On day two of the world master’s championships, Aideen Collard has taken a silver medal in the women’s 35-39 years 2km individual pursuit. The Orwell Dundrum TC rider covered the distance in a time of 2 minutes 47.64 seconds, just over eight seconds off the winning mark set by the American rider Dena Eaton.
Amanda Wray (South Africa) was three seconds behind Collard in the bronze medal position.
“I was very happy with my ride. I did my usual tactic, which is to wind things up as the race goes on, and using my sprint to finish it off,” she said. “Now I’ll have a good rest for the scratch race tomorrow night. I’ve got my medal in the bag now, and anything else will be a bonus.”
Fellow competitor Orla Hendron has the chance to land a medal this evening, having finished fourth fastest in the 45-49 year old age group. She started a little too quickly and faded towards the end, but was nevertheless strong enough to clock up a time of 2 minute 45.725 seconds.
She was less than three-tenths of a second off the time of Makiko Hamada, who she will race off against this evening for bronze. Providing she gets her pacing right, Hendron has a good chance of winning the medal. “I think I started a little quick today,” she said after her race. “I caught the other rider early on and had to overtake her, then towards the end I was slowing down.” She’ll try a different pacing strategy this evening.
Ireland has two other competitors in the championships; Simon Coughlan will get his campaign underway this evening when he competes in the men’s 3km pursuit (35-39 age group), and Terry Cromer will line out in Thursday’s scratch race.
Cromer was a solid seventh in yesterday’s men’s 500 TT for 55-59 year olds. Collard was fourth in her category, while Hendron was seventh in hers.
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Master’s world track championships 2010, Anadia, Portugal:
2km individual pursuit (Wednesday)
Women 35-39:
1, Dena Eaton (USA) 2 mins 39.024 seconds
2, Aideen Collard (Ireland) Lee Johns (Australia) 2 mins 47.640 seconds
3, Amanda Wray (South Africa) 2 mins 50.957 seconds
Women 45-49:
1, Claire Newland (Great Britain) 2 mins 35.523 secs
2, Jayne Paine (Great Britain) 2 mins 39.263 secs
3, Makiko Hamada (Japan) 2 mins 45.44 secs
Other:
4, Orla Hendron (Ireland) 2 mins 45.725 secs
500 metre time trial (Tuesday)
Men 55-59:
1, Dave Le Grys (Great Britain) 35.04 seconds
2, David Willmott (Australia) 35.416
3, Fabrizio Fedele (Italy) 36.12
Other:
7, Terry Cromer (Ireland) 38.185
Women 35-39:
1, Dena Eaton (USA) 39.439 seconds
2, Lee Johns (Australia) 40.539
3, Amanda Wray (South Africa) 42.026
Other:
4, Aideen Collard (Ireland) 43.656
Women 45-49:
1, Julie Barnett (Australia) 39.791
2, Emi Wachi (Japan) 40.014
3, Deborah Capewell (Great Britain) 40.609
Other:
7, Orla Hendron (Ireland) 43.351
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Schedule:
Aideen Collard (W 35-39):
Tuesday: 500 m TT
Wednesday: 2km individual pursuit
Thursday: Scratch race
Friday: Sprints
Saturday: Sprints
Sunday: Points
Orla Hendron (W 45-49):
Tuesday: 500 m TT
Wednesday: 2km individual pursuit
Thursday: Scratch race
Friday: Sprints
Saturday: Sprints
Sunday: Points
Terry Cromer (M 55-59):
Tuesday: 500 m TT
Thursday: Scratch race
Friday: Sprints
Saturday: Sprints
Sunday: Points
Simon Coughlan (M 35-39):
Wednesday: 3km individual pursuit
Thursday: Scratch race
Sunday: Points race
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26/10/10 RIDERS GIVE THEIR EXPECTATIONS:
Following the end of the first day’s racing, three of the four-rider team spoke about their plans and aspirations for the week ahead.
Orla Hendron: “Aideen and I will be going for the 2k pursuit, that will be our big target. I am pretty green at this, so I am hoping to do better than I did in the Europeans. I did a time of 2’40 and got a bronze medal, although I might have to go faster here to get bronze again.
“Today was a good warmup for tomorrow. Everybody’s times were slower by a second compared to the Europeans, but mine was only slightly slower. So I think I’ve improve a bit.”
Aideen Collard: “The individual pursuit, but I’ll also go for the points and the scratch. My aim in the pursuit is to medal. Dina Eaton is currently seventh at elite level in the US – there is some stiff competition. I would hope to do well in the points race, after taking a few placings in the Manchester track league in the same event.
“Today got things going, but it was a bit distracting as the start gates didn’t open for my first race.”
Terry Cromer: “The sprint is my goal. After a bronze in Manchester, I would like to get a medal of some colour. Again, as Aideen said, there is some very stiff competition, with fast newcomers coming into the age group. The 500 today proved that I am still not at full strength after breaking my wrist before the Europeans in Manchester, but I came out with a credible seventh and was one of the better Europeans.
“I’ll do the scratch races as the warm-up for the sprint, but will probably have a serious go at the points on the last day. I have been working on my endurance since the Europeans.”