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The reality of Paris 2024 will set in for Australia’s best track cyclists at the Para-cycling Track World Championships this week when they race for the first time at the velodrome to be used for the upcoming Paralympic Games.
It will be the first Track World Championships since 2020 and will feature all five of Australia’s 2020 world champions – Emily Petricola, Amanda Reid, David Nicholas, Paige Greco and Alistair Donohoe.
Also selected were Paralympians Darren Hicks, Gordon Allan and Meg Lemon. The new faces are rising star Erin Rowell, 2019 World Championships representative Michael Shippley and multi-sport performer Jessica Gallagher who will team with guide Caitlin Ward.
Watch live: stream the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships.
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AusCycling’s Para-cycling Technical Director Warren McDonald said that despite the event offering no qualification points for the 2024 Games the team stood to gain plenty, including familiarisation with the venue, investigating potential pre-Games staging camp locations and gauging their international competition.
“It’s our first time since Tokyo on the track, so it’s about seeing what we’re capable of and how our opposition is going,” McDonald said.
“This year there’s been over 100 international cyclists classified, which is a really big shift that I’ve never seen before. It means there will be a whole group of new athletes who will be competitive. It means we’ve got to lift the bar.”
The team held a staging camp in Belgium before heading to France, where they will compete at the velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
“They get to see the facilities and it gives them a bit of familiarity,” McDonald said. “Our guys don’t get to race as much as the able-bodied athletes, so it’s an advantage to be familiar with it.”
Most of Australia’s Tokyo representatives had a break after the Games. Half the team competed at the Road World Championships in Canada in August.
“Getting race experience in Canada has got me excited to be competing again internationally,” Tokyo 2020 Individual Pursuit gold medallist Paige Greco told AusCycling.
“I haven’t raced at this velodrome before, so I’m really excited to see what it’s like. We’re really lucky to get a taste of the track we’ll be racing on at Paris 2024.”
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McDonald said 500 metres Time Trial world record holder Amanda Reid was focused on the track after coming fourth in the Time Trial at the Road Worlds.
“With the extra endurance she’s gained, we’re hopeful she can perform well in the Omnium. We think she’s a potential podium in the Individual Pursuit and really a good chance of multiple medals,” he said.
“Emily Petricola is similar and wants to repeat her performances at the 2020 Worlds, where she won three gold medals, in the Individual Pursuit, Scratch Race and Omnium.
“She’s got lofty goals, as does Alistair Donohoe, another potential multi-medallist. Darren Hicks is the silver medallist from Tokyo in the IP, so we expect him to be a good chance. Gordon Allan won bronze in 2020 in the C2 kilometre Time Trial and we believe he’s a good chance of a medal in his pet event.
“Meg Lemon was fourth in the Individual Pursuit in Tokyo and has endurance capacity, coming third in the Road Time Trial. If everything goes well she’s a potential medallist.”
Team stalwart Dave Nicholas has had a down-year but is a known quantity.
“If we can have him in the top four, it’s still two years to go until Paris,” McDonald said.
“He’s from Bathurst where there’s no indoor velodrome so he’s had a bit of a quieter year, but you pin a number on him and he goes for it. We’re not putting too much pressure on him. We know what he’s capable of.”
Of the new athletes, McDonald said: “Erin Rowell has come through our Paralympic Fast Track program with AIS funding and is very promising. We hope she keeps up the quick trajectory she’s shown this year.
“Jess and Caitlin will race in the Tandem. Jess and her crew came fourth at the Rowing World Championships last month and she won two gold medals on the Tandem at the Commonwealth Games, so we’re excited to see what she can do.
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“Michael Shippley is back after just missing out on Tokyo. He’s been training well and we expect some good performances from him.
“We don’t want to be peaking now but we’re definitely there to win gold medals. Having said that, there are other areas we’re keen to investigate and have the riders see the different pieces of what Paris 2024 will look like.”
The 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships will take place in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France between 20 – 23 October, 2022.
By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 20 October 2022
