AMY Cure has revealed the strategy that enabled her to join an illustrious list of Australian individual world champions.
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Some diligent observations, a background of racing on outdoor tracks and some impeccable timing went into the 21-year-old's victory in Sunday's world championship points race.
After two days of travelling from the Colombian city of Cali to her home in West Pine, near Penguin, Cure admitted the gold medal means so much more than the two silvers, two bronzes and four junior world titles already under her belt.
``I've got a few medals now but nothing compares to this,'' she said.
``It's the reason why we get out of bed in the morning and put in so much hard work.
``I'm really stoked and it's great to be home and be able to celebrate with family and friends.''
After finishing third in both individual and team pursuits, Cure spent her time observing races in Cali's semi-outdoor velodrome and noticed how riders were getting affected by the breezy conditions.
``With the wind being a factor I noticed that those that went out hard used up their energy.
``So I decided to try and sit in, keep a lid on things and then try and get a lap when everyone was a bit tired and it ended up paying off.''
Riding what Cycling Australia described as ``a calculated race beyond her years'', Cure conserved her energy in the early stages of the 100-lap race, but still collected points in three of the first four of 10 sprints.
She then attacked and, along with Germany's Stephanie Pohl, gained an additional 20 points by lapping the field. Cure and Pohl spent the rest of the race jostling for overall lead but again the Aussie's timing was perfect, edging the eighth and ninth sprints to reach 38 points and know she only had to shadow the German to the line to be champion.
Pohl collected two points on the final sprint to finish three behind Cure, with Canada's Jasmin Glaesser (32 points) taking bronze.
``After I got those 20 points I needed a couple of laps to recover before getting a few more points at the back end of the race,'' said Cure, who became Australia's second champion in the event following Katherine Bates's 2007 title.
``I knew it was going to be close but that I could just focus on the German girl if I wanted gold and I knew she was struggling as much, if not more, than me. So I was feeling pretty confident and relaxed going into the last sprint.''
Cure, who also claimed the individual and team pursuit titles at the national championships in January, will fly to Belgium on March 17 to begin her contract with Lotto-Belisol Ladies riding a mixture of one-day and stage races including the Tour of Britain.
But she said her primary goal for the year will be to make the Australian team for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
``I've already had a really awesome year and the Commonwealth Games would be a bonus but hopefully I can pick up another medal there.''