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Anna Meares, Matthew Glaetzer and Jack Bobdige steered South Australia to the top of the rankings on the final night of racing at the 2012 Subaru Cycling Australia Track National Championships at the Adelaide Super-Drome.

Meares and Glaetzer were crowned national keirin champions while Bobridge gave the locals something else to cheer for when he added a third gold medal to his week's tally with a colossal performance in the men's points race. Isabella King claimed the elite scratch race title for WA while in the under 19 events New South Wales won the Madison and Victoria won both the junior men's team sprint and the junior women's sprint.

Annette Edmondson (SA) was named the elite Champion of Champions for her gold medals in the individual pursuit, scratch and points races. Her win in the individual pursuit, where she recorded the fastest time ever ridden on Australian soil (3:30.586), was named the 'Ride of the Series'. The junior Champion of Champions prize went to Queensland's Taylah Jennings who won three individual and one team gold medal.

Women's Keirin

Meares' win in the keirin brought her career tally of Australian track titles to 29 but she had to fend off a late charge from Sydney's Kaarle McCulloch to secure the victory.

"I'm not after the easy win, I'm after the win that's going to make me better," said Meares who also won team sprint and sprint gold medals this week. "And that hurt like hell. The old lactic acid isn't anyone's friend, is it?"

Meares grabbed the wheel of the derny pace bike from the start and used it to full advantage, powering away from her rivals as the bike left the track. She surged to a massive lead and McCulloch, who was caught in traffic, had to firstly pass four others before she could try to close the gap. She made up ground quickly but Meares held on to win by mere centimetres.

"When I saw I'd drawn one and Kaarle had drawn six, I thought that was a good opportunity to put some distance between us and make her work really hard as well," explained Meares of the draw that put her at the bottom of the track and McCulloch at the top on the start line. 

"I realised the gap was significant, but not enough to withstand a good run from Kaarle, so I had to really commit otherwise I was going to find myself in the position where I was going to be run down," she said. "This is the most level event for the two of us to come head-to-head, you saw that, I won it by half a tyre. (But) I'd rather almost lose than almost win."

But the pair will soon reunite for the team sprint in which they have won the world title for the past three years.

"I'm actually really excited, I feel like I've taken a great deal of confidence from these championships," said Meares. "The plan that Gary (West - coach) has for me is working and that goes a long way when you're out there on your own - sometimes that trust or backing is all you have.

"I will be leaning on that for sure," Meares added.

McCulloch had no regrets after collecting one gold and three silver medals at the championships.

"I wasn't quite expecting the gap to open up that quickly, but I bided my time and I went as hard as I could, but I guess I just needed five more metres of track," said McCulloch. "But I am happy with how I rode today as I think it was probably one of the first keirin championships where I had a little bit of patience.

"Plus, I was a good deal off her at the 200m mark and I almost got her, so I have to be pretty happy with the speed in my legs right now," she said.

Men's Points Race

Jack Bobridge was under attack from all quarters in a fast and furious men's 40km points race but prevailed to claim his third win of the week.

The pace was on from the start of the 160 lap marathon, with Bobridge, Jackson-Leigh Rathbone (NSW) and West Australia's Michael Freiberg in amongst most of the action early.

Bobridge grabbed sprint points at every opportunity and jumped into the key move of the race that came with 70 laps remaining, when he joined Rathbone, Sean Finning (VIC), Mitchell Mulhern (QLD), Jack Beckinsale (NSW) and Bradley Robson (WA) in a break that gave the sextet a lap on the field and a valuable 20 point bonus.

Jackson Law (NSW) then countered with a lightning fast solo effort and before the bunch had a chance to respond he had lapped them and collected 20 points. In the remaining laps, Bobridge, Law and Rathbone continued to pile on the sprint points with Bobridge cementing an unassailable lead with 20 laps to go. However Law and Rathbone were neck and neck for silver and the two battled all the way to the fininshing line where Rathbone edged Law on the line to take the five points but Law's three points for being second across the line in the final sprint was enough to give him a one point buffer and the silver medal.

The final result gave Bobridge gold on 52 points, eight ahead of Law on 44pts with Rathbone in third palce on 43pts.

