Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch lead Australia’s hopes on opening day of UCI track cycling World Championships
Australians Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch will put their team sprint title on the line on the opening day of the UCI track cycling World Championships in Berlin this week.
Cycling
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Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch will begin their team sprint World Championship defence on the opening day of the UCI track cycling world titles in Berlin on Wednesday.
The Australian pair who claimed the rainbow jersey in Poland last year are hoping to go back to back and springboard themselves into the Tokyo Olympics in July.
McCulloch missed December’s World Cups in Brisbane and New Zealand with a back injury, but Morton is confident they have done the work to be in medal contention this week.
“I don’t feel any athlete really ever has a perfect run into a worlds, so it also becomes about how you deal with things like this as you head into the racing,” Morton said.
“Kaarle and I are both really positive and are very hungry to bring the rainbows back home again.
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“And that mindset is going to be the difference, not thinking about the couple of training or racing opportunities we might have missed.”
At 29, Morton is suddenly one of the most experienced riders on the Australian track team following the retirement of Anna Meares after Rio in 2016.
“It is a different experience leading into these Games, ahead of Rio I was the new kid on the block with Anna who had all that experience and four years later I am one of the more experienced ones,” she said.
“But I think that’s why I feel like I am in such a good place because there are no unknowns for me.
“I can take comfort and confidence knowing I have done this before, I know what the emotions are, what my body does, and that experience is what I am banking on.”
In the men’s team sprint ranks, Matthew Glaetzer did not make the trip to Berlin after suffering a leg injury last week.
Former world champion Glaetzer had surgery for thyroid cancer in November, but returned to racing in December and was on track for the world titles before his latest setback.
He has been replaced by Thomas Cornish, who will race alongside Nathan Hart and Matthew Richardson in the men’s team sprint.
A total of 20 gold medals will be up for grabs at this week’s World Championships including the six Olympic events – the team pursuit, team sprint, madison, omnium, sprint and keirin.
reece.homfray@news.com.au