Australia wins 43 titles at 2022 Oceania Track Cycling Championships

Australian athletes won 43 Oceania titles at the recent 2022 Oceania Track Cycling Championships, held at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome and part of the inaugural combined Oceania Championships hosted by the Oceania Cycling Confederation, AusCycling, Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane Economic Development Agency as part of the Brisbane Cycling Festival presented by King St.

The return of the trans-Tasman Oceania rivalry was a welcome one for Australia’s best track riders ahead of an important year of international racing leading up to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Australian Cycling Team stars Matthew Glaetzer, Chloe Moran and Alistair Donohoe were three of Australia’s most prolific title winners over the four days of head-to-head competition against New Zealand.

Glaetzer claimed his sixth Oceania sprint title on an all-Australian podium on day two of racing, having set a new Oceania Championship Record of 9.521 in flying 200m qualifying.

The dominant Glaetzer also added a keirin and team sprint Oceania Championship to his tally, the latter with Thomas Cornish and Matthew Richardson.

Australia’s time of 42.629 was a Championship Record and ended New Zealand’s run of seven consecutive titles in the hotly-contested team sprint event.

Chloe Moran of Australia produced two impressive displays in pulsating bunch race battles with New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston and Bryony Botha throughout the Championships, becoming the first Oceania Elimination Champion on day two ahead of Australian Cycling Team teammate Alex Martin-Wallace and Nicola Macdonald.

Moran returned later that evening hunting for a second gold in a points race mano a mano tussle with Botha over the 80 laps of racing.

The South Australian would eventually win the battle on the final sprint to turn a six-point deficit into a four-point victory.

Australian Cycling Team para-cyclist Donohoe was nothing but speed at the Championships, winning three titles across the individual pursuit, scratch race and team sprint alongside Michael Shippley and Gordon Allan.

Shippley and Allan were two of six Australian para-cyclists to claim two Oceania titles, with Paige Greco, Meg Lemon, Amanda Reid and Kyle Willis completing the list.

In the tandems, it was another victory for the returning Sophie Gallagher and her pilot Caitlin Ward in the 1000m time trial, while Candice Kennedy and Kelly Fettes took gold in the tandem pursuit.

Several records fell at Anna Meares Velodrome during the Championships, with the Brisbane weather pumping out optimal conditions for times to tumble.

Australia’s young team pursuit squad of James Moriarty, Conor Leahy, Josh Duffy, Graeme Frislie and Oliver Bleddyn took out the Oceania Championship in a pulsating race with New Zealand, adding their name to the record books with a time of 3:51.245.

Kristina Clonan carried her form from #TrackNats22 into the Oceania fight, setting a new 500m time trial record of 33.143 to claim gold.

Leahy went one better from his jaw-dropping individual pursuit #TrackNats22 national record ride to knock 2.8 seconds off his new five-day-old marker in qualifying, stopping the clock at 4:07.356.

Unfortunately, the Western Australian fell just short of making it a perfect day, forced to settle for silver against in-form Kiwi Aaron Gate, who was dominant throughout the 2022 Championships.

Australia’s next generation put in a show across the under-19 events, winning all titles on offer bar four.

Ryan Elliott picked up where he left off from #TrackNats22 winning the men’s under-19 sprint, keirin, and team sprint with an Australian Cycling Team selected squad of Jayden Stanton-Keir and Maxwell Liebeknecht, who would go on to win gold in Oceania Championship Record time of 45.873.

The young Queenslander also set a new Oceania Championship benchmark in flying 200m qualifying for the sprint, powering to a time of 10.170.

Other under-19 Oceania Championship Record breakers from the Championships were Emma Stevens in the flying 200m, Sophie Marr in the individual pursuit, Cameron Rogers in the individual pursuit, Australia’s under-19 men’s team pursuit squad (Leo Zimmermann, Dylan Proctor-Parker, Noah Blannin and Tarun Cook), Australia’s under-19 women’s team sprint squad (Emma Stevens, Tyler Puzicha and Lily Stratford), and again Puzicha, who drew level with the 500m time trial Oceania Championship Record.

• Full results

Medal winners:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
  
• Replays

Pictures: Michael Shippley