Keirin

In the final event for many of the sprinters the Keirin can be a tough event. This is a very tactical event and good positioning can affect the result. The  programme for riders in the World Cup Classic events is heavy. Over the period of a weekend, they may compete in as many as three or four events (typically: sprint, 500m TT Keirin), with qualifying and heats within. The Keirin is one of the sprinter's events and sees riders following a 'derny' (a special moped) for the initial laps of the track. The derny increases its pace with the riders in tow until it peels off and the riders fight out the final 2 laps to the finish.

In the heats the pressure to perform well was intense, with the first two riders from each heat to go through, it was going to be tough. In the first heat Yvonne Hijgenaar NED rode strongly in her position  behind the Derny for the first few laps. At two laps to go Frisoni ITA took the lead followed by Hijgenaar fighting for second on the finish line. Williams NZL tried hard to get through a gap on the inside on the inside but could not quite make it.

In heat 2 Kerrie Meares AUS took her position behind the Derny, it looked like she did not want it, holding back looking to see if Jennie Reed USA would move in front of her, but Reed did not want the front position, leaving Kerrie Meares to follow the Derny. At two laps to go Reed moved forward and was clearly in front, Kerrie Meares had to work hard to edge the Italian Cucinotta out to take 2nd on the line.

In the third heat, Conzelman took the wheel of the Derny, this proved to be a close event with Guo, junior world champion in this event and Anna Meares AUS champion. Guo of China took the heat strongly, Anna Meares was nearly caught out as she was positioning herself to force the Dutch rider out of contention, at 150m to go, Guo CHN jumped with Conzelman USA forcing Anna Meares to show her speed to clinch second on the line.

WomensCycling spoke to some the key riders after the heats to see how they were feeling after the qualifying event. Jennie Reed USA, felt confident about her performance in the heat, she had this to say “although it was a relatively easy heat, I know that the semi-finals will be tough, but its ok, I decided to get my legs warmed up, now I am going to have to use more tactics to get through to the final”. When asked who she saw as the main challengers she added, “Anna Meares and Shuang Guo but it depends on positioning in the final, I want to try some new tactics, this is a tune up for me before the Worlds”. Given the final result she anticipated the result well. Speaking to Anna Meares WomensCycling asked if she had planned for the her heat to go so close. She had this to say : “I thought my legs were feeling better than they were, they did not react in the way that they should have done forcing me to drive much harder to catch Guo”

8-12 Place

Fighting for places, Kanis NED held the wheel of the Derny, followed by Conzelman USA with two to go Gloss GER went at 1.5 laps to go. She was followed closely by the USA and Dutch riders unfortunately they were not quick enough to catch her.

Final - 1-6 place

The final was an exciting race, Williams NZL remained ahead of the Derny at the 160 mark. The race was stopped and she was disqualified from the event. Once the race restarted Shaug CHN drew first place behind the Derny, the Meares sisters drawing middling positions for the start meant they had to work hard to get the right position at 2 laps to go,.

With two to go Anna Meares moved to front and held on to take the win. Frisoni crossed the line in second place which would have been enough to give her the World Cup win had she not deviated off the track in the finishing straight. The implication of such a manoeuvre was relegation to 6^th place, giving the World Cup title to Anna Meares AUS. WomensCycling broke the news to Meares as she warmed down on the rollers and received this reaction “cool, I did not expect that” 

Final Placings 

Time : 12.418sec, 57.98km/h

Scratch Race 

Raced over 10km, the scratch race is a case of being first over the line at the end of 40 laps. However, the tactics involved in this event, which is run at a high speed make it far from simple. 

Tactics proved to be a deciding factor in the result of this race. There were many attacks during the 40 lap race but it all came down to the last 6 to make it really interesting. Throughout, the Australian pair of Bates and Gilmore were inseparable, watching each other, but under team orders to ride their own race.. Jacqui Marshall (GBR) seemed to follow a race plan to stick close to Bates too.  The Chinese rider Yunmei Wu attacked, but the bunch did not respond. At the bell lap she still had a 20m gap, Cucinotta ITA, Bates AUS, Gilmore AUS, Catherine Sell NZL and the Russian Prudnikova reacted to bring her back catching her just before the line. The chase and sprint were physical and 'tight'. Catherine Sell considered it too tight, when Rochelle Gilmore forced her way through a gap, forcing Sell to move out and sit up. Sell appealed and after reviewing the tape, the judges relegated Gilmore to last place.  The 10km time was 13min22.564sec, which is 44.856km/h. Italian Annalisa Cucinotta took the win, Kate Bates was second and with Gilmore relegated, Sell was third.

There were mixed reactions to the Australian performance after the event, some questioned the tactic of non-collusion, others criticised them for not taking the win. Reacting to these comments Bates had this to say “I tried hard to keep the pace up but no one would take it up”. When asked if the Australians had been given any team instructions, Bates was clear in her response “we were told to work for ourselves, this was for selection. Obviously try not to get in each other's way but you are to ride your own race”. Gilmore was obviously disappointed with her relegation. She spoke to WomensCycling as she warmed down. “I had to ride my own race to try to secure selection, Kate is strong and I knew that I would have to wait until the last lap to stand a chance to take the win. My only regret was how I performed in the last 100m, I watched every move in the end it didn’t go to plan” 

Women's 10km Scratch

The overall World Cup title went to Katherine Bates AUS.

Final positions after Sydney

Each event within the Round attracts points - up to 12 for the first 10 finishers - which are added together from all events (including the men's events) at the end of the Round and the winning country is declared at the end of the weekend. Points are accumulated throughout the World Cup and individual event rankings, plus the overall country ranking awarded after the final Round.

Winners of the Sydney Round - Australia

Winners of the overall Track World Cup Classics 2004 - 2005  - Netherlands

Full result to follow