AIS Awards and Cycling Australia Awards

Anna and I were very honoured this year to win the AIS team athletes of the year award.  I was very humbled to receive this award considering the depth of the teams and success that other teams from across all Australian AIS sports.  I didn't understand the enormity of this nomination, let alone receiving the award until I got to Canberra and saw the calibre of athletes in the room.

I brought my dad along with me and he was pretty proud of me and looked very nice in his newly bought suit!  Anna's parents also came along and it was one of the first times both our families have been able to meet in circumstances other than at a race and celebrate what we have achieved.

My first attempt as the 'A-Mac' team spokesperson!

Its a bit blurry, Anna and I with my father Grahame.

L-R Anna's mother Marilyn, Anna, Anna's father Tony and me. 

Anna and I with our coach Gary West.

Anna took out the major award and was also inducted into the hall of fame - which was amazing for her!  She should be so proud of what she has done in 2011 and really since she has started riding.  Because she knew she was up for a few awards she got me to speak when we received our award.  Which I wasn't very happy about and now because she says I did a good job I am now team spokesperson!  Thanks Anna!  But seriously I was very proud to speak on behalf of Anna and look forward to hopefully having to do it many more times in the future!  

This is my backstage interview after winning the Team Athlete of the year award with Anna.

Talk about doubling up...the following night was the Cycling Australia Awards.  It felt very strange to be getting dressed up two nights in a row!  I felt very feminine for a change!  This time I brought my mum, Karen, and stepfather Ken along with me and whilst I didn't receive an award at this event, I was grateful to be able to present a category.  I got to meet Daniel Macpherson who was hosting the event and catch up with people I haven't seen for a long time as well as speak to many people who share the same passion as I do with cycling.  Anna again took out a major award as well as Female track athlete of the year - both highly deserved.  I was nominated once more this award, and one year I hope to win it!

I got to spend the rest of the weekend at home where I went and watched my brother Jack at some of the NSW state titles.  He won the Team Sprint with our club St George and he came 4th in the pursuit!  I am very proud of him!  I also got to present some awards and its always nice to go and support and watch these events as it brings back some fond memories of when I first started.

Me with fellow St George CC teammates Brie Dutton and Imogen Hines who won the NSW State Team Sprint Championships (Stars of the future?!  I think so!) 

Me presenting my brother his medal (I also gave him a big kiss on the cheek to embarrass him!) 

Me with the NSW Team Sprint Champions, St George CC riders Jacob Abramovic, Jack (my brother) and Nathan Bradshaw.

Astana World Cup

The path to London just seemed to get a little shorter last month when I travelled to Astana for the first World Cup of the 2011/2012 season.  A long off season was rewarded with some great performances for all of the Aussies and as I sit back home in Adelaide and reflect I can happily say that things are on track.

Day one saw Anna and I don the rainbow jersey for the first time this season in the Team Sprint.  Whilst I was nervous I was pretty happy with how I had recovered from the 50hours of travel, despite an issue with my stomach as a result of something I ate.  I spent the remainder of my time in Astana eating plain rice with soy sauce after that! The heats were pretty hotly contested with over 16teams lining up and some fast times posted, and also unusually a lot of re starts due to teams false starting.  Anna and I rode a great time of 33.0 in the heat to qualify in first which saw us line up against the Ukraine team in the final.

Warming up for the Team Sprint

Gary Sutton holding me on the start line.

In the final, as usual, Anna and I knew we had more to bring to the track and we certainly did that with both of us riding marginally faster each to finish in a time only 0.019 of a second off our World Record.  To say that that was a great start to the season is an understatement!  Whilst a World Record would have been lovely it was unexpected that we would ride that fast so early in the season, which is good because we were not preparing to be in good form in Astana.

On the podium!  This was taken of the big screen!  Ukraine 2nd and Germany 3rd.

Here we go...final time!

It was the boys performances on Day one that really lifted the spirit in the sprint team with the team of Shane Perkins, Scott Sunderland and Matthew Glaetzer finishing second behind the in form German team.  Its great to see the boys getting a result they are deserved of and as a group in general we were happy to see some results from a long tough off season.

