Day 3 Review - AusCycling Track National Championships

Para National Championships Recap

Rainbow jerseys were on display on the third day of the 2021 AusCycling Para Track National Championships with Paige Greco, Emily Petricola, and David Nicholas in their respective Individual Pursuit events.

Para Women C3 Individual Pursuit World Champion Paige Greco added another national title to her list of achievements at the Anna Meares Velodrome.

Proud of her performance, Greco won in a blistering time of 3:59.401, a reflection of consistent training.

“It feels really good to be national champion, I’m proud of my performance as I tend to struggle with my split times, but I was consistent today, so it was good ride. I remained consistent in my training in the lead up to this event so to it’s been good to come into the competition knowing that I’ll be on form and can get these fantastic results” said Greco.

Para Women C4 Individual Pursuit World Champion Emily Petricola didn’t let tough conditions stop her from reaching the top step of the podium.

“It was very tough and humid today, so I went a little slower than what I’m capable of but it’s always a great feeling to pull on the national jersey and that’s all that matters really.”

“My preparation for the event was slightly interrupted having relocated from Adelaide to Queensland three months ago but I’ve still put out a decent time for myself and I couldn’t be any more proud to achieve this result” said Petricola.

The hometown crowd got behind the Para Men C3 Individual Pursuit World Champion David Nicholas, as he surged for the finish line 18 seconds ahead of teammate Kyle Willis who placed second.

Darren Hicks was looking for more in the Para Men C2 Individual Pursuit, though acknowledged the significance of winning the national jersey.

“I was hoping for a PB today, but my focus is building until next year’s nationals, to come away with the national champions jersey is still a special achievement” said Hicks.

New South Welsh rider Amanda Reid secured gold with a convincing lead of 32.56 seconds ahead of Victorian Annaliese Hodge in the Para Women C2 Individual Pursuit.

In the Para Women C5 Individual Pursuit South Australian Bronwyn Dolman secured the top step of the podium.

South Australia was again represented on the podium in the Para WB Individual Pursuit with Candice Kennedy in a time of 3:47.936.

Patrick Best rode the best time in the Para Men C4 Individual Pursuit securing Tasmania another gold medal.

Victorian Alistair Donohoe caught his South Australian rival Daniel Van Der Laan to secure gold in the Para Men C5 Individual Pursuit.

Victoria completed the Para AWII Women Individual Pursuit podium after a stellar performance from Georgia Powning who won ahead of her teammate Molly Thatcher.

Nathan Glarvey rode strongly for a convincing win in front of a hometown crowd, with a 36.80 second lead ahead of Victorian Andre Ascui who placed second.

South Australian Madelen McNeil rode strongly in the Para WB Sprint to secure herself a gold medal.

South Australia was represented on the Para MB Sprint podium with Beau Wootton taking the crown. Queenslander Jordan Carroll placed second.

Elite/U19 National Championships Recap

The home crowd sat in disbelief as local talent, Liam Walsh (Queensland) had the omnium gold medal ripped from his grasp in the final sprint of the final event, the points race. Connor Leahy (Western Australia) came away with the gold medal after winning the final sprint, as Kurt Eather (New South Wales) was rewarded for his consistent efforts across the four events with the bronze medal. When asked about his thrilling victory, Leahy went on to describe how the odds fell in his favour.

“I was a bit off the pace in my tempo and scratch race events, so I knew I had to pull of something special in the final points race. It came right down to the wire and I just had good positioning going into the final sprint, which I needed to win to claim gold overall, and managed to cross the line first which was great” said Leahy.

New South Wales rider Emily Watts successfully rode to plan securing a national crown in the Elite Women’s Point Race.

“I’ve tried a few times already to win the national points race in years gone by so to win it today it feels really good. I was surprised by a few of the other girls that went out and took laps so I worked hard to take laps of my own, which I’ve not been able to do in years gone past, so to have my pre-race plan come to fruition was really nice” said Watts.

