Jack Bobridge and the rest of Australia’s men’s pursuit team have made themselves right at home at the London Olympic velodrome.
The foursome of Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Alex Edmondson and Michael Hepburn set up a tantalising showdown with Britain on Sunday (Monday AM AEDT) by topping qualifying at the Olympic test event.
“We want to race the Brits for sure on their home turf,” Bobridge said.
“Get the controversy out there – stir each other up.
“I think it will be fantastic to race the Brits on their home track.”
In a teaser before the Games start on July 27, the noise from the home crowd was deafening as the British men’s team completed its 16 laps in 3 minutes and 58.446 seconds.
A chunk of the crowd left the venue after the host nation’s pace-setting performance.
With shuttle buses needed to ferry spectators through the construction site at Olympic Park on a week night, their premature exit was understandable.
Not surprisingly, the Australians did not have anywhere near the same backing.
However, a handful of supporters made their allegiances clear by cheering heartily as Australia’s time of 3:57.885 was registered on the big screen.
Geraint Thomas, a member of Britain’s Olympic champion and world record-setting team in Beijing, said this week the hosts wanted to “take out the Aussies and just smash them”.
He was more circumspect following the qualifying ride.
“I think we did a decent ride there,” he said.
“We’re a bit disappointed with the time. We’re always striving for more.”
Bobridge was reasonably content with the team’s first competitive ride at the venue nicknamed the “Pringle”.
“We can’t complain with that ride,” he said.
“It was smooth, fast and in control the whole time.”
He expected times at the Olympic track to start coming down by when the Games begin in July.
The selection of 18-year-old Edmondson, the younger brother of women’s pursuit team member Annette, demonstrated the depth in Australian track cycling.
He took the spot of Luke Durbridge, a member of the 2011 world champion pursuit team and current national time trial champion.
Meanwhile, Australia’s emerging women’s pursuit team showed some encouraging signs by shaving one thousandth of a second off the national record.
The team of Melissa Hoskins, Annette Edmondson and Josephine Tomic qualified third fastest in 3:21.426 to set up a bronze medal race against the Netherlands on Friday (Saturday AM AEDT).
Canada (3:20.785) and Great Britain (3:21.370) will compete for the gold medal at the World Cup event.
Australia finished fourth in the women’s team pursuit at last year’s world titles in Apeldoorn.
But Tomic believed the new-look unit was capable of a podium finish at the Olympics.
Not even the delay from Hoskins’ back wheel being initially jammed in the gate could stop them putting up a world-class time.
“I don’t think it affected us,” Tomic said.
“It is really promising heading into worlds (in Melbourne in April).”
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