Men's Keirin

Nineteen-year-old Matthew Glaetzer thrilled the crowd with a display of power and control that belied his years to claim his maiden senior keirin crown.

"It's massive, I didn't expect it to be honest," said Glaetzer, who burst on to the international scene at 17 when he won the sprint/keirin double at the junior world titles. "I just went out there and tried to execute my perfect race to win and it came together."

Glaetzer unleashed a withering burst of speed that left the rest of the field, including reigning world champion Shane Perkins, scramblingfor position in his wake.

At the bell lap Glaetzer was still in front with Perkins boxed in by the NSW duo of Andrew Taylor and Mitch Bullen. Spurred on by his hometown fans Glaetzer, a former pole vaulter, lunged at the line to clinch the win from Taylor with Bullen third. Perkins finished fourth.

"I knew I had to get to the front, put myself in a position to win and make it really hard for the others to come around," said Glaetzer, who teamed with Glasspool and Nathan Corrigan on Friday night to win the team sprint title.

"I expected Perkins to charge, and when I spotted him near the back I thought if he's going to win this, he's going to have to hit and get to the front.

"Then I saw him attack and responded pretty hard to make sure I kept front position, which I did." added Glaetzer.

Women's Scratch Race

West Australia's Isabella King timed her run perfectly, attacking the field just prior to the bell lap, to sprint home for gold in the women's scratch race.

King and team mate Sarah Kent set much of the early pace, with Kent and Tasmania's Amy Cure involved in a number of attacks throughout the race. But none stuck and with all eyes on the in form Annette Edmondson (SA) King chose the right moment to pounce.

She rode clear of the field and then held off a fast fininshing Edmondson on the line.

"I didn't know if Nettie or I got it or not, so when I realised, I just threw my hands up, I am so happy," said King. "Nettie is a such a good rider so I knew I had to go early as I wouldn't be able to get around her in the last half.

"And I was a bit angry from the last few days as I haven't performed like I wanted to so I just used all that anger tonight," King added.

A crash with 300 metres to go brought down Canberra riders Rebecca Wiasak and Sally Bowman with the latter sustaining a broken collar bone.

Under 19 Men's Madison

In the under 19 Madison the New South Wales duo of Tirian McManus and Jack McCulloch survived a late fight-back by New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) pair Caleb Ewan and Nathan Bradshaw to grab the gold.

McManus and McCulloch, the younger brother of sprint star Kaarle, scored points in the first five of the six sprints contested, and of those won maximum points in the first and third sprints, to establish a solid six point margin over Ewan and Bradshaw.

The pace lifted in the last 40 laps of the 120 lap event and NSWIS moved to within two points of the lead with only one sprint remaining.

West Australia's Linfield attacked with five laps to go and Victoria also challenged to dash the NSWIS hopes of a snatching victory.

McManus and McCulloch scored a winning tally of 16 points, while Ewan and Bradshaw placed second on 15 points. The bronze medal went to Queensland's Owen Gillott and Jesse Kerrison who claimed 13 points.

Under 19 Women's Sprint

In the under 19 women's sprint Victorian Caitlin Ward defeated West Australia's Allee Proud to claim the gold medal.

Ward breezed through qualifying and accounted for Korea's Jihae Park in the semi finals in straight heats, before also overcoming Proud in straight heats.

"Its the biggest week of my season, and I have worked hard for this and although I am drained and tired, the idea of winning a medal just took over," said Ward. "I am not very good at sprint matches, I usually stuff them up, so my coaches were in my ear today telling me to control the race.

"So all I could think of in the race was control, don't stuff it up, control, control, control. I think I did that pretty well tonight," added Ward.

Ward's team mate Tian Beckett defeated Park in the bronze medal match up.

The 2012 Subaru Cycling Australia Track National Championships were staged from Thursday January 26 to Sunday January 29 6 at Adelaide's Super-Drome. Complete results can be found on the Cycling Australia website

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The Welshman has been one of the big success stories of the Tour de France, wearing the young rider's white jersey for most of the opening week after finishing sixth on the opening stage.

He also produced a brilliant performance to lead out teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen for his victory on stage six and then won the combativity award for heading a breakaway for most of the 12th stage when the race hit the high mountains in the Pyrenees.