Day two was the sprint, and my sick stomach was turning to a bit of a stuffy head and I was unsure of how I was going to go today.  I got myself in shape and told myself that if I got to London and got sick would I just give up?  The answer was easy...no way.  I battled with my head and body and pushed through and ended up riding a personal best in the 200m qualifier of 11.173seconds!  Finally I had ridden a PB and finally I was in the 11.1 club!  For the first time in a long time I qualified in quite a good position which meant I got a bit of a better draw in terms of opponents.

In the first round I met Daniella Larreal, and knowing her history as a strong competitor a few years back I wasn't taking her lightly.  I won my race, not quite as comfortably as I would have liked and progressed through to the quarter finals where I met Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite.  Simona pretty much out schooled me to defeat me in two straight rides, I was slightly despondent after these races as I felt like I had the speed to win but just couldn't put together a strong enough race plan to achieve what I wanted.  I also embarrassingly had a nice little fall when attempting to do a standstill and force Simona to the front.  the race had to be re started and I tried again - successfully this time!  I was happy that I had been able to achieve what I wanted in that phase of the race after having a set back in the first attempt.

The Opening Ceremony, you can appreciate the enormity of the venue in this shot, there are not too many (if any) Velodromes in the world where seating goes around the bends like in Astana!

So I raced in the 5th-8th final where I finished 7th overall.  I seem to always be in that 5th-8th ride off and I hope that some time in the near future to make it through to the top four...that would really make me happy!  Anna donned her rainbow jersey for the first time in the sprint, where I think she was definitely the best rider out there, defeating 10.7 rider Olga Panarina in the semi finals in the fastest times ever ridden in a sprint match.  Anna ended up finishing second but I think she can take some huge confidence from her semi finals performance to know that she really is tactically trumping everyone at the moment.

The last day as usual was the Keirin and I was really feeling not great today.  I had a poor sleep and my body was not happy.  Still I turned up and tried to have a positive mindset.  For me the opportunity to race are so few and far and I don't train because I love to...I train because I love to race, so rain, hail or shine I was going out to race.  With such depth now the Keirin heats are proving to be the most hotly contested rides with only one person progressing through automatically to the second round in each heat.  I won my heat fairly comfortably (but had to do it the hard way by leading out) and spent a good 10min with my head in the bin dry heaving because the lactic was coursing through my body.  I was really happy to win and to have one less ride to race through the day.

My second round ride didn't quite go as I would have liked, I ended up finishing 4th which meant I was into the minor final.  I finished 10th in the minor final, where I just seemed to run out of legs after putting myself in a reasonable position.  I am still learning to have some 'feel' in races as I tend to panic a bit, one I day I will master this and I believe when that day comes I will be quite hard to beat.

So Astana was all over.  I have some fond memories of the trip, one is definitely the best prize I have ever won at a race which was a Sumsung phone.  My brother, Jack, will be lucky enough to get one exactly the same off Santa this year!  The hotel we stayed in was quite literally amazing.  It was 18 floors high (Anna and I were on the penthouse floor as well!), and the elevators were glass so you could see out into the lobby.  It was really frightening at first but like anything I got used to the sick feeling in my stomach every time I looked over the balcony!  I think the highlight of the elevators were when we found out that Mitchell Mulhern got stuck in the lift on the 17th floor...not funny I am sure if it were me but funny because as he said he was 'shitting himself!'  Astana itself surprised me, I am not sure what I was expecting...something like out of Borat, but in fact the country was quite nice, very very cold!  But nice.  I think the capital itself, Astana, will be a really lovely city in 10years time, at the moment it is quite new and still being developed.  It is quite strange to be driving down the street surrounded by these amazing buildings and then all of a sudden it turns to flat wasteland...weird!  The Veoldrome itself is quite spectacular.  I have never seen anything like it.  It seats 15000 people and was a beautiful venue.

