Tasmanian cycling sensation Felicity Wilson-Haffenden has added her first elite national track crown to the junior road world title she won last year.
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The 18-year-old from Hobart was behind ACT's Claudia Marcks for all but two laps of the 3000-metre women's individual pursuit race at the national championships in Brisbane, falling two seconds behind at the midway point.
However, Wilson-Haffenden's second lap in the lead would be the final one, crossing the finish 0.126 seconds ahead of Marcks in a time of 3:28.459.
The all-Ireland gold medal final was won by Kelly Murphy from Mia Griffin with the Tasmanian's bronze medal ride earning her the national title.
"I was really pleased with the ride," she said.
"This is my first time riding a 3000m IP in training or in competition, so it was a really big unknown. I haven't ridden the pursuit since junior worlds last year and that was a 2000m, so I was really proud of the improvement. And I haven't had a big track preparation."
Fresh from her success on the road in Scotland, the track triumph demonstrates the talented teenager's versatility.
"It's a huge jump. For me, it's a different race, really. A 2k, you go out hard, you go harder, and you hang on. A 3k, as I learned this morning, you really do need to pace a lot more. Tonight's really the first time I've actually ridden to a schedule and it's just completely different. You go hard, sit, and then you really just dig deep for the end.
"I think the start is a big area for improvement for me. And then, just the more training, I hope the backend just gets more consistent.
"Coming off road worlds, it was a huge roller-coaster for me. There were big highs and there were also some big lows. And then all summer it has been learnings."
Launceston's Josh Duffy also underlined his Paris Olympic aspirations in the men's endurance events.
The 23-year-old landed a bronze medal in the scratch race won by Queenslander Liam Walsh. Fellow Launceston rider Sam McKee was 15th.
Duffy also finished fourth in the 40km points race final, with 38 points. National teammate Conor Leahy, of Western Australia, won with 76 points.
Burnie's Alex Eaves finished sixth in the 25km junior men's points race final.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
DAILY
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