Thomas also illustrated his versatility at the Spring classics and won his first overall title in a week-long road race at Bayern-Rundfahrt at the end of May.

He said of his new contract: "It's great news to be able to commit my future to Team Sky.  The team have shown their potential over the last 18 months and I am delighted to have been a part of that success. The management have shown real faith in me as a rider and I feel like I'm improving all the time.  The future is really exciting for Team Sky and British Cycling and I'm thrilled I will be able to play a part in it."

Team Princical Dave Brailsford said: "We are delighted that Geraint has re-signed for another three years with Team Sky. We have been determined from the start to build and develop a team around the very best homegrown talent like Geraint. The last two weeks at the Tour de France have underlined again his world class abilities and we look forward to seeing even more from him over the next three years."

Team Sky Senior Sports Director Sean Yates underlined Thomas' value to the squad as he explained: "G is one of the strongest riders in the team.  You can say anything to him and he carries it out to perfection, he can do it all.  He's always got the legs and we've seen it time and again this year - he's worth five men really and it's great news. He's fantastic to work with and this gives everyone another lift."

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The BMC Racing Team worked hard Sunday to keep Cadel Evans safely positioned on a windy, fast stage at the Tour de France.

'Today Was Brutal'
George Hincapie said the 193 kilometer race presented more challenges than anticipated. "Today was brutal," the three-time U.S. national road champion said. "For a transition day, it was harder than a lot of the mountain stages we've done. It was full-on, all day, fighting for position. You couldn't let your guard down for one second. The team did an awesome job of riding together all day." Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) took the bunch sprint as Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) kept the overall lead and Evans remained third.

Staying Near The Front
Evans said a strong tailwind made the race "really risky" and imperative to stay near the front, particularly near the finish. "It's a sort of a conflict in the race where the sprinters want to be in the first position, but we have to be in the front and sometimes we have to be in their way at 10 or five kilometers to go," Evans said. "Of course they don't like that, but we can lose the race at five kilometers because we have to at least be at three kilometers if something happens in the peloton." Monday marks the second rest day of the three-week race.

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Alexandre Vinokourov, returned home yesterday on the French Riviera, he is recovering gradually following his operation for a complex fracture of the right femur head. Today, he spoke on live on France Televisions during Tour de France’s stage to announce: "I think I won’t back on a bike as a professional. I'll stop now. We will try to find a new role in the Astana team for me. "

 

Right after today’s stage, arrived at the team bus, riders of the Astana team learn this new.

Here are their reactions:

 

Dmitry Fofonov (KAZ): This is not a surprise, he was ready to end his career after the Tour. Of course it's a shame to stop with a nasty crash like that, knowing that he had spent up to this year's Tour de France. I think if Vino incorporated the leadership of team, it would be one of the best things that could happen to the team. He was a great leader, he knows very well cycling. He is a champion and he has the soul of a real boss, he has the character to manage a team. I wish him good luck in this way and a speedy recovery!

 

Roman Kreuziger (CZE): He didn’t deserve to finish with a crash like that, because he was really well prepared and could have a great Tour. That seems fair if he finishesin the leadership of the team because it was created around him. And he may provide opportunities to young Kazakhs to evolve in the professional cycling alongside riders from other nationalities, he worked in big teams and he will create the proper mix for the success of a group.

 

Tomas Vaitkus (LTU): At least he finished as a fighter! We will miss him as a rider. I think if he goes into management, everyone will be satisfied, he knows races from the inside as a cyclist, so he knows what we need. And he will push his riders to good results.

 

Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) : He is the symbol of Kazakhstan, that’s him who carries the banner of the team and of the nation. In my point of view, to integrate the management, is the minimum that the team could do for him. He grew up in cycling he knows everyone in this community and knows how to create an atmosphere in a group. Tactically, he has a very good eye. Also the fact of having been his team mate in the past, it establishes a relationship of trust and esteem for him and you know you can talk to him freely. I think he deserves to have a job in management after so many years.

 

Andriy Grivko (UKR): It is his decision to stop cycling as a rider and I think he made the right choice. If he can get into coaching the team, it would be great to end his career, I think it will bring good things to the team.

