Sunshine Coast Paris Olympics hopeful Kristina Clonan will vie for a coveted green and gold national champion jersey at this week’s AusCycling Track National Championships as part of the Brisbane Cycling Festival.
Clonan will be pulling on the Queensland skinsuit and representing her home state with some friends and family there to watch.
“I’m a patriotic Queenslander so being able to ride for my state is something I really look forward to,” she said.
“I get to be in the state team, see the new talent come through and reconnect with the Queensland squad, which is always very exciting for me.
“We are using Track Nationals to refine tactics and to build a good foundation moving forward. From Brisbane we go straight to the Hong Kong UCI Track Nations Cup before settling back in Adelaide for Olympic prep.
“We see all types of tracks and conditions while racing at different venues around the world, but being in Brisbane is exciting because the conditions are usually really good.”
The Brisbane Cycling Festival will see more than 140 riders compete at the 2024 AusCycling Track National Championships from Friday, March 1, to Tuesday, March 5, on their pathway to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This will be followed by the junior event (under-15 and under-17) from March 13 to 17, and the Masters Track National Championships from March 16 to 20.
Hosted at Anna Meares Velodrome in Chandler, the event will also feature Olympians Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer.
“We’re only five months away from the Paris Games now and the amount of race days between now and then isn’t massive, which makes TrackNats all the more important this year,” Richardson said.
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Brisbane Cycling Festival ambassador Kate Bates said she couldn’t wait to watch the next generation of cyclists compete.
“I’m thrilled to have the chance to see Australia’s best track cyclists in action in the final major domestic event before the Olympics,” she said.
“This is an awesome opportunity to see these athletes racing live before they compete in Paris in August.
“We will have a big group of Olympic alumni there cheering on the riders towards Australian Championship gold.”
Tickets for the event are available at the venue or at tracknationals.org.au/tickets.
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