VIS’ Kelland O’Brien and his Australian Team Pursuit teammates obliterated their own World Record on the way to winning the gold medal at the 2019 UCI Track World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland on Thursday.
The Australian quartet, guided by Coach Tim Decker, brought the Polish crowd to its feet as they scorched the Pruszkow Velodrome in a new World Record time of 3mins 48.012secs (averaging 63.155km/h), bettering the astonishing ride at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (3:49.804) where they became the first team in history to crack the three-minute fifty barrier.
“I am lost for words, this team is proving to be more and more special every time we come together,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien and teammates Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard, and debutant Cameron Scott (NSW) opened the team’s 2019 World’s campaign in style on Wednesday with the fastest qualifying time (3:52.152).
With Alex Porter coming in for Scott, the quartet set a cracking near world-record pace in their first round matchup against New Zealand. However, they lost momentum when they were forced to navigate a splintered New Zealand after catching them with three laps to go before posting a time of 3mins 51.529.
Traditional rivals Great Britain didn’t stand a chance in the battle for the gold when the Australians pulled the throttle from the gun and never let go. Great Britain posted a time of 3mins 50.810secs to win silver.
Tim Decker was almost lost for words after the win, “I’m a bit emotional! It’s been a fantastic night and we probably exceeded our expectations in regard to time in the TP.”
“We came in here with a real focus to nail our ride and try to execute a good, skilled ride and try to find a way to make it happen and give those guys a chance to chase the rainbow bands and they were hungry to chase.”
“Yesterday we had a few challenges thrown at us, but we made our way into the final but they brought it together and came away with a pretty magical time.”
