CYCLING: On the eve of her 12th World Championships campaign, ten-time world champion Anna Meares isn’t putting any additional pressure on herself to add another title to a bulging resume.
The 31-year-old boasts a career tally of 22 World Championship medals and requires just one more rainbow jersey to become the most successful female track cyclist in history. Currently Meares shares the lead on ten world championship victories with France’s own Felicia Ballanger.
Meares, who departed Adelaide on Tuesday with the twenty-member Australian team for the UCI World Track Championships, will have every opportunity to move clear in the records books as she is slated to line up in all four women’s sprint events in Paris during the five-day Championships that begin on 18 February.
“I am really happy with where I am at, but I am not giving myself outcome-based goals,” said Meares, who collected keirin and time trial silver and seventh in the sprint at the 2014 World Championships in Colombia.
“I am in a very different place now than twelve months ago, I am much more content with my preparation and my goals. And I know that this race will be better than my last.
“My goal is all about Rio in 2016 and these World Championships will be a huge step to prepare me for that.
“I want to be able to communicate well with Gary West [National Track Sprint Coach], to understand our race plans, try some new things. That was really pertinent for me at Nationals, it all started to come together and I had the feel back again, and that is really exciting for me.”
Meares will be joined on the sprint team by Commonwealth Games sprint gold medallist Stephanie Morton (SA), and will be reunited with her three-time team sprint world champion partner Kaarle McCulloch (NSW) who returns after a missing 2014 due to injury.
“I am hugely excited to be riding with Kaarle again, this time with a little bit of a twist,” remarked Meares, who will now take the position of second wheel in the team sprint. “But I am little nervous being in second wheel, there is a lot of pressure, a lot of things you have to get right.
“But Kaarle is riding faster than she ever has, a so I think this is going to be a great combination."
Meares is also pleased to see three debutants in the eight-member sprint team in Peter Lewis (NSW), Nathan Hart (ACT) and Jacob Schmid (VIC).
“It is great to see these three step up into the team, these guys are just in their twenties, so the potential for them is huge.
“It is so exciting, their first senior world titles, I remember mine, I went and got Shane Kelly’s autograph I was just so excited!”
Meares, and Victoria’s Shane Perkins who heads to his ninth world titles, is also eager to share leadership roles within the team.
“Shane (Perkins) and myself can certainly offer experience and advice at a level maybe others can’t because of our age and experiences.
“But we encourage all of them to understand and see that they are leaders, they are mentors, not just to people in the team, but to people who look up to them.
“This is being driven by a culture and daily training environment push by Gary and the HPU program.
“It is something I am extremely proud to continue to be a part of.”
The 2015 UCI Track World Championships will be held in Paris, from 18 - 22 February 2015.
CYCLING AUSTRALIA
