UCI Sydney Track World Cup 2006

March 4, 2006; Day 2; >Sydney World Track Cup
British Cycling's Larry Hickmott reports |

Back to: Sydney World Cup Day 2

Wendy Houvenhagel: gold in the Pursuit

"I really enjoyed this second chance in a final because you know a medal is there for the taking, it's just a case of which one. Having lost in the World Cup Moscow by less than a second to a Chinese girl, I was determined this time not to allow that to happen again. I was very careful with my first kilometre, because in the qualifiers, I think I went out a bit too fast. This time I feel I judged the pace a bit better."

"It's a bit surreal at the moment and I'm just thoroughly enjoy pursuiting and any medals and titles are a great bonus."

I then put it to her that there could not have been a better build up to the Commonwealth Games for her? "That's correct, I feel having had a chance to race in front of the Australian crowd will pay dividends in Melbourne."

Wendy also has a chance of making the team for the World Championships in France if she can meet the performance goals the team have set her. On this, she says "I hope so and it would give me great pleasure to represent my country in the Pursuit."

National Women's coach Dan Hunt (pictured with Wendy) said of the result "we selected Wendy for the Commonwealth Games on the strength of her national title and took her to Moscow and she showed a lot of promise. She is not the complete package yet, but we are hoping to work with her and help her become the champion she wants to become. I think we have made some big steps forward in the short time we have been working with her and we'll be tracking her performances in the Commonwealth Games to see where we go from there."

Chris Newton: bronze in the Points Race

After getting his medal, Chris got on the rollers to warm down and I asked was the race as brutal as it looked? "It was a tough one because sometimes it is harder when the standard is mixed. Everyone is giving it their all, and trying to be in the bike race but you find they can't do turns or the turns are short and you end up on the front all the time. It is hard to pick the right move sometimes."

"I was quite content with the bronze and so just marked the rider I had to, to ensure he wasn't in the Points. It's job done though."

Turning to his form, he said, "it's there. I think the speed is not as high as I would like at the moment but the foundation is and that's why we are here to work on that for the Commonwealth Games. This event has been ideal really."

He also touched on how his injuries from the Tour of Langkawi have affected him saying "the injuries on my arm are insignificant really because it is the bang on my hips that have been a problem because at speeds like that, you need to be able pedal fluidly and it felt like both my legs weren't working together out there."

Jamie Staff: 8th in the Sprint

Speaking to Jamie before the minor final he explained "I still lack experience in this event. Really I haven't done too many sprint events since I started riding especially in the last couple of years so I lack confidence and knowledge in the event. Guys are trying to give me tips and stuff but its not the same unless you're on the track. Learning what to do in a certain position and there are so many variables."

"In BMX I used to race every single weekend but this in the three or four years I have been doing it, I have raced not even half a doze sprint events. It frustrates me a lot. I was happy with how my legs felt in the time trial , it's just experience I need. Unfortunately I haven't been able to attend races to try and gain that experience and I'm hoping to change that next winter, may be even the summer. Do some six day sprints perhaps, Grand Prix's and stuff in Europe and try and race a bit more.

"I don't know if am doing this at the Worlds as my focus is the Keirin and Team Sprint but I'm just happy to be competing again. It helps being here to get the brain going again, it motivates you and I'm enjoying it. I love racing."

Team Pursuit Qualifying

The Olympic Academy coach Rod Ellingworth said of the team's qualifying ride, "They did okay and there was a lot of positive things in there to take away from the ride. I'm pleased they got a second ride which considering three days ago we only had half a team because Ed and Andy were really on their knees, it is good. What was also good about their ride, was they didn't go off really fast and die off. They held a level pace, even when they were not feeling particularly good but we can do more. We have to remember, this ride was about moving forward, progressing and not the here and now."

Team Pursuit Finals

Going back to Rod Ellingworth again, he said "All of them did everything that was expected of them". Ed was asked to go as far as he could on that last turn and then pull off and I'm really pleased. They went under 4.10 which was good because their original performance goal was a 4.07 but what with injuries and illness, we knew that wasn't going to happen so we revised it to be under 4.10."

I then went and fittingly spoke to Geraint Thomas who last year missed the chance of a medal as he was on the operating table after a road accident before the World Cup began. "We came here with high hopes of getting a medal and a fast time which we didn't get because of illness and that. We were a bit disappointed with the qualification ride because we felt we could have gone a second or two quicker but we didn't ride it tactically very well. We were all really up for that final ride and felt we had a point to prove. The main goal over the whole winter has been to go under 4.10 and our times for each of the events we did in the World Cup series show that we have been progressing and also that we can deliver on the day when the pressure is really on."

On a personal level, I said to Geraint he looked good out there, which is good for him and the Wales team with the Games approaching. "I have quite good form after Langkawi and have managed to get some speed in my legs and I feel really good."