the podium.

-with CyclingAus