Cold?  Heck yes!  View from my hotel room

The team!  L-R  Sarah Kent, Michael Frieburg, Katherine Bates, Matthew Glaetzer, Mitchell Mulhern, Amy Cure, Scott Sunderland, Shane Perkins, Glen O'Shea, Edward Bissaker, Alex Edmondson, Me, Anna Meares, Ashlee Ankudinoff

Snow ball fight?!  You can't hardly tell we are Aussies and don't get to do this often!  Amy Cure with a rather large snow ball!

View from the 18th floor!  Notice the 4elevators on the right and on the left is a big glass window that you can see right out of.

The trip home of another 50hours of travel was daunting for me.  However I kid you not I spent probably 40of those hours sleeping.  I was absolutely wrecked and still feeling ill and every time I got on a plane I was KO'd within 5min of sitting down.  It was the best trip I have ever had because it felt like it went so quickly.  I was lucky enough to get a little bit of rest after the trip, going home to visit my family, after attending a few awards nights.  I will write about those in my next blog.

As for now I am off to training.  I hope everyone is well.  Take care and ride fast! :)

Karls

Sydney Sprint GP

Hi all,

Since Perth I have continued my hard off season training.  Sydney GP was a chance for us to get some quality domestic racing in and test to see where we are heading into the first World Cup of the 2011/2012 season.

The first day was the Team Sprint for both males and females and Anna Meares and I once again donned our rainbow jerseys.  We were successful in winning and rode some quite good times for the time of the year which is promising heading into Astana (the first World Cup) at the end of this month.  I was pretty happy with my form and its a testament to the hard work that my team and I have been doing over the past few months.  A big thanks goes out to my support team who work very hard every day to give us all the best opportunities to be the best that we can be.

The second day saw the Sprint and the Keirin being raced - which proved to be a test physically with both events in the one program.  I qualified well in my second fastest ever time of 11.26 just shy of out qualifying Anna who rode 11.24.  In the earlier rounds which were best of one I raced against young Malaysian Fatehah, who is proving to be a strong competitor in the Oceania region.  I defeated her to move onto the semi finals.  In the semis I met Stephanie McKenzie from New Zealand who has just returned from a successful Junior Worlds campaign.  Having qualified well I made sure I didn't drop my game and defeated her to move onto the best of three final against Anna Meares.  Having defeated Anna in our last meeting I knew I was in for a tough rematch and that it was.  Both rides were photo finish close with Anna taking the overall win.  Although I was disappointed with not winning I was very happy with my execution of tactics and am feeling confident in my tactical ability heading into what is sure to be a tough season of racing on the World Cup scene.

With the Keirin up last my legs were starting to shout at me to stop!  I had to dig deep in the final, after finishing first in my heat, to find something special to bring.  Again I executed my race plan very well and thought I had the win wrapped up only to again be pipped by Anna on the line!  Again I was disappointed but I walked away with my head held high knowing that I am not only on the right track but that I have made some significant gains in the past 8 months.

A special shout out goes to my family and friends who came to watch over the weekend.  I really appreciate all the support that I am getting from everyone as the Olympics get closer and its also important for me to acknowledge those who do support me because I couldn't do what I do without you all.  I ride not only for myself, Anna and my support team but for everyone in my family, my friends and every Australian out there!

I am really looking forward to the upcoming races in Astana, which I am sure will be an experience in itself.  we have a fairly tough travel regimen to go through before we even get there and we are mostly training though so I don't expect anything too special.  However racing always brings the best out of me and I will be going out to do my best and see what happens.

I hope everyone out there is well and you should be hearing from me a little more with Astana and Nationals up and coming.  Stay tuned!

Karls :)

P.s. one last special mention goes out to my housemate who feels left out because I have not mentioned him in my blog.  Peter Lewis...you smell.  Ha-ha

2011 Perth GP

Hi all,

A quick update from Perth where the team and I are on a winter training camp. The intention was a chance to get of Adelaide and experience some better weather but as it turns out we have come to Perth and its wet and rainy, whilst Adelaide is having a bout of nice weather! Typical!