Watts was joined on the podium by Josie Talbot and Amber Pate.

The South Australian trio of Leigh Hoffman, James Brister and Carlos Carisimo claimed another gold medal for their state in the Elite Men Team sprint.

Lucinda Stewart (Victoria) proved too strong in the U19 Women’s omnium winning three out of the four events on offer. Second place in the tempo was the only blight in Stewart’s omnium campaign as she finished 20 points clear of second place, Haylee Fuller (New South Wales). Lilliana McLennan (Queensland) rode herself onto the podium for the bronze medal after gaining enough points in the final points race.

After breaking a 12-year-old national record in the 500m TT earlier in the week, Alessia McCaig (Victoria) made it gold medal number two for the championships after beating Kalinda Robinson (New South Wales) in two rounds for the sprint title. Ella Sibley (South Australia) made her way onto the podium once more this week, this time for the bronze medal.

Danny Barber (New South Wales) claimed his third gold medal for the championships in the U19 Men’s Sprint. Having already claimed top honours in the Keirin and 1000m Time Trial, Barber capped off a successful week by putting away the eventual silver medalist, Maxwell Liebeknecht (South Australia), in two rounds. Local rider Ryan Elliott (Queensland) made his way onto the podium for the bronze medal.

Queenslander Declan Trezise collected his fourth gold medal in the Under Men Points Race with an impressive 8 point lead ahead of South Australian Zack Marriage. Queensland teammate Mitchell Yarde won bronze.

Day 3 Champions

Para Women C2 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Amanda Reid (New South Wales)

Silver: Annaliese Hodge (Victoria)

Para Women C3 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Paige Greco (South Australia)

Para Women C4 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Emily Petricola (Victoria)

Silver: Meg Lemon (South Australia)

Para Women C5 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Bronwyn Dolman (South Australia)

Para WB Individual Pursuit

Gold: Candice Kennedy (South Australia)

Para Men C2 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Darren Hicks (Queensland)

Silver: Gordon Allan (New South Wales)

Para Men C3 Individual Pursuit

Gold: David Nicholas (Queensland)

Silver: Kyle Willis (Queensland)

Para Men C4 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Patrick Best (Tasmania)

Para Men C5 Individual Pursuit

Gold: Alistair Donohoe (Victoria)

Silver: Daniel Van Der Laan (South Australia)

Para AWII Women Individual Pursuit

Gold: Georgia Powning (Victoria)

Silver: Molly Thatcher (Victoria)

Para AWII Men Individual Pursuit

Gold: Nathan Glarvey (Queensland)

Silver: Andre Ascui (Victoria)

Bronze: Nathan Broeren (Victoria)

Para WB Sprint

Gold: Madelen McNeil (South Australia)

Para MB Sprint

Gold: Beau Wootton (South Australia)

Silver: Jordan Carroll (Queensland)

U19 Women Omnium

Gold: Lucinda Stewart (Victoria)

Silver: Haylee Fuller (New South Wales)

Bronze: Lilliana McLennan (Queensland)

U19 Women Sprint

Gold: Alessia McCaig (Victoria)

Silver: Kalinda Robinson (New South Wales)

Bronze: Ella Sibley (South Australia)

U19 Men Sprint

Gold: Danny Barber (New South Wales)

Silver: Maxwell Liebeknecht (South Australia)

Bronze: Ryan Elliott (Queensland)

U19 Men Points Race

Gold: Declan Trezise (Queensland)

Silver: Zack Marriage (South Australia)

Bronze: Mitchell Yarde (Queensland)

Elite Women Points Race

Gold: Emily Watts (New South Wales)

Silver: Josie Talbot

Bronze: Amber Pate

Elite Men Omnium

Gold: Connor Leahy (Western Australia)

Silver: Liam Walsh (Queensland)

Bronze: Kurt Eather (New South Wales)

Elite Men Team Sprint

Gold: South Australia
Leigh Hoffman, James Brister, Carlos Carismo

2020 TrackNats Quick Guide

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