The podium for the men's 15km scratch race: Stephen Hall (silver), Scott Law (gold) and Glenn O'Shea (bronze). (Image credit: Cycling Australia / Regallo)
Scott Law is using this week's Oceania Track Championships as the first stepping stone for a potential Olympic berth in 2012. The Australian is targeting a spot in the omnium, but with the removal of the points and scratch races for the London Games, selection in the event will be hotly contested, particularly against the likes of Cameron Meyer and reigning omnium world champion Michael Freiberg.
But the 20-year-old is not fazed, telling Cyclingnews that selection will come down to the results that he and his rivals post in the coming 9 months.
"Of course selection is going to be really competitive for London." said Law. "Hopefully I can put in a strong performance here at the omnium [starting today] and if all goes to plan I’ll be trying to ride some of the world cups, track nationals and possibly worlds, in order to make the best possible case to Cycling Australia."
Law recently signed with the European-based An Post - Sean Kelly Cycling team, further progressing his fast developing road career. Like many other track riders his road career is what pays his bills, but he insisted that his commitments with An Post would not intefere with his track campaign.
"Well it’s always a juggling act between the track and the road. I’ll try and do as well as I can in both, but if it all comes down to it then the Olympics have to be the priority. An Post are aware of that and they fully support me in that pursuit. They’re happy to give me as much time as I need to focus on the track."
The final Olympic selection will likely come down to whichever rider can show that their credentials in the team pursuit are the best. In accordance with the new the Olympic program, the national team will be taking less riders to contest the endurance events meaning either Freiberg, Meyer or Law will likely ride a qualifying round of the team pursuit in addition to their omnium commitments.
That’s something Law is taking into consideration, but he’s also aware that he can’t focus too much on developing his pursuit skills at the expense of his main asset – his sprint.
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"Realistically there are only really five spots up for offer," said Law. "You’ve got to be able to ride both [team pursuit and ominum] if you’re going to feature in the final selection. I’ve been doing a lot of work at home with the NSWIS on those sorts of efforts. But, at the same time you can’t over play the endurance side because otherwise you give away too many points [for the omnium] in the flying lap and the kilo.
"But that’s the beauty of the omnium, it’s a strong man’s event. It’s hard to gauge now how well I’ll be going in seven months when the Games come round. In the meantime all I can do is keep making my case."
The Oceania Track Championships are taking place in at the ILT Velodrome, Invercargill, New Zealand from November 21-24.
Alex Hinds is a graduate of Economics and Political Science from Sydney University. Growing up in the metropolitan area of the city he quickly became a bike junkie, dabbling in mountain and road riding. Alex raced on the road in his late teens, but with the time demands of work and university proving too much, decided not to further pursue full-time riding.
If he was going to be involved in cycling in another way the media seemed the next best bet and jumped at the opportunity to work in the Sydney office of Cyclingnews when an offer arose in early 2011.
Though the WorldTour is of course a huge point of focus throughout the year, Alex also takes a keen interest in the domestic racing scene with a view to helping foster the careers of the next generation of cycling.
When not writing for Cyclingnews Alex is a strong proponent of the awareness of cyclists on the road in Sydney having had a few close run-ins with city traffic in the past.
