Teenager Alex Edmondson could be two weeks and a world titles away from cementing his place in Australia’s gun team pursuit and a near certain Olympic medal.
The 18-year-old cyclist has quickly emerged from two junior world titles last year to being part of the senior world champion team and one of Australia’s best chances of gold in London.
While Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn are close to being locked in for the four-man pursuit team at the Olympics, Edmondson staked his claim when he joined them in setting a national record at the recent World Cup leg in London.
The South Australian knocked reigning world champion Luke Durbridge out of the team in London and has the chance to firm up his place when the pursuiters defend their world title in Melbourne from April 4.
“At the end of the day, if you keep doing these sorts of results – someone like Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn who are continually putting themselves on the chopping block and continually delivering, then you would think their chances of remaking the team are logically higher,” Cycling Australia’s performance director Kevin Tabotta said.
“For someone like Alex, he’s started that process. For us, it’s trying to determine whether Alex can continue to deliver.
“That’s his challenge right now. Everything we put in front of him, he’s stepped up and said ‘I can do this’.
“Right now, it’s up to him to do that over the next two and a half weeks.”
With world champion Durbridge dumped from the track endurance squad earlier this week, Edmondson has the edge on Glenn O’Shea, Cam Meyer and Mitchell Mulhearn for that final spot in the pursuit.
Only five track endurance riders can be taken to the Olympics, with the pursuit taking the priority over the multi-event, single-person omnium.
“Once the world titles are out of the way in April, we’ll know where we stand in the men’s omnium,” Tabotta said.
“But our priority right now, quite clearly, is the men’s team pursuit.
“We will be looking at a core of five riders. There will be five guys targeted for the team pursuit. Within that five, one will be targeted for the omnium, subject to us believing we have someone able to win a medal in the omnium at the Olympic Games.”
O’Shea’s recent good results in the omnium as well as his pursuit abilities give him a headstart.
The team for the Melbourne world championships will be named next Wednesday with an endurance squad which could extend to eight riders.
The squad is approaching its most crucial phase in the lead up to the Olympics, with a series of trials starting on Monday before the world titles.
“That will tell us over the next two weeks what the final composition of the team will be,” Tabotta said.