Countries with riders entered for Melbourne
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong-China, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine and the USA.
Trade teams with riders entered for Melbourne
Bike Technologies Australia, Cofidis, Cespa – Euskadi, G-race Institute of Speed Pro Cycling Team, Giant Pro Cycling, Hong Kong Pro Cycling, Team Jayco, Katyusha Team, Posh of Holmwood, Rodin, Salamander, Team Sky + HD and Verducci Breakaway Racing.
RIDERS
Anna Meares AUS/QLD 26 - Olympic gold medallist, 500m time trial, Athens 2004
The “Queen of the Boards” shot to fame when she took gold in the 500m time trial at the Athens Olympics.
But it was her brave performance in the 2008 that truly won the hearts of the Australian public. Her Olympic dream, along with the ability to walk, almost came to an end with a horrific crash during the keirin at the Los Angeles world cup in January.
Meares fought her way back and won Australia’s only medal on the track when she got the silver medal in the sprint.
Her long list of achievements also includes three world titles.
Ed Clancy GBR 24 – Olympic gold medallist, team pursuit, Beijing 2008
Olympic champion and world record holder Ed Clancy will be a key member of the British team pursuit squad in Melbourne.
The 24-year-old was part of the quartet in Beijing that smashed Australia’s world record and set a new bench mark of 3:53.314 for the 4000m event.
Clancy will be joined in Melbourne by Steven Burke and Andrew Tennant who formed part of the team that convincingly won the team pursuit recently in Manchest.
Walter Perez AGR 34 – Olympic gold medallist, madison, Beijing 2008
Argentina may be better known for its success in the World Cup on the soccer pitch but the home of Diego Maradona has also produced world class cyclist, including current Olympic champion in the madison Walter Perez.
The 34-year-old Perez will be lining up in Melbourne with Luis Fernandez in the Madison despite an recent interruption to his training that saw him arrested for illegally training on the Autopiste del Oeste, one of the few roads in Buenos Aires that riders consider safe enough to train on.
Chris Newton GBR 36 - Olympic silver medallist team pursuit Athens 2004, bronze in points race Beijing 2008
As a duel world points race champion Chris Newton will be the experienced hand on the British squad.
Newton first rode the Olympics in 1996 and finished 10th in the team pursuit, collected bronze in the same event in Sydney 2000 and silver behind Australian in 2004.
At the Beijing Olympics he missed out on a spot in the team pursuit squad but managed to grab the bronze medal in the points race.
He will arrive in Melbourne with good form having won the points race at the first round of the world cup in Manchester.
Shane Perkins AUS/VIC 22
The 2008/09 track season was the coming of age Shane Perkins.
Perkins won the sprint at the Melbourne round of the Track World Cup, his first individual win at that level.
The Victorian didn’t slow down as he went on to win the sprint, team sprint, keirin and kilo at the Australian championships, which was topped off by victory in the Ausrral Wheelrace.
Under the guidance of his coach Sean Eddie the 22-year-old has been racing the keirin series in Japan to sharpen his obvious talent.
Daniel Ellis AUS/ACT 21
After a junior career that was overshadowed by others in the Australian team Daniel Ellis stepped in to the light when he claimed a spot on the Beijing Olympic team where he finished fourth in the team sprint alongside Shane Kelly and Ryan Bayley.
At the 2009 Australian Championships Shane Perkins got the better of Ellis but the 21-year-old from the ACT came out on top at the Oceania Championships where he claimed the sprint and team sprint title.
Scott Sunderland AUS/WA 21
The powerfully built Scott Sunderland dominated the junior ranks winning the junior world championship in the 1km individual time trial and silver in the sprint before stepping up to the senior ranks.
The young Western Australian wasn’t quite ready for the Beijing Olympics but reaffirmed his promise by winning at the 1km individual time trial at this year’s Oceania Championships.
Jason Niblett AUS/VIC 26
Jason Niblett is living proof that persistence really does pay. A junior world champion in the team sprint in 2000 and 2001 his future looked bright. But things didn’t go according to plan once he made the transition to the senior ranks.
Niblett’s career looked to be on the brink of collapse three years ago until he got back to basics and simply enjoying racing. Niblett is on the brink once again but this time of being an integral part of Australia’s future Commonwealth and Olympic campaigns.
Kaarle McCulloch AUS/NSW 21
Long touted as one of Australia’s rising stars, Sydney’s Kaarle McCulloch lived up to those expectations in March when she teamed up with Anna Meares to win the team sprint at the World Championships and don the rainbow jersey.
The 21-year-old has also demonstrated her ability to handle pressure by winning back-to-back 500m individual time trial titles at the Oceania Championships.
