After coming so close previously, Amy Cure now has a rainbow jersey to herself, winning her maiden world championship title in an event she admitted was not her main focus.
Seizing her chance midway through the 25km points race, Cure (38 points) made a solo break and lapped the field. That combined with previous scores took her to the top of the table, where she remained thanks to two calculated point-scoring attacks.
Primarily a pursuit rider where she had won only silvers and bronzes, an elated Cure admitted the race that brought her that elusive gold was not a priority coming into Cali.
“My main focus had been the teams’ pursuit and then the individual pursuit,” said Cure. “The points race was kind of another event I’d really love to do but it probably was not my main focus and to pull that off, I’m stoked.”
Once her win was confirmed, Cure ran to her cheering teammates whose elation matched that of the world’s newest champion. Cure struggled to contain her glee on the podium, her beaming smile only growing as the Australian flag was raised.
“It’s taken me so long and while it’s an amazing experience winning (four) world championships as a junior, nothing compares to senior (titles),” said Cure. “I can’t believe I finally got my rainbow stripes. To finally come out on top of the dias in the points race is an amazing experience.”
Cure said that after taking a lap, she used a lull in the race to recover before accumulating the points required to tie up her win.
“When I got on the back of the bunch, it took a bit longer than I was expecting but I finally got on. I knew I had to sit on for a few sprints and recover.
“I knew it was close between the German (Stephanie Pohl, 35 pts) and I had to give it everything, so I knuckled down and focussed on her, making sure I did everything I could to beat her over the line. It paid off so I’m stoked.”
Matthew Glaetzer showed no signs of injury as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s sprint, knocking out fellow Australians Shane Perkins and Dan Ellis in the process.
Glaetzer, who had a huge crash in the keirin on Day 2, was drawn against Ellis in the Round of 16 before edging out Perkins in a close-fought quarter-final.
His assignment in the semi-finals will be even tougher, taking on defending champion Stefan Botticher of Germany.
Brit Jason Kenny took out the fifth to eighth place race, with Perkins crossing the line last to finish the world championships in eighth
Annette Edmondson showed again why she is the country’s best all-round track cyclist, placing fourth after Day 1 of the women’s omnium.
A super quick flying lap of 14.027sec was too good for her opponents to match while only two riders lasted longer than the Australian in the elimination race. Edmondson’s only average performance was in the points race where she was lapped and only managed 11th.
Edmondson has previously been silver and bronze medallist in the omnium and was Olympic bronze medallist in London. Gold may elude her here. Day 1 leader Sarah Hammer’s second place in the flying lap behind Edmondson was her only fault in a near perfect day.
Final day action includes:
– Glaetzer in the medal rounds of the men’s sprint
– Day 2 of the women’s omnium with Annette Edmondson trying to edge her way into the medals
– The men’s Madison featuring Alex Edmondson and Glenn O’Shea
– Anna Meares and Steph Morton in the women’s keirin trying to avenge their sprint disappointments
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Silly headline - how do you 'cure' a search? Awesome result though.