Olympic champion on track for pursuit battle

Ed Clancy and the Great Britain 4000m pursuit team are aiming for a fast time in Melbourne [GETTY]

Ed Clancy, Olympic champion and world record holder in the team pursuit, has arrived in Melbourne for the second round of the 2009-2010 UCI Track World Cup, well aware of Great Britain's position as the team being hunted.

The Track World Cup, to be held at Hisense Arena from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 November, will feature more than 220 riders from 40 nations doing battle across 17 events with the men's 4000m team pursuit expected to be one of the most hotly contested.

"There are a lot of people, especially the Kiwis and the Aussies, who want to knock us off our perch," Clancy said.

"But it's up to us to hang on to it against the tough competition so we have to keep working hard, not rest on our laurels and try new things.

"We've still got to push forward and we've set our sights pretty high with trying to go sub 50 (sub three minutes 50 seconds) in the next couple of years."

As a demonstration of their determination to reach that mark the British team delivered one of the highlights of the opening round of the Track World Cup in Manchester by winning the 4000m team pursuit in a time of 3:54.395 – the second fastest team pursuit in history.

Three of the four riders who set that time – Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Andrew Tennant – will be racing in Melbourne.

The team pursuit, more often than not, best reflects the overall depth of a country's cycling stocks, which makes it one of the most fiercely fought races on the track.

The fact that Clancy is the only member of the Beijing winning team in the squad in Melbourne is evidence of the depth of British cycling and the quality of their program.

"That (Beijing) was our ultimate goal and we had a dream team with Bradley Wiggins, who has moved onto the road now, and Paul Manning, who has retired," the 24-year-old Clancy said.

"The British team has got plenty of money and a good system and has already found plenty of young guys to take their place.

"But it’s not just the dollars.

"There are plenty of teams, in football and car racing, with loads of money but just don't seem to get it right.

"The money helps but the management is the most important thing with clever people at the top employing all the right people. We just have to get on our bike and ride as fast as we can."

Among those lining up to take aim at track cycling's world force will be Denmark, the current team pursuit world champions, and New Zealand who beat Australia to win bronze in the team pursuit in Beijing.

The New Zealand outfit in Melbourne will feature the core of their 2008 Olympic team including Sam Bewley, who has recently signed with Lance Armstrong's new Radioshack team, along with Marc Ryan and Westley Gough.

The young Australian quartet will be spearheaded by current points race world champion Cameron Meyer, 21, along with Rohan Dennis, 19, Luke Durbridge, 18, and Michael Hepburn, 18.

The men's 4000m team pursuit will be held on Friday 20 November. Great Britain set the world record at the Beijing Olympics with a time of 3:53.314.

Tickets for the event start from $7 through to $189 for the premium all sessions package and can be purchased through Ticketek on 132 849 or visit www.ticketek.com.au  
 
EVENT SCHEDULE

Thursday 19 November
Day session (start 12 noon)
Women's - qualifying sprint, scratch race, individual pursuit
Men's - qualifying team sprint, individual pursuit, points race

Night session (start 7.00 pm)
Women's - final individual pursuit, scratch race, sprint final
Men's - final team sprint final, individual pursuit, points race
 
Friday 20 November
Day session (start 12 noon)
Women's - qualifying points race, team sprint
Men's - qualifying team pursuit, scratch race, keirin 1st round

Night session (start 7.00pm)
Women's - final points race, team sprint
Men's - final 1000m time trial, keirin, team pursuit, scratch race
 
Saturday 21 November
Day session (start 12 noon)
Women's - qualifying team pursuit, keirin 1st round
Men's - qualifying sprint, madison (if required)
 
Night session (start 7.00pm)
Women's - final keirin, team pursuit, 500m time trial
Men's - final madison, sprint  
 
For more information visit www.trackworldcup.com.au