Olympic goals mean McCulloch comes of age

The Sydney native, who recently turned 24, has won two world championships and Commonwealth Games gold in the team sprint with Anna Meares. She demonstrated that her increasing speed and racing maturity at the recent Subaru Cycling Australia Track Championships means she’s ready for the dual challenge of a home world title defense and Olympic campaign.

“I’ve really narrowed my focus this year and just worked on my second wheel [in the team sprint] and that’s just transferred across to the other events. I’m becoming more competitive against Anna and that’s making her better, which in turn continues to push me further… And hopefully it means we can do something special at Worlds in Melbourne,” McCulloch said.

McCulloch has increased her speed and strength against Meares and whilst her more experienced and decorated national teammate still took top honours in the individual sprint event in Adelaide last weekend, the junior partner in Australia’s successful women’s team sprint duo is pleased with her progress over the last two seasons.

“This is about the fourth year we’ve been racing against each other and I’m able to give her a better run for her money these days,” she explained. “I beat her earlier in the season in Perth, which I was pretty stoked with… I knew I was coming along well and I can’t be too disappointed with being beaten by the world champion!

“My training for the team sprint has helped me overall – all my focus is on the team sprint and I’ve done little work on my other events. With Anna being world champion in all three Olympic events it’s going to be very difficult for me to take one of those spots.

“I’m really looking forward to the London World Cup to see what I can do with this sprinting form, however.”

Arguably most encouraging is the form within the training cycle of both Meares and McCulloch heading into the aforementioned event, the London round of the UCI Track World Cup, where many of the world’s best and those in contention for places at the Olympic Games will be competing.

Cycling Australia’s staff has both riders well placed in their preparations to perform well in the event, which kicks off in a fortnight. “We’re happy with where we’re at – both Anna and myself know we’re going to be better for London World Cup and Worlds,” McCulloch said.

“These are stepping stones for the Olympics – our eyes are firmly set on that Olympic gold.”