Cyc: Youngsters step up in teams pursuit

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2008
Cyc: Youngsters step up in teams pursuit

By Roger Vaughan

BEIJING, Aug 16 AAP - Jack Bobridge and Mark Jamieson are suddenly pivotal members
of the Australian teams pursuit squad as they prepare to defend their Olympic title in
track cycling.

Brett Lancaster has struggled for form since the Tour de France and fellow Athens gold
medallist Brad McGee has intimated his ninth in the individual pursuit last night might
be his last Olympic competition.

That means Bobridge, 19, and Jamieson, 24, will be doing a lot more at their Olympic
debuts than just gaining experience.

The teams pursuit will start tomorrow with qualifying and the first round of racing.

"We've got two young kids in Mark Jamieson and Jack Bobridge who've really stepped
up - it hasn't hurt our chances too much," said track endurance coach Ian McKenzie after
he confirmed Lancaster would not ride the teams pursuit.

A few days ago, before it became clear McGee and Lancaster were not at their top form,
Bobridge had made his ambition clear.

"My goal early on in the year was just to get to the world titles, let alone get to
the Olympics," he said.

"My goal (in Beijing) would definitely have to be to win, obviously, or to medal, but
a lot of (my goals), being so young, would be to get all the experience for London coming
up.

"I can normally handle the nerves pretty well, so it will be interesting to see how
it all unfolds."

Bobridge comes from a strong South Australian cycling family and is highly-rated for
his maturity and dedication.

The first-year senior rider, a two-time junior world champion, first emerged in March
at the world titles when he rode solidly in team pursuit qualifying.

Australia went on to finish third in the event as Great Britain set a world record
and Denmark was second.

Australia have a long-standing rivalry with the British in this event, beating them
for the Athens gold medal.

This will be one of Australia's best medal chances in track cycling at the Olympics.

Also tomorrow, the men's and women's sprint competitions start.

Australia Anna Meares will make an improbable quest for an Olympic medal, after a race
crash in January left her just millimetres from permanent spinal damage.

Meares fractured a disc in her neck, but she has made an astonishing recovery.

If she wins a medal, it will be one of the great stories of these Games.

Defending champion Ryan Bayley and probably Mark French will contest the men's sprint.

AAP rhv/jmt

KEYWORD: OLY08 CYC AUST PREVIEW

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