Britain arrives at track worlds without key riders

By Justin Davis, Agence France Presse

Track powerhouses Britain will be without a host of big names as the four-year cycle towards the London Olympics in 2012 clicks into gear at the world championships in Poland this week.

Britain claimed an astonishing seven of the ten track gold medals on offer at the Beijing Olympics last year but will be without three of the stars who, in Beijing, won six golds between them.

After dominating the world championships in both 2007 and 2008 Britain could find themselves in relatively unknown territory.

However track cycling supremo Heiko Salzwedel, the team’s new Performance Manager, is cherishing the opportunity to see just how far some of the team’s emerging talent can go under championship conditions.

And, with a number of current world champions still competing he believes the team will put up a fight against the likes of Australia, France and New Zealand.

“For all of us, this is year one,” Salzwedel told AFP on Monday.

“We’ve had a bit of a transition period where we tried out a few new things and a few new riders and we see these world championships as an opportunity for young riders to show us what they can do, to make a name for themselves, and use the void that has been opened up by the likes of Bradley Wiggins to step and and seize their chance.”

Britain’s notable absentees include triple Olympic gold winner Sir Chris Hoy, who is injured. Double gold winner Wiggins and team pursuit champion Geraint Thomas are currently racing on the road and Olympic women’s pursuit champion Rebecca Romero has decided not to compete.

However Olympic women’s sprint champion Victoria Pendleton will be in action, and aiming to defend her world crown, while Wendy Houvenaghel — a silver medal winner last year behind Romero — is now a big favorite for gold in the 3000 meter event.

The women’s pursuit, 500 meter time trial and the men’s team sprint and points race feature on the first day of competition Wednesday.

Although Britain have not set themselves a medal target, Salzwedel — who led Denmark to an impressive Olympic team pursuit silver medal in Beijing — is looking for top performances.

“We’ve prepared well, the team is focused and everybody wants to use that opportunity, especially the young riders because they know the slot they’re in is only temporary,” he added.

“A lot of countries have continued with their Olympic teams but for us in many ways it’s a new start.

“But don’t write us off. I wouldn’t consider us a top favorite like we were in Beijing, but I would consider us a very competitive team.”

With Hoy out of the picture, following a crash in the keirin at a World Cup event in Copenhagen, France are now the big favorites for glory in the three-man sprint event.

Britain are likely to start with Olympic champion Jamie Staff, with Olympic sprint silver medalist Jason Kenny in second role. The third rider has yet to be decided between Scotland’s Ross Edgar and England’s Matt Crampton.

In the individual sprint French duo Gregory Bauge and Kevin Sireau will provide Kenny with some stiff opposition, while Edgar will be hoping to perform well in the keirin, arguably his strongest event, against the likes of Sireau and Malaysia’s pocket rocket Azizulhasni Awang.

Britain has built much of its success around the individual and team pursuit, but two factors have thrown a spanner into the works: the absence of Wiggins and the emergence of American talent Taylor Phinney.

Britain can still boast a solid pursuit team although Salzwedel believes they will face a battle for a medal against Australia, Denmark and New Zealand.

In the individual event the man to beat is likely to be Phinney, who caused a sensation in mid-February after winning both the individual pursuit and the one-kilometer time trial with impressive times in Copenhagen.

FILED UNDER: Track