Having won both world championship and world cup gold in the last year, the West Pine 22-year-old last night completed an impressive hat-trick with victory in the individual pursuit at the Australian track championships in Melbourne.

After qualifying fastest from the afternoon session, Cure’s time of 3:33.320 was three seconds faster than ACT’s Rebecca Wiasak to win the final with Ashlee Ankudinoff, of New South Wales, proving too strong for South Australian Annette Edmondson to claim bronze.

Tasmania’s prospects of retaining the team pursuit crown tonight look strong after all four riders finished in the top 10 of the individual event, with Launceston pair Georgia Baker (sixth +9.50) and Lauren Perry (seventh +9.94) plus Devonport’s Macey Stewart (10th +15.25) following Cure home.

On the first night of competition, Cure, Ankudinoff and Edmondson teamed up with West Australian Melissa Hoskins to set a new Australian record in the team pursuit.

Just three weeks out from the UCI world championships in Paris, the team covered the 4000 metres in 4 minutes 20.999 seconds in a specially-scheduled record attempt.

The quartet remained consistently under record pace throughout the 16-lap event to break the two-year-old mark set at altitude in 2013.

“They were under a lot of pressure, it was an excellent time set in Mexico, and full credit to them as they delivered,” said national women’s track endurance coach Gary Sutton.

“I was pleased with  how they rode like a team. They shortened their turns, they lengthened their turns when they needed to, and everyone delivered to the plan.”

Australia claimed the 3km team pursuit world title in 2010 through Ankudinoff, Sarah Kent and Josephine Tomic when the event was staged as a three-rider contest. 

In 2011, Australia missed a medal by just three tenths of a second, while a fourth place at the London 2012 Olympic Games was sandwiched between 2012 and 2013 world championship silver.  

The women’s team pursuit moved to four riders and 4000m in late 2013, and Australia again settled for a minor placing at the 2014 world championships as Great Britain claimed their fourth straight world crown.  The British outfit also boasts the world record of 4mins 16.552secs.

Launceston’s James Robinson, 17, claimed a silver medal when he finished behind South Australia Rohan Wight and ahead of Victorian Kelland O’Brien in the under-19 men’s pursuit.

Fellow Tasmanian Hayden Di Cocco-Grant came ninth with Harry Baker 20th and Jake Oliver 24th.

Hobart’s Gerald Evans came ninth in the senior men’s pursuit won by Victorian Alex Morgan.

In the men’s teams pursuit, the Tasmanian quartet of  Evans, Baker, Di Cocco-Grant and Robinson qualified fifth.