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#TrackNats21 Day 2 - Hometown Hero Clonan defends sprint crown

26 Mar 2021 | 10:44 AMBy: Xavier Cordier

Queen Kristina cleans up in sprint

Kristina Clonan stamped her authority on Day 2 of the 2021 AusCycling Track National Championships with a flawless performance to defend her elite women’s sprint crown in front of her hometown crowd.

Clonan, an Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy member, has fast become a force to be reckoned with among Australia’s elite sprinters and continues to show rapid progression in the ranks since making the switch from the endurance program.

The Queenslander overcame her idol and mentor Kaarle McCulloch in the semi-final before defeating South Australia’s Breanna Hargrave in the gold medal final.

Leahy & De Riter claim race against the clock

A nail-biting elite men’s individual pursuit gold medal final duel between the Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy duo of Conor Leahy and James Moriarty captivated the Anna Meares Velodrome crowd.

Leahy, who broke his collarbone only five weeks ago, took command early in the 4000m battle, but Moriarty fought back to reduce the time split at the halfway mark. But the gap was too much of a mountain to climb for Moriarty in the back half of the race, as Leahy charged to back-to-back national titles.

The elite women’s individual pursuit was also a special occasion for a very different reason, with National Road Series rider Samantha de Riter claiming a maiden track national title.

Second-ranked qualifier De Riter proved too good for Australian Cycling Academy Podium Potential Academy member and former junior world champion Lauren Perry in the final as she stormed to her first green and gold jersey.

Rising sprint stars shine

Rising star Alessia McCaig continued her undefeated run at the Championships by winning the U19 women’s keirin final.

It was a day to remember for McCaig, who had earlier in the day broke her own national 500m time trial record on the way to winning gold in the U19 500m time trial final.

The Victorian stopped the clock at 34.354secs, which is just under half a second quicker than her winning time at the 2020 Championships last December.

One of the team highlights of the day was the New South Wales podium sweep in the U19 men’s keirin final.

Daniel Barber, Ryan Britten and Daniel Samuel dominated the final and had the blue corner of the Anna Meares Velodrome up on their feet.

Race to Remember

Zac Marriage and Leo Zimmermann were the chief animators of an electric U19 Madison final which opened the night session of Day 2.

The South Australian pair was steadily eating into the points lead of Victorian pair Tarun Cook and Alex Jones, but with 30 laps remaining, they turned the race on its head with a courageous surge off the front in search of a lap on the main bunch.

Marriage and Zimmermann persisted for close to 25 laps off the front in search of the tantalising 20 points for lapping the field, which came in the dying moments and proved to be the gold medal-winning moment.

They said it

“Kaarle is my idol, and when I switched over (to sprint), she was a really great mentor for me and really took me under her wing so I’m forever grateful. To race against her is just awesome.” – Kristina Clonan

“It’s actually my first national title. It’s taken maybe four or five years … I’m just absolutely stoked and so happy for everyone.” – Samantha de Riter

“I had a bit of a faster schedule in mind, but the legs weren’t quite there. I crashed five weeks ago and broke my collarbone … to come here and win that race, yeah, I’m pretty happy. I went out really hot maybe expecting a bit more than I had in the legs but to hold off in the end feels pretty special.” – Conor Leahy

“This is the first time I’ve been able to ride on this new form and new sort of gears and stuff which has changed the game. I had glandular fever coming into the December nationals, so I didn’t get to race then. But I made some good progress here in Brisbane and moved down to Adelaide at the start of the year and just really kept building on that – I’ve gotten a lot stronger on and off the bike and it’s all starting to come together.” – James Moriarty

Medallists Day 2

Under 19 Women 500m TT Final
2 Laps 500m – Result

Gold
Alessia MCCAIG (VIC)
Silver
Kalinda ROBINSON (NSW)
Bronze
Tyler PUZICHA (NSW)

Under 19 Men 1000m TT Final
4 Laps 1000m – Result

Gold
Daniel BARBER (NSW)
Silver
Dylan EATHER (NSW)
Bronze
Leo ZIMMERMANN (SA)

Under 19 Women Madison Final
80 Laps 20km – Result

Gold
Alyssa POLITES (VIC)
Lucinda STEWART (VIC)
Silver
Sophie MARR (VIC)
Hayley JENKINS (VIC)
Bronze
Alli ANDERSON (SA)
Meg MARKER (SA)

Event 24: Under 19 Men Madison Final
120 Laps 30km – Result

Gold
Leo ZIMMERMANN (SA)
Zac MARRIAGE (SA)
Silver
Dalton STRETTON (TAS)
Hamish MCKENZIE (TAS)
Bronze
Alex JONES (VIC)
Tarun COOK (VIC)

Event 31b: Under 19 Women Keirin Final 1-6

Gold
Alessia MCCAIG (VIC)
Silver
Meg MARKER (SA)
Bronze
Kalinda ROBINSON (NSW)

Event 33a: Elite Women Individual Pursuit Bronze Final
12 Laps 3000m - Result

Bronze
Amber PATE (SA)

Event 33b: Elite Women Individual Pursuit Gold Final
12 Laps 3000m - Result

Gold
Samantha DERITER (VIC)
Silver
Lauren PERRY (TAS)

Event 34b: Under 19 Men Keirin Final 1-6

Gold
Daniel BARBER (NSW)
Silver
Ryan BRITTEN (NSW)
Bronze
Daniel SAMUEL (NSW)

Event 36a: Elite Women Sprint Bronze Final

Bronze
Kaarle MCCULLOCH (NSW)

Event 36b: Elite Women Sprint Gold Final

Gold
Kristina CLONAN (QLD)
Silver
Breanna HARGRAVE (SA)

Event 37a: Elite Men Individual Pursuit Bronze Final
16 Laps 4000m - Result

Bronze
Patrick EDDY (VIC)

Event 37a: Elite Men Individual Pursuit Gold Final
16 Laps 4000m - Result

Gold
Conor LEAHY (WA)
Silver
James MORIARTY (QLD)

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About #TrackNats21

The AusCycling Track National Championships will feature 38 national titles contested over five days of cycling action at the Anna Meares Velodrome from 24-28 March and headlines the 2021 Brisbane Cycling Festival schedule, which will run 24 March – 12 April.

It is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, and the Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Economic Development Agency, and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.