 

Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ): I think it's a shame that his career is over this way, but when I look at the future I see only the positive, if it includes he will take part of the direction of the team. He is a real friend and a great champion and when he wins a race, it inspires me, and I think he can be a model for all of us.

 

Zeit Andrey (KAZ):  He is a rider who has always trained, very tough and rigorous, always motivated, we can learn a lot from him if he enters the leadership of the team. It is also a good friend to us all, always ready to help if needed, is a real captain.

 

Remy Di Gregorio (FRA): He made a great career, and it's a shame it ends up like that, it's a real fighter and he will miss him on this Tour and in general. He has accumulated big victories as the Vuelta Espana and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, his career has been eventful. As a leader he has many thing to teach, I had a lot of satisfaction to ride with him and he learned me a lot already.

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The BMC Racing Team successfully protected Cadel Evans and his place on the overall classification Monday during a Tour de France stage that was not without a few tense moments.

'Nervous, Dangerous Stage'
"It was a nervous, dangerous stage with a fair bit of wind in the final," Evans said. "It seems they use more and more narrow roads in the Tour. It's great for excitement but puts the risk rating up a bit high. Fortunately, George (Hincapie) and Marcus (Burghardt) kept me in front most of the time." Hincapie and teammate Manuel Quinziato were caught up in a crash inside the final 25 kilometers of the 198 km race. "But it was nothing bad," BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said. "(Amaël Moinard and (Ivan) Santaromita did a nice job to bring those guys back so they could protect Cadel in the final."

Uphill Finish Tuesday
Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) won the sprint finish as the overall standings remain unchanged. Evans sits third overall, one second behind Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo). "Aside from George and Manuel going down, the day went as planned," Brent Bookwalter said. "It was relatively nice the first two hours, then got itchy for the intermediate sprint and possible cross winds. I think we did well to take care of Cadel – switching on and off amongst each other throughout the race, while always trying to stay as grouped as possible." Evans said positioning and staying out of trouble will be important on Tuesday's stage. It finishes with a two-kilometer ascent of the Mûr de Bretange. "Getting into a good position in the final is always the best way to make time, which is a similar sort of tactic we used on the first stage," Evans said.

Best regards,
BMC Racing Team    

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Alexandre Vinokourov will ride for the last Tour de France in his career as cyclist. At a press conference this afternoon he outlined his goals, discussed his feelings about this 

race, and finally talked about his future and that of team Astana.

 

Alexandre, what is your goal for this 2011 Tour?

 

As I said from the beginning of the season, my goal for that year would be to wear the yellow jersey a few days, to end my career on a beautiful note. Then, I'd like to win a mountain stage if possible. Then, we will focus on the best team classification . Concerning the general, I know I can not expect an overall victory, I have already finished third in Tour de France (in 2003) and fifth (in 2005) and I am pleased to see that I'm in good shape. I’ve seen I can feel good during one week race like the Critérium du Dauphiné recently, but three weeks is more difficult, we'll see what can happen!

 

Have you spotted a stage where you would love to attack?

 

I have not scheduled a stage in particular, I saw that the arrival of tomorrow could suit me for example. There is also the stage Tuesday with the Mur de Bretagne and other stages at the end of first week. But I do not program in advance, when I feel good, I feel that the legs respond well, I'm going.

 

In your opinion, is it the Pyrenees or the Alps which will decide the general classification of the Tour?

 

I think that the Pyrenees will be very selective, but are the Alps will decide the final victory. In particular the stage in the Alpes d'Huez after climbing the Galibier, rankings will surely change, and also the time trial in Grenoble might change the standings.  

 

This will be your participation in the ninth Tour de France, what do you think of this race? What is your fondest memory?

 

It's the biggest race in the world, here we have different sensations than other races, it's incomparable. And it works up to the year for this moment. I think it's a great race and also a great spectacle for the spectators. My best memory, may be the final podium in 2003. And also, my victory on the Champs Elysees in 2005, it was a great surprise, I had already tried several times to win this stage and this is the kind of events that happen once in a lifetime, it’s a very good memory.

 

It's really your last Tour de France?

