At the London 2012 Games, the new cycling discipline of Omnium will make its Olympic debut, and 19-year-old Scott Law has tonight showed he is hungry to be a part of it.

An event with six components, the first Omnium leg contested at this week’s 2011 National Track Championships was the Flying Lap. Riders completed a 250m time trial, with points being awarded in reverse order – the winning rider receiving one point.

Following the Flying Lap was the Points Race, a 30km race for men and 20km for women. Twenty-year-old Commonwealth Games cyclist Ashlee Ankudinoff took the lead at this stage, with NSW rider Law holding his lead in the men’s.

The third event in the endurance feat that is Ominum, was the Elimination Race with the last rider over the line being eliminated every two laps.

On the second day of Nationals, the fourth event got underway with the Individual Pursuit during the afternoon session with the evening session providing the final two legs.

The Scratch Race was one of the most exciting events in the six-part program, with riders tackling this race that combines endurance with tactics.
 
With 40 laps for the women and 60 for the men, riders begin with a mass start with the first person over the line on the final lap crowned the winner.

Involving a lot of team tactics, South Australia’s Elizabeth Georgouras helped teammate Annette Edmondson take out the stage leaving her in first position overall going into the final leg. Tasmanian cyclist Luke Ockerby took out the scratch leg for the men with favourite Law coming in third.

Said to be the most painful event in cycling due to the lactic build up over 1000m, the Kilometre Time Trial was the final event of the Omnium.

South Australian Annette Edmondson had the fastest time trial and proved her mettle in the overall Omnium event, taking out the women’s title with a total of 12 points and an accrued time of 4:28.326.

“The racing was really, really tough out there,” Edmondson, a two-time Australian Youth Olympic Festival competitor said. “There are some really great riders and I had a tough ride but it was great fun.”

In the final race of the night, the Dunc Gray Velodrome came alight as Law took out the Time Trial in a blitzing 1.02.556 to give him a convincing win with 10 points overall.

“I’m stoked,” Law said. “I really had my sights set on the Omnium and wanted to come out and break my personal bests – and I did that with flying colours. I couldn’t be happier.”

Competition continues throughout the week at the Velodrome. For more information go to www.cycling.org.au

Alice Wheeler
AOC