Track Cycling World Cup 2012: Day 2 - The World Records Tumble

With the Olympics only five months away, the Olympic Velodrome was set alight with World Records.

All the riders were eager to show their form, at the test event, and it was Australia and Great Britain leading the way. Australia were the first team to win gold, when Melissa Hoskins went with 2km to go in the women’s scratch race. Hoskins managed to leave the rest of the field behind and take a great solo victory.

Women’s Team Sprint

Great Britain were next up and have changed their Women’s Team Sprint line-up, since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, but they are no less a force to be reckoned with. Jess Varnish has been solely focused on training for the opening lap and it showed when she set a British record in the heats. All the pressure was put on the five time Individual Sprint champion, Victoria Pendleton, to fight back.

Track World Championships - Day 2

Great Britain destroyed their rivals, to take a dominant gold medal in the women’s team pursuit in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

Women’s Team Pursuit

The team of Wendy Houvenaghel, Laura Trott and Danielle King demolished the United States, by almost two seconds. The result is proved all the better, considering Trott and King were making their Elite debuts at World level. New Zealand took their first medal of the championships, by beating Australia in to third. The slow track at Apeldoorn has caught a few people out, but the British team made sure they were perfectly honed for it and it showed.

Track Cycling World Cup - Round Up Day 1

Manchester played host to the final World Cup event of the track season and with the World Championships in Apeldoorn only a month away, this one meant business.

The opening day of the World Cup was an all out battle between Great Britain and Australia, with Kevin Sireau of France the only one from neither nation to take gold. Australia claimed both the men’s pursuit and women’s team sprint. Anna Meares continued her great season by taking gold with Kaarle McCoulloch, by three tenths over China. Star of the European Championships Sandie Clair had to settle for bronze, when she and Clara Sanchez beat Great Britain.

In the men’s individual pursuit Rohan Dennis beat British Road Champion by nearly half a second to take gold. Dennis won Gold in last year’s team pursuit at the World Championship, but this year he will be looking for the individual. Great Britain took their first gold in the women’s team pursuit and almost smashed the record in the process.