Two outstanding performances at the national championships on Friday showcased the strength of the Australian track cycling build-up to the London Olympics.
South Australia broke the national all-comers’ record for the 4000m men’s team pursuit with a world-class time of three minutes 56.834 seconds at the Adelaide Superdrome.
SA’s Annette Edmondson also made the most of the ideal conditions by setting the 3000m individual pursuit all-comers’ record twice in one day.
Edmondson rode 3:30.586 in qualifying to break the then world record 3:30.604 set by New Zealand legend Sarah Ulmer at the 2004 world championships in Melbourne.
The Australian broke her own mark on Friday night by nearly half a second in winning the senior pursuit national title for the first time, riding 3:30.078.
Cycling Australia national performance director Kevin Tabotta noted the 30-plus Adelaide temperature contributed to the fast times, but also conceded the signs were ideal at the start of an Olympic year.
“We always take everything in context and we look at conditions – we do always have great conditions when we race the national titles in Australia,” he said.
“In saying that, you’ve still got to knock the times out.
“The best thing about this process is that the athletes gain confidence out of it.”
SA’s quartet featured world team pursuit champions Jack Bobridge and Rohan Dennis, along with national team contender Glenn O’Shea and first-year senior Alex Edmondson – Annette’s younger brother.
Australia rode 3:57 to win last year’s world titles, although the March weather in The Netherlands was nowhere near as favourable as it was in Adelaide.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of SA’s record – the first time an Australian state team has broken the four-minute barrier – was Dennis’ recovery from their qualifying ride.
He was dropped as they qualified fastest in 4:02.567 and was clearly suffering from his busy month of road racing at the national titles and the Tour Down Under.
But Dennis rallied brilliantly to play a key role as they caught Queensland in the final.
It was also Bobridge’s first track ride since last year’s world titles and a great recovery from the hand injury he suffered earlier this month in a crash at the road nationals.
The record is another boost to O’Shea as he makes a late bid to break into the pursuit team for the world titles in Melbourne this April and then the Olympics.
The two outstanding women’s individual pursuit rides mean Edmondson will undoubtedly be in the Australian team pursuit squad for next month’s London World Cup round.
Tabotta noted that she rode quicker in the final.
“We rarely see, particularly in women’s individual pursuiting at a national level, an athlete go faster,” Tabotta said.
There is fierce competition in the women’s track endurance squad for spots in the team pursuit ahead of the worlds and the Olympics.
Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSW) won the silver and Josie Tomic (WA) was third, while WA was third in the team pursuit.