On the weekend we raced the annual Perth International Grand Prix, where we raced in the usual events of Sprint, Keirin and Handicap. The morning started off with sprint qualifying and I rode a time reflective of my training load currently of 11.75 and qualified second behind Anna in 11.71. Unusual to the normal program we had the Handicap before the sprint finals which was going to hurt the legs! I was leading Anna out for the win and got her to the second bunch with 3 laps to go and as I was coming around them a girl swung up and I went high to go around her and Anna went underneath thinking I was swinging, luckily when I came back down she was already in front of me, but I reckon I could have taken her to the front and for a massive 4lap turn but that didn’t eventuate. Anna held on for 3^rd which was a good result considering the fact that the handicapping was a little favourable for the front runners, she even gave me the flowers she won which was very nice!

Up next I rode the sprint rounds where I defeated Stephanie Morton in the Semi-Finals before riding Anna in the final. In a photo finish I was able to hold Anna off and take the win which was a bit of a surprise for me and I was really a little taken aback but very level headed in that we are both smashed from training at the moment and winning or losing here is not where its at for either of us so it was onwards and upwards and onto the next race.

Lining up against Anna for the Sprint final. Note my new sunglasses sponsors Salice.

Playing cat and mouse

I drew a poor position in the Keirin and found myself at the fence on the line, but was able to do a sneaky underneath run off the line and get myself into 5^th position. I knew I either had to make an early move around the front which is what I would normally do or sit and be patient – I decided to just see how the race unfolded and as it turns out I can actually show some patience and as Anna went to the front I waited for her to get there and then had one big attack around the bunch coming into bell lap. I took my second win for the day and in a more satisfying fashion which was really a huge confidence boost more for the fact that the work I have been doing since my disappointing Worlds campaign is paying off in small ways. Sometimes you need a devastating result to light that fire underneath you and keep you going forward – my fire is well and truly lit and won't be in any way distinguished until I achieve what I want.

We have a week long camp here in Perth before heading back to Adelaide to continue our long winter slog heading into the 2011/2012 season. Things are progressing on my end and I am working hard.

Hope everyone out there is well!

K-Mac.

Update

Hi all,

Its been some time since I have updated my blog and I apologise for this! Just a quick update:

It has been nearly two months since the World Championships finished where I was successful again in regaining my Team Sprint World Title with Anna Meares. We were both stoked to say the least. I had a rather meet otherwise in the individual events, with lots of room to improve in the future. A bit congratulations goes to my team mate Anna Meares in claiming 3 of the 4 Sprint world titles up for grabs.

Since returning from Holland I have had some much needed down time and a chance to reflect on the past year, but with the Olympics only 14months away it was back into it pretty quickly and I am thus far in a good place heading forward.

Over the next few months nothing too exciting will be happening (the realities of being a sprinter). The Perth Winter GP will be held in June and then from there on out we are just training full gas getting ready for the on coming season.

I will post some blogs post the few races I have up coming.

Take care all.

Karls :)

Manchester World Cup

Hi all,

Well its been a week since I returned home from Manchester. It feels like it has been a long time, and I have only just gotten over the trip after suffering from some bad jet lag along with a nice little bug I picked up on the plane that has seen me out of action for a few days. Its always tough for us Aussies to do such a trip but it was a successful and worthwhile trip for not only me but all of us in the team.

With the competition continuing to heat up in preparation for the Olympic Games the World Cup was one of the biggest ever run with four hotels accommodating all the teams. We were lucky enough to get a hotel in the city which was a nice change of pace and it allowed us to be a little more social and go out and do some sightseeing things prior to competition - that was if we weren't having epic UNO battles! UNO is becoming a bit of a tradition amongst the Aussie team and Anna Meares and myself were happy to educate some of the newer and younger members of this team to the tradition. It feels weird for me to say that I was one of the older members of the team this trip as I am only 23 but our team seems to be getting younger! It was a nice change of pace to have some new faces around and the new faces will be the faces to look forward to come Rio 2016 - its exciting for Australian cycling to say that we not only have the talent to go through to London but also heading into future competitions.

The Manchester 'Eye', we chose the perfect night to go on this with no cloud cover - I didn't enjoy it that much as I don't do heights but I am glad I did it!

One of the many pictures I took from the top, its not a bad old city Manchester! :)

Me and Michael Frieburg about to get on the cart!