 

Yes, this will be my last Tour, well, my last Tour on the bike. As I said from the beginning of the season, I will end my cycling career this year, in September, I will turn 38, it seems to be the right time. If there was not the Astana team, I think I could continue for 2 or 3 years, not to win the long race, but to win some stages. But I want to do as riders like Richard Virenque and Laurent Jalabert who decided to stop their career at the right time.

 

What will you do next? Will you become a manager of the Astana team?

 

Regarding my future, nothing is decided yet, first I will stay focus on this Tour de France. Then I will take a few days off in Kazakhstan, I will discuss with the sponsors of the team and the Kazakh government on that occasion. I'd love to continue to work within the Astana team, is a project dear to my heart. Become manager is always possible, it is true that this team has been created around me in the beginning, but I don’t want to go too fast. For example I can start working alongside Giuseppe Martinelli to learn, if I had to work in the direction of the team, I want to take my time.

 

What about the future of the Astana team?

 

We have a Pro Tour license for 3 years and our sponsor has committed to three years (until 2013), until there are good results, I think it will continue. We follow a political and a sport project with this team, not a commercial purpose. We're here to represent an entire nation and we are really proud of it. For years to come, we don’t want to recruit only stars from other countries, we also plan to train young Kazakhs to win some good races. We hope that the Astana team will be part of a training project, with the creation of a second team Astana to train promising young Kazakhs, so that they incorporate the Pro Team Astana after a solid preparation. For example, Andrey Zeits (who finished 2nd overall in Tour of Turkey 2011) who is here with us in Tour de France, is representative of this new generation of Kazakh riders. He has potential, and if he works hard, I think that one day he will be able to win races such as Paris-Nice.

 

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During the 2011 Tour de France, the sport director Alexandr Shefer will accompany the Astana riders up to the Champs Elysees. He talks about the team, its objectives and his friendship with Alexandre Vinokourov that will run Tour de France this year for the last time in his cycling career.

 

Last Friday, the selection of the 9 riders * for the next Tour de France was officially announced "We have made a fairly heterogeneous group around our leader Alexandre Vinokourov. We have different potential to be competitive on all fronts, the time trial, as the plains and mountains. Andriy Grivko, Tomas Vaitkus, Andrey Zeits and Maxim Iglinskiy will work the most during the first week and others will be more useful in the following weeks for the mountain stages. "

 

The Astana will pursue two main objectives, "We really want that Vino wears the yellow jersey a few days and hope to win a stage. Also, our sponsors rely on us for the best team classification, as we won during the last Giro, we will do our best. "

 

The riders were in training camp last week "The goal was rather to recover. Most of them rode for Criterium du Dauphine, while Paolo Tiralongo and Roman Kreuziger, still had to get back in condition after the Giro d'Italia. The objective of this camp was more to maintain condition than to ramp up. They are in good shape, I think they will start this Tour in optimal conditions. Also, the atmosphere is very good within the group, between the riders as within the staff, there is a real cohesion! "

 

Alexandre Vinokourov and Alexandr Shefer have known each other for 25 years now, "We met in 1986 and since then we always staid in contact. I was one of the first Kazakh to become a professional, I arrived in Europe in 1993 and a few years after he came for his debut in 1997 in the formation of Vincent Lavenu. "

 

This will be the final season of “Vino” as a professional cyclist, "On the one hand, I think he made the good decision to stop because he is almost 38 years old, it is the right time. But part of me of course will miss him, because it is a really special stimulation to go on races with someone like Vino. He is a great champion but he is my friend above all, my emotions are dependent on his own, when he is happy, I am too. "

 

If we were wishing for something to Alexandre for his last Tour "It would be to finish on the podium of the Tour de France. Be on a podium in the middle of the Champs Elysees to finish his career, I think it's really the best thing ever that could happen! "

 

*Tour de France 2011 - Riders List:

 

Alexandre VINOKOUROV (KAZ) - Rémy DI GREGORIO (FRA) - Dmitriy FOFONOV (KAZ) - Andriy GRIVKO (UKR) - Maxim IGLINSKIY (KAZ) - Roman KREUZIGER (CZE) - Paolo TIRALONGO (ITA) - Tomas VAITKUS  (LTU) - Andrey ZEITS (KAZ)

28-06-2011