Four WAIS Athletes on Cyclones World Cup Team
Cycling Australia has included four WAIS-AIS athletes in the Cyclones team to contest the final round of the UCI Track World Cup Series being staged in London from 16 to 18 February.
Track World Champions Josie Tomic and Luke Durbridge head the WAIS-AIS contingent whilst in-form Mel Hoskins and sprinter Scott Sunderland round-out a strong Western Australian contingent for what is expected to be highly competitive world cup meet with the London Olympics looming large.
“This will be our only opportunity to race on the Olympic velodrome and familiarise both athletes and staff with the environment ahead of the Games. The World Cup will help sharpen our team focus, knowing that there is just over 180 days to go before first event of the Olympic track program,” said Cycling Australia’s National Performance Director, Kevin Tabotta. “It will also give us an idea of where the rest of the world is in terms of preparation for the upcoming World Championships in Melbourne in April.”
Tabotta says tough decisions have had to be made by selectors and communicated to the athletes who have not been selected for the London world cup round.
“We are on target to qualify the maximum track places for the Games so the focus now it to ensure we are in the best possible position to win medals in London. That means setting targets for teams and individuals and making sure they know what is expected of them as we come close to nominating teams for the worlds and the Olympic Games.”
The Cyclones head to the London World Cup Round with an impressive line up of world champions including sprint and keirin champion Anna Meares along with her team sprint world champion partner Kaarle McCulloch. In the men’s sprint events Shane Perkins sports the rainbow stripes of keirin world champion.
Selectors have named six track endurance men including Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Luke Durbridge and Michael Hepburn, who are the reigning team pursuit world champions while Bobridge also has the 2011 individual pursuit world tile to his name. 2011 junior world champion, Alex Edmondson and 2012 Omnium national champion Glenn O’Shea are also in the mix for a seat on the plane but only five of the six will be heading to London.
The four round World Cup series kicked off in Astana last November before heading to Colombia in December and China earlier this month. The London round is also the official ‘London Prepares’ track cycling test event for the London Olympic Games being staged on the Olympic velodrome.
After the World Cup Series the world’s best cyclists will head to Melbourne to contest the 2012 UCI Track World Championships . The Australian Cyclones for the world championships will be named on 14 March.
Cycling Australia this week announced the riders selected in the junior Cyclones team to contest the 2012 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Invercargill, New Zealand from the 22 to 26 August.
Five members of the team will be lining up for the second time having contested the 2011 world titles in Russia and will be joined by nine riders making their track world championships debut.
Jack Cummings, Alex Morgan, Goergia Baker and Taylah Jennings head to New Zealand as defending world champions in the team pursuit events with Jennings also the reigning omnium world champion.
WAIS is again well represented in the Cyclones squad, with Allee Proud preparing for her second tilt at Junior World Championship level, whilst Trent Derecourt and Kelsey Robson will make their Junior World Championship debut.
-Cycling Australia