Ha-ha sorry Mel I had to put this up! Mel Hoskins showing us how much she loves Yogi Bear! Mel is seriously the most amazing person when it comes to quoting things from movies - not only can she ride a bike fast but she can amaze you with her one liners! : )

Gearing up for another epic battle of UNO! Seriously I think UNO should sponsor us!

Heading out for a coffee! Left to right: Anna Meares, Mitchell Lovelock-Fay, Mel Hoskins, Mitchel Mulhern and Jordan Kerby.

Day one: Team Sprint - 'Lock and Load'
This was the first team sprint of the season for Anna and I was admittingly very nervous as I knew that my form was a little unknown, particularly seeing as we trained through this meet. Gary West, our coach, was adamant in treating the ride as training and preparation for the World Championships so outcome was irrespective. Being a World Champion evokes a kind of confidence and pride that far outweighed my nerves this night. The moment I zipped up my skin-suit I was going out for blood - losing wasn't in my equation tonight and I knew Anna felt the same when she came and gave me a little pep talk before our qualifying.

Our heat was very sketchy and I have to say I feel quite thankful to have ridden in Manchester in order to get the skeletons out of the closet so to speak. I stuffed up my warm up and so I was cold on the start line and then my holder was holding my really crooked and I couldn't balance properly and my start was just horrible. I was able to get on OK but my run was pretty ordinary and I just wasn't warm enough to produce a great ride. Lesson learnt the hard way! And in hindsight from it I drew a lot of positives - the first being that we rode an OK time and I knew I could do better in the final. But we were in the deep end with the Chinese out qualifying us by 3tenths of a second!

I was pretty fired up for the final and I made sure I was warm on the start line. I still had a bit of trouble with my holder but there's nothing I can do about that because its just the way it is so I had to work with it and this time I nailed the start. It was a great ride by us both and I cant fault too much in the ride - and we won! Less than a tenth of a second off our World Record which surprised me so much that I even yelled when I saw the result on the scoreboard! There is something about winning when you are the underdog - whilst we may have been the favourites we certainly were in trouble after the heat and with the Chinese dominating the season so far I felt like we were definitely up for a battle. The Chinese are proving to be a real force and Anna and I both know that we not only have the Chinese snapping at our heels but there are a number of countries coming - and coming fast. The best thing about this however is that it makes us better - and we will be better I can promise you that!

The next day I went to breakfast and some of the newer faces of the team came up to me and said to me that they think I didn't look like I was trying when I rode last night. I quote from Mitchel Mulhern:
"What were you doing? You don't even look like you try, its like you just 'lock and load' and go!"
I was very amused by this, and I think I'll take this one on board as a bit of a trait of mine. I train to ride fast and to ride fast you must use power efficiently. I may look like I am not trying but I can guarantee to you that I am bloody trying! I am just efficient in power delivery. I haven't always been like this and its still a work in progress - its hard to train and it takes time - the evolution of my riding style and I have my gym coach Scott Baker and coach Gary West to thank for this. This saying became a bit of a saying around the team for the next few days...very funny and thanks guys! :)

Anna and I heading into bend 3 after about 3/4 of a lap down

Me following Anna ready to go for my lap

Almost there....

About to go under Anna...this photo shows how close it all is...it doesn't feel like it when I am racing but I know Anna so well and I have the utmost confidence in being able to come underneath her and be close to her an her wheel.

'Locking and Loading' it! less than half a lap to go...COME ON!

OK the legs are starting to hurt now!

Always one of my favourite photos - I only ever remember two things from a good ride, one is Anna yelling at me when she swings up and the other is seeing Gary as I enter the home straight yelling at me also...lots of yelling!

Searching for the scoreboard...have we won???

YES! And alsmost a WR! Woo hoo!

Anna and I hug after winning! :)

Team Sprint podium: Jin Jin Gong and Shuang Guo (CHN), Me and Anna, Sandie Clair and Clara Sanchez (FRA)

Day Two: Sprint
Surprisingly I was feeling quite OK after a late night at the track after the team sprint. I was very business like in how I approached the sprint today as I wasn't actually supposed to ride it but we changed our minds at the last minute to use it as training from the tactical and technical perspectives in preparation for the World Championships.

