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Brits playing coy as Aussies target more track gold

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-23 07:41

Cycling powerhouses to slug it out with eyes on 2012 London Games

PARIS - Britain, France, Australia will be among the nations expected to give an early glimpse of their Olympic potential for London 2012 at the track cycling world championships this week.

Worldbeater Britain, however, continues to keep fans guessing as the countdown to the London Games gathers momentum.

Britain was crowned kings of the Olympic velodrome in Beijing but since its total dominance in 2008 its competitors have been working hard to redress the balance.

Australia arrives at the March 23-27 event in Apeldoorn, Holland with no less than nine defending champions in a squad of 17, having topped the medals table at last year's worlds in Copenhagen.

France, whose strength traditionally lies in the men's sprint and keirin events, boasts the formidable trio of Gregory Bauge, Kevin Sireau and Mickael Bourgain.

Veteran Brit Chris Hoy, who won a record three golds in Beijing, won only one title in Denmark, in the keirin, last year as Germany won the team sprint and Bauge defended his sprint title.

Despite celebrating his 35th birthday this week, Hoy maintains his sights are set firmly on London but hinted it may be best to gauge his true potential a year from now.

"I expect to go well next week, for sure, but I expect to go better at next year's World Championships in Melbourne, which is the most important meeting in terms of Olympic selection, and better still in London," said Hoy.

"In two years, people won't remember how I fared in Apeldoorn but they'll know all about London."

Along with Hoy's keirin gold in Denmark, Victoria Pendleton and Ed Clancy helped save British blushes last year, the pair dominating their respective events in the sprint and Omnium.

Pendleton is bidding for a fifth world sprint title, but will face a strong challenge from Australian Anna Meares.

Meares, Australia's only track medal winner in Beijing with a sprint silver behind Pendleton, recently handed a straight heats defeat to the Englishwoman in the semifinals of the Manchester World Cup round.

She then went on to win a third heat decider over China's Shuang Guo in the gold medal round.

Meares will also team up with Kaarle McCulloch to bid for a hat-trick of golds in the team sprint having won the event in 2009 and 2010.

Australia is also the reigning world champion in the men's and women's teams pursuit, although all eyes could be on Jack Bobridge in the individual event.

Bobridge recently broke Chris Boardman's 4,000 meter pursuit world record, which the Briton set in 1996 in a position which is now banned, in a time of 4 min 10.534 sec.

Although the Aussies are taking these championships seriously, with 16 months and another world championships to go, the British appear to see things differently.

"These world championships are a further stepping stone towards the Olympic Games in London, and whilst the team is building momentum, there's still plenty left in the tank," said British Cycling Performance Director Dave Brailsford.

"The pressure is really on the Australians and the French to deliver, and it's a nice feeling for us to be going out there as the challengers."

While Britain can enjoy that luxury, the rest of the world will be going out to display their Olympic potential - and grab as many qualification points as possible for the ensuing competitions which lead up to the London Games.

Germany, China, New Zealand, Lithuania, Spain and Argentina all have chances to claim medals.

One notable absentee will be Malaysian keirin sensation Azizulhasni Awang, who was forced out of this week's competition when his leg was pierced by a jagged splinter from one of the Manchester boards last month.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 03/23/2011 page23)