Men to watch:
If history-making Cadel Evans is on the starting line in London for his fourth Olympic campaign he will be eyeing the medal that has evaded him. Evans competed in mountain bike in 1996 and 2000 before switching to road racing at the Beijing Games. His highest Olympic finish is fifth in the 2008 individual time trial, but as a road world champion (2009) and Tour de France champion (2011), the next stop for Evans could be Olympic gold- most likely in the time trial event.
Versatile young rider Jack Bobridge and Richie Porte earned Australia the maximum two time trial quota places after finishing in the top six at the 2011 World Championships in Denmark. Compatriat Matthew Goss finished second to Brit Mark Cavendish in the mass start road race by just three hundredths of a second and has vowed for revenge in London.
The beauty of the Olympic road race is that a nation’s riders can pull together and compete as a team. Australia boasts an array of established road cyclists including Tour de France contenders Simon Gerrans, Mark Renshaw, Michael Rogers and five-time Olympian, Stuart O’Grady. West Australian Cameron Meyer is another young rider on the rise, surging to an impressive victory at the 2011 Tour Down Under.
Women to watch:
The always-smiling Amanda Spratt stormed home to win the 2012 Australian road title. After hip surgery ruled Spratt out of the 2008 & 2009 seasons, her timely comeback places her in the mix for Olympic selection. Fellow GreenEDGE-AIS teammate Alexis Rhodes is also well on the comeback trail. Rhodes won the 2011 National road title, 2012 National criterium and placed fourth in the time trial at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Shara Gillow had a strong 2011, winning the road race/ time trial double at the 2011 Oceania Championships while Vicki Whitelaw, Rochelle Gilmore and Ruth Corset performed well on the world circuit to pull Australia’s female ranking up. The road is theirs for the taking and the race is on to ensure Australia can qualify the maximum number of riders for the Games.
ROAD CYCLING FORMAT
There are four gold medals on offer in the road cycling discipline- men’s and women’s road race and men’s and women’s time trial.
The road race course is 250km for men and 140km for women. In London the course starts at The Mall, the historic main artery leading to Buckingham Palace. Always filled with spectacular scenery, the peleton will then cross the Thames, pass Hampton Court Palace- once home to Henry VIII and move on through Surrey and surrounding areas before returning to The Mall.
The Time Trial is a race against the clock over a shorter distance at Hampton Court Palace. Cyclists start at 90 second intervals with men racing 44km and women covering 29km. The three cyclists with the fastest times will be awarded Olympic medals.
QUALIFICATION AND SELECTION
The qualification process for the mass road race is based largely on UCI World Rankings. The top ten male riding nations win Olympic positions for five cyclists and Australia has achieved this.
The top five female nations earn four Olympic quota places. There are additional places available through Continental Tours.
Places in the individual time trial are also determined based on UCI world rankings as well as results from the 2011 World Championships. Australia sucessfully secured the maximum two male places in the time trial after Jack Bobridge and Richie Porte finished in the top six at the World Championships.
For all the Nomination and Selection documentation click here>>>
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC HISTORY
Kathy Watt won Australia’s first road racing gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. Sarah Carrigan was the next athlete to win gold on the road with her emphatic victory at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Kevin Sefton is the only male medallist with silver in the road race at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
To read all about Australia’s cycling history click here>>>