Olympic Track Program Preview

From Rohan Dennis and his bronze medal effort in the Men’s Individual Time Trial to a flawless Logan Martin gold medal earning run in the inaugural BMX Freestyle event, it’s been a great start to our cycling campaign.

We’ve been so thrilled to see that each and every single one of our athletes has been showcasing the trademark Australian spirit and have represented our country so proudly over the last week.

The completion of the BMX Freestyle events over the weekend means that over half our cycling team are now set to kick up their feet and become the unofficial support crew for the track team over the next seven days!

Now it’s time for everybody at home to do the same by cheering for our track stars on their quest for Olympic glory!

So, who are our best medal chances?

With our track team consisting of eight male and six female athletes, there will always be a chance for us to get on the podium. But who should we keep an eye on in particular?

Annette Edmondson has already had a taste of success at the Olympics back in 2012 when she received a bronze medal for her efforts in the Omnium event in London. Annette also performed strongly in the Team Pursuit event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, taking home gold.

Kaarle McCulloch will be a familiar name for many who watched the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Kaarle walked away with gold in the Team Sprint event alongside Stephanie Morton (retired), while taking silver and bronze in the Keirin and Individual Sprint events.

Sam Welsford will have his eyes firmly focused on Gold in Tokyo after winning silver in the Team Pursuit event in Rio, 2016. Sam also won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games for the Team Pursuit. His team will be set to compete well this week.

Matthew Glaetzer is another who performed strongly at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, taking home gold in the Keirin event. Matthew is yet to take home an Olympic medal after falling agonizingly short in Rio, placing fourth in both the Individual and Team Sprint events.

You can check out our entire cycling squad in greater depth below

Australian Cycling Team - Tokyo 2020

Well, when can I watch?

Our track cyclists will be competing for medals on our screens every day this week! Each session will begin with qualifying races before progressing into medal opportunities for our team each day.

Monday 2nd August – 4:30PM until 7:30PM AEST

• Women’s Team Sprint Finals

Tuesday 3rd August – 4:30PM until 7:10PM AEST

• Women’s Team Pursuit Finals
• Men’s Team Sprint Finals

Wednesday 4th August – 4:30PM until 8:00PM AEST

• Men’s Team Pursuit Finals

Thursday 5th August – 4:30PM until 7:50PM AEST

• Women’s Keirin Final
• Men’s Omnium Points Race

Friday 6th August – 4:30PM until 8:15PM AEST

• Women’s Madison Final
• Men’s Sprint Finals

Saturday 7th August – 4:30PM until 7:25PM AEST

• Men’s Madison Final
  

Sunday 8th August – 11:00AM until 2:15PM AEST

• Women’s Sprint Finals
• Men’s Keirin Final
• Women’s Omnium Points Race

You can tune in to the races on Channel 7 and 7Mate. Alternatively, you can access the broadcast via the 7plus website or the 7plus app on your smart devices.

Wait. Can you explain what the events are?

New to cycling? Are you unsure of what each event actually is? No worries! Here’s a brief run down of what to expect out of each discipline!

Sprint & Team Sprint
It is what it sounds like! It’s a short and frantically paced race for ultimate glory that is held over three-laps. The team variant includes stints from multiple individual riders who tap in and out of the race.

Team Pursuit
This is more of an endurance race where each team rides in a straight-line quartet. The goal is to maintain high speeds while making the most of the aerodynamics benefits caused by the front rider. Each member of the team takes the spot at the front throughout the race but each must be careful not to leave riders behind or to push too far ahead. A test of skill and tactical prowess!

Keirin
This is a traditional Japanese event where a special motorized bike called a ‘derny’ leads the riders up to a speed of 50km/h over the first 1400m of the race. The riders jostle for position during this period in preparation for the derny to leave the track, setting up a frantic race to the finish line.

Omnium
This is essentially the cycling version of the athletics decathlon! It’s a medley of different cycling events, including a Flying Lap, a Points Race, Individual Pursuit, Scratch Race, Kilometre Time Trial and an elimination race where a rider is eliminated every two laps!

Madison
Returning to the Track this year is the Madison event, which is a long-distance affair where teams help each other to the finish line while accumulating points throughout the race. See the video below for a complete run down of how riders are rewarded with points:

Still unsure? You can do some further reading on each event here:
https://www.olympics.com.au/sports/cycling/