#TrackNats21 Day 1 - King Cornish Takes Out The 1000m TT

The 2021 AusCycling Track National Championships launched into action at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome on Wednesday with a record-breaking night of action.

Thomas Cornish, a member of the Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy, scorched the track with a time of 59.598secs en route to winning the elite men’s 1000m time trial title.

The history books were rewritten on the opening night firstly through the Victorian under 19 women’s team pursuit outfit smashing the clock with a time of 4mins 32.984secs.

Records Tumble in the Team Pursuit

The victorious performance of Alyssa Polites, Sophie Marr, Lucinda Stewart and Hayley Jenkins was nearly four seconds better than the previous record (4:36.792) set by the Australian Junior Team in 2011.

South Australia’s elite women’s team pursuit squad of Amber Pate, Kat Chung-Orr, Chloe Moran, Sophie Edwards and Bree Hargreave were not keen on missing the opening night record-breaking party either.

The SA crew rode to their full potential in the gold medal final vs Queensland, posting a Championship record time of 4mins 24.705secs.

Clonan Goes Back-To-Back

Rising sprint star Kristina Clonan (QLD) defended her green and gold jersey in the elite women’s 500m time trial.

The proud Queenslander loves putting on a show in front of her home crowd and was over the moon to notch back-to-back national titles in the event.

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY

Cornish has been flirting with a sub-minute 1000m TT ever since breaking the World Junior Record in Aigle, Switzerland, at the 2018 UCI World Junior Championships but was still yet to do so before yesterday.

The Shire boy was a picture of jubilation upon realising what he had achieved, highlighting just how special the performance was to him.

THEY SAID IT

I’m absolutely stoked to have gone under (the minute) by half a second almost … it’s unbelievable – I can’t really describe it to be honest. I was not expecting it.” – Thomas Cornish
“We were really happy with that ride. Our coach Brett has coached five teams to gold in the pursuit and he’s a great coach. All the girls rode amazingly.” – Chloe Moran
“I feel like where I’m at in this moment … I’m kind of just riding everything. I honestly show up every day with the mindset I’m going to go hard and I’m not boycotting anything.” – Kristina Clonan
“We’ve got four mullets here. Mullet power gives you an extra 50 watts.” – Jensen Plowright

Medallists Day 1

Event c7: Under 19 Women Team Pursuit16 Laps 4000mGoldAlyssa POLITES (VIC)Sophie MARR (VIC)Lucinda STEWART (VIC)Hayley JENKINS (VIC)SilverAlli ANDERSON (SA)Meg MARKER (SA)Eloise SANDOW (SA)Jaqui VOLTZ (SA)BronzeRebel BROOKER (NSW)Haylee FULLER (NSW)Emily STRUMFIN (NSW)Tyler PUZICHA (NSW)Event c8: Under 19 Men Team Pursuit16 Laps 4000mGoldLeo ZIMMERMANN (SA)Zac MARRIAGE (SA)Aston FRIETH (SA)Jai FIELKE (SA)SilverDalton STRETTON (TAS)Jack MENZIES (TAS)Will EAVES (TAS)Hamish MCKENZIE (TAS)BronzeMitchell YARDE (QLD)James PANIZZA (QLD)Tyler TOMKINSON (QLD)Conor WATSON (QLD)Event c9: Elite Women 500m2 Laps 500mGoldKristina CLONAN (QLD)SilverBree HARGREAVE (SA)BronzeCaitlin WARD (VIC)Event c10: Under 19 Women Team Sprint3 Laps 750mGoldGeorgia BONORA (NSW)Tyler PUZICHA (NSW)Kalinda ROBINSON (NSW)SilverEmma STEVENS (VIC)Isabelle CARNES (QLD)Deneaka BLINCO (QLD)Event c11: Under 19 Men Team Sprint3 Laps 750mGoldMaxwell LIEBEKNECHT (SA)Dylan STANTON (SA)Jacob KOOP (SA)SilverRyan BRITTEN (NSW)Daniel SAMUEL (NSW)Daniel BARBER (NSW)BronzeRyan ELLIOTT (QLD)Lachlan HALLMARK (QLD)Ephraim MARTENSON (QLD)Event c12: Elite Men 1000m TT4 Laps 1000mGoldTom CORNISH (NSW)SilverJosh DUFFY (TAS)BronzeByron DAVIES (QLD)

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.

Live Streaming

The Championships will be live-streamed via the AusCycling YouTube channel and SBS Cycling Central’s Facebook Page.

Thursday 25 March 2021 6.30pm AEST (7.30pm AEDT)
Friday 26 March 2021 6.30pm AEST (7.30pm AEDT)
Saturday 27 March 2021 6.30pm AEST (7.30pm AEDT)
Sunday 28 March 2021 11am AEST (12pm AEDT)

Quick Links

Official website - tracknationals.org.au
Tickets - tracknationals.org.au/tickets
Results - tracknationals.org.au/results