Qualifying went well in 11.300 and I ended up finishing in 7th overall. I was happy with that and it was what I was expecting with my current form. In the first round I met Yvonne Hijgenaar of the Netherlands.

Getting ready to race - the 'race face' is on!

I have raced Yvonne and number of times before so I was very confident in racing her. My execution of my race was a little sketchy so I was glad to have raced here and again get the skeletons out of the closet. I defeated Yvonne to progress through to the quarter finals. I met Olympic bronze medalist Shuang Guo from China in the quarters and having qualified second in 11.03 I was up for a bit of a challenge. Despite this I actually raced reasonably well but lost in two straight rides which meant I was put through to the 5th-8th ride off.

Me racing Shuang Guo from China

5th to 8th's are a bit of a lucky dip and its rare you race these races so I was out to put myself in a good position and simply see what happened. It was on from the get go and with a lap to go I found myself boxed in and had to fight to get out and couldn't quite get out with enough time and ended up finishing 7th. Overall I was happy with this and I know that it will hold me in good stead for the Worlds.

The finish of the 5th-8th...close but no cigar as they say!

Day three: Keirin
Keirin being the last event for me at most major events is always a challenge in the earlier rides. I always get better as the day wears on and so in the first rounds I always find myself behind the motorbike thinking 'holy crap my legs feel like crap!'. In the first round these days only one person qualifies through to the second round so everyone has their work cut out for them. I rode a poor race tactically and as a consequence deserved not to make it through, I made a run around the outside late in the race and whilst I came fast I simply had to go too wide and got pushed back as we turned the bend into the home straight - so I was through to the reps.

I had a fairly good rep and again my biggest challenge came from Yvonne Hijgenaar. My tactic was simple - to be in front of Yvonne. This I executed very well and I felt confident as I crossed the line in first that my legs were starting to become a little more agreeable. So I was through to the second round.

The second round as per usual is now pretty much a final in terms of the quality of the field. This of course makes for great and tough racing. I had a pretty simple tactic and was able to be flexible in my delivery of the tactic as the race evolved. From my point of view it was a defining moment for me in terms of Keirin racing as I was more aggressive with holding my position and how I read the race. I ended up finishing second to Victoria Pendleton and as I rode up the home straight coming around everyone else I knew my legs were good!

The final saw Anna Meares (AUS), Shuany Guo (CHN), Jin Jin Gong (CHN), Victoria Pendleton (GBR), Clara Sanchez (FRA) and myself line up and after drawing 6th spot I was a little unsure as to how I was going to ride this final. I had two options to sit on and wait for a run and hope I get a medal or make a move and put myself in a position to win. As the bike swung off I made the last second decision to go around to the front deciding for the first time at this level that I had the legs to lead out. with 1and3/4 of a lap to go Anna made an absolutely 100% committed run around the outside which I missed by only half a bike length and in doing so the others in the race got her run and I found myself boxed in and in trouble. I ended up finishing last as I sat up the home straight. I was slightly disappointed that the race didn't unfold how I wanted but that's Keirin racing sometimes you get unlucky. The positive is that I made a move and I put myself in a position - one day that will pay off for me.

Racing is all done so I help Berthy get Mel ready for the last race of the meet!

Mel Hoskins getting ready for the last event in the Omnium - the 500m Time Trial. Mel raced really well and she will be going to her first senior World titles this year, good luck Mel.

With the end of the World Cup we began our epic trip back to Australia. The team and I were honoured to win the overall prize, having won the most medals and points! We celebrated by posing for lots of photos and when I get my hand on those photos I shall post them as they are hilarious! In the airport we wasted time talking rubbish and shopping - I found these awesome sunnies which everyone HAD to try on!

The Aussie team as overall winners! Left to right, top to bottom: Mitchell Mulhern, Anna Meares, Jordan Kerby, Michael Frieburg, Bella King, Rohan Dennis, Mitchell Lovelock Fay, Amy Cure, Me and Mel Hoskins. Well done team! :)

Bella King donning the bicycle glasses!

