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Cycling: Chan’s Olympic quest on track

SINGAPORE — If cyclist Dinah Chan qualifies for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, it could be in track, and not road cycling which she is better known for.

Chan kept the door to Rio open when she qualified for the UCI Track World Cup series 2014-15. TODAY FILE PHOTO

Chan kept the door to Rio open when she qualified for the UCI Track World Cup series 2014-15. TODAY FILE PHOTO

SINGAPORE — If cyclist Dinah Chan qualifies for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, it could be in track, and not road cycling which she is better known for.

New Olympic qualifying rules, announced in June by the International Cycling Union (UCI), for road cycling awards places to the world’s top 23-ranked countries, giving the advantage to nations with a large base of women cyclists whose collective points determine the rankings.

However, a continental qualifying format remains in place for track cycling, and Chan’s best shot would be to qualify as one of the top five riders in Asia for the Omnium, the only track endurance event on offer for the 2016 Games.

Two weeks ago, the 28-year-old kept the door to Rio open when she competed in the Omnium at the Hsin-Chu Track International Classic, a UCI-ranking meet in Taiwan where she earned enough points to qualify for the UCI Track World Cup series 2014-2015 which starts in November.

Participation in the UCI Track World Cup, UCI World Track Championships 2015 and the Asian Cycling Championship 2015 is compulsory for riders attempting to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

Also working in Chan’s favour is a new running order for the Omnium — it consists of six different races — and a new scoring system which keeps the competition alive until the last race.

“The order of events also means sprinters are no longer allowed to dominate the early goings and put the competition beyond reach at the halfway stage, giving endurance riders like myself a chance,” said Chan yesterday. “Also, the fact each nation will only be allowed to enter one rider for the Omnium means I will not have to deal with team tactics.”

Chan ended a 16-year gold medal drought in cycling for Singapore at the South-east Asian Games when she won the women’s individual time-trial road event at the Myanmar Games last December.

Part of her lead-up to that victory involved a fair amount of time in a velodrome in Australia. Track Cycling Western Australia chairman Murray Hall believes Chan has an innate talent for the track.

“When I saw her (in Perth), during training and races, you could tell she has good track sense and she reads the race and the opposition well,” Hall told TODAY back in January, after inviting Chan to be a guest rider for his team at the Hong Kong International Track Cups.

Currently training for next month’s Asian Games in Incheon, where she is entered for the road race and individual time trial, Chan’s personal coach Daniel Loy believes her recent Taiwan outing has benefited her in the bid to fulfil her ambition to compete at the Rio Olympics.

“Apart from getting to check on some of her Asian Games rivals to see their form and what they do in training, the intensity of the competition also had a positive effect on Dinah,” said Loy.

“The change of environment from her daily routine of gym and road training also kept her fresh and ready for the challenge in Incheon.

“As the nation’s standard-bearer for women’s cycling, Dinah’s presence at the Olympics will set the bar and inspire the next generation of women riders to aim high.”

 

 

The Omnium

Track cycling’s multi-disciplinary event consists of six different races over two days of competition, namely:

- 10km scratch race

- 3km individual pursuit

- Elimination race

- 500m time trial

- Flying lap

- 25km points race

 

Scoring system:

For the first five races, the winner gets 40 points, 38 for second, 36 for third etc, with all riders from 21st place onwards getting 1 point.

For the 25km points race, a sprint is held every 10 laps, with 5, 3, 2, and 1 points being awarded to the top four finishers in each sprint. Any rider who laps the main field is awarded an extra 20 points.

 

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