Australia Find Team Pursuit Podium Twice On Opening Day Of Track World Cup

Australia?s team pursuit quartets have collected the nation?s two medals on the opening day of competition at the UCI Track World Cup Series in Manchester. In the men?s event, Alexander Edmondson (SA), Luke Davison (SA), Mitchell Mulhern (QLD) and Miles Scotson (SA) teamed to take the silver medal, while in the women?s final Annette EDMONDSON (SA), Rebecca Wiasak (ACT), Georgia Baker (TAS) and Elissa Wundersitz (WA) clinched bronze. Men?s Team Pursuit The ?Ashes on the track? battle resumed with the young Australian team of Edmondson, Davison, Mulhern and Scotson qualifying second fastest being a strong Great Britain outfit featuring reigning Olympic champions Ed Clancy and Steven Burke. In a hard fought final, Great Britain took the gold in a time of 3mins 58.654secs, less than a second ahead of the Australians who crossed the line in 3mins 59.293secs. ?We gave it everything we had tonight. We came in with not a lot of track time so to come away with a sub four minute ride is no mean feat,? said Edmondson. ?The plan was to go down with out a fight and we did just that. We gave everything we had but they were just the better team on the day. This ride gives us a lot of confidence going into the next World Cup,? Edmondson added. Women?s Team Pursuit: The inexperienced quartet of Edmondson and World Cup team pursuit debutants Baker, Wiasak and Wundersitz formed Australia?s first ever four-rider formation for the newly expanded 4000m event for women. Qualifying third fastest, the team faced off against Russia in the bronze medal final and fought back from a deficit of nearly two seconds at the halfway point to win by nearly two seconds in a time of 4:30.831. “I’m very pleased with both the team’s rides today, for a team that hasn’t spent much time together we rode well and read each other perfectly.? They knew when to do short and long turns and it definitely paid off,? said Edmondson. ?With this being Elissa, Georgia and Bec’s first team pursuit at a senior World Cup, we came here hoping for experience and a top four or five placing, so to come away with third is a brilliant result for us,? added Edmondson who will now contest the omnium and points races. ?I know my competition are in good form after the European champs, but I’m in for a challenge but I’m looking forward to giving it a crack and seeing just where my track fitness is at following my road season,? she said. In the final, Great Britain?s Olympic champions Laura TROTT, Dani King, Joanna Roswell teamed with world champion Elinor BARKER to shatter their own world record set in the morning qualifying.? The new mark now sits at 4:19.604. Men?s Team Sprint: Australia?s trio of Daniel Ellis (ACT), Matthew Glaetzer (SA) and Mitch Bullen (NSW) recorded a time of 43.845secs to finish in fifth place.? The trio missed the bronze medal ride by just two one-hundredths of a second. Women?s Team Sprint: Australia?s Kaarle McCulloch (NSW) and Stephanie Morton (SA) finished fourteenth after being relegated for an incorrect exchange in the afternoon qualifying session. Women?s Scratch 10km A tough schedule for Baker resulted in her contesting the scratch final just minutes after winning bronze in the team pursuit final. In a punishing race, four riders had taken a lap on the field by race end with Baker crossing the line in twentieth place behind eventual winner Poland?s Malgorzata WOJTYRA. Men?s Omnium Rounds 1-3 Despite a long day on the track for Davison juggling team pursuit and omnium commitments, the South Australian currently sits in sixth place overall after the first three rounds in the men?s omnium (flying lap, points race and elimination race). The final three events will be held on day two.