Jason Niblett looks good in these glasses

Mitchell Lovelock Fay in the sunnies

We had a long 15hour stop over in Singapore with which Anna and I spent constructively by putting a nice big dint in our bank accounts! We also did a bit of sightseeing and even went into a temple which was quite impressive!

The temple in Singapore

Me outside the temple!

Since returning home I have finally gotten better and started training again - our last phase for the season (which is the best part I might add!). Last night I went to the Michael Buble concert with Berthy May and Anna Meares and whilst we all would have loved to have sipped on a champagne and watched Buble woo us Anna and I were sipping n our drink bottles instead - we felt very uncool! Despite this we all managed to enjoy ourselves immensely and I highly recommend everyone going to see him!

With less than two weeks now before we head off to the worlds I will be regularly updating my blog so keep posted and I hope you enjoyed this one and all the photos! Thanks kindly to Paul Sloper for the amazing photos of our Team Sprint, Paul will be at the World Championships so I hope to have some more great photos for you all of the racing courtesy of Paul. Thanks Paul! :)

Take care everyone,

Karls :)

Australian Title Day Four

The Keirin has been very cut throat lately at World Cup level and even at nationals. With only one person progressing through to the finals in the first round I was pretty determined to make sure I got through without having to ride another round. In the first round I was successful in doing that winning comfortably to go through to the final.

In the final it was a pretty tough field with all medal winners from the week plus April Eppinger - who is a great opponent. I was a little unsure as to what my tactic was going to be but once in the race I just went on feel and did what I thought would give me the best shot at winning. The Keirin to me is not just about winning or progressing through rounds but also disadvantaging you're toughest opponents - who in this case was Anna Meares. Off the start Anna got the bike and I got her wheel. I could have very easily sat on her wheel to get a medal however thats not the way I operate and was dead determined to win tonight. When the bike swung off I went to the front and put the brakes on consequently boxing Anna in. I then waited and watched for the attack around the outside which came about 3/4 of a lap later and I slowly increased the pace. Being the last race of the meet I could feel my legs to start to give way on me though come the last lap. As you can see in the photo below I was hurting with a lap to go and new I was in big trouble! I got swamped up the home straight finishing 4th. I was pretty devastated but in discussion with my coaches I was relieved to hear that I had ridden a great race - but my legs were working against me! Sometimes as an elite athlete you have to race on tired legs as we cant simply be at our best all the time, this whole week was a case of that and for me it was a great weeks worth of racing and training that will set me up for some great form for worlds. Its hard when you get beaten to remain focused on the bigger picture however I am learning to be better at it and life always throws you what you need - I needed a lesson in perspective today and I always learn best when its hard to take!

Lined up ready to go in the Keirin final, left to right: April Eppinger, Cass Kell, Stephanie Morton, Anna Meares, Me, Holly Williams.

Taken the front and backing off the power! Come on!

Uh-oh! Hurting with a lap to go!

Tonight Cycling Australia put on a special dinner in the middle of the track for special guests and my family bought tables to come and watch me! It was so great having my family and closest supporters in the middle watching me and I thank-you from the bottom of my heart for coming and always supporting me - even though I lost tonight!!

A big thanks has to go out to the whole of the NSW team. We had such a great team environment and support staff and we couldn't do what we do without our support staff! Everyone pulled together and did such a great job. So THANK-YOU for making the week very enjoyable!

Whilst my titles didn't quite end the way I wanted I look forward now to the last World Cup of the year - Manchester. With worlds still 6weeks away we are all no where ready to race at our best so for me its about getting out there and racing - the outcome is not as important, however that's not to say I wont be going out with gold in my eyes! Anna and I will be teaming up for the first time this season in the Team Sprint. I am quietly confident as I know that no matter what I always lift - the rainbows help me to do that and knowing that I am the best in the world in that event gives me the confidence to believe in Anna and myself under any circumstances. As for the other events I am still unsure as to what I will be racing but I wont be doing a full program so only time will tell what I do! Until Manchester take care everyone! :)

Karls