The Rockhampton Cycling Club will send down a thirteen strong squad to contest the 2006 Queensland State Track Cycling Championships at Chandler Velodrome in Brisbane, Australia next week.
The championships commence on Monday, January 2 with the women's 500m time trial and men's 4000m team pursuit and standing 1 lap time trial. They will run through every night until Saturday, January 8.
In the elite women, the opening night of competition will see Queensland's female speed demons Anna and Kerrie Meares contesting the elite women's 500m Time Trial. Alex Bright will round up the Rockhampton contingent in the time trial and will be out in hot pursuit of the leading female sprinter for the week, Mackay's Chloe McPherson, the current World Junior Keirin Champion. McPherson will be the one to beat in the sprint series, the standing 1 lap time trial and the keirin.
A small but competitive field of women will take part in the endurance events, with Anouska Edwards representing Rockhampton in the 3000m individual pursuit and will be joined by Bright to contest the 10km scratch race and 25km points score. Edwards will have strong competition from Brisbane's Liz Young.
In the men, the championships will see the return of 2003 World Junior 1000m Time Trial Champion Wade Cosgrove, who has returned to the velodrome after time out of competitive cycling. Cosgrove will contest the sprints, standing lap and keirin. Joining Cosgrove in the elite men's field will be Grant Irwin, Miles Olman, Lindsay McMaster and Jay Callaghan. In the sprints, Broncos Ben Simonelli will be one to watch while Olman will be the favourite in the elite men's 4000m individual pursuit and Irwin a serious medal contender in the elite men's 1000m time trial.
The U19 men will also be a hotly contested field at this year's championships, with plenty of up and coming talent filling this field. Rockhampton will be represented by Joshua Edwards (endurance), Lachlan Plane (sprints), Jeremy Hogg (sprints) and Tyler Wright (sprints).
Edwards will be focusing on the endurance events for the State Championships, namely the 3000m individual pursuit, scratch race and points score. In the sprint events, Hogg, Plane and Wright will have stiff competition from the in-form Byron Davis (Kangaroo Point CC) and Maryborough talent Malcolm Rudolph.
The Championships commence at 4pm on Monday, January 2 and will be excellent race preparation as the riders look towards the CQU Rockhampton Cup on Wheels on 20-21 January at the Kenrick Tucker Velodrome, Rockhampton.
More information: www.qld.cycling.org.au/new/track.htm
CQU Rockhampton Cup on Wheels Website: www.cyclingnews.com/sponsors/rockhamptoncup/
