By JARROD POTTER
REACHING the apex of world junior cycling for the second year in a row, Australian rising star Courtney Field showed she’s a future force to be reckoned with on international velodromes.
Field, 18, from Berwick, starred in her second appearance at the UCI Junior Track World Championships – held this year at Astana, Kazakhstan – as she won two silver medals from her four events.
Picking up the medals in the sprint – where she won the rainbow jersey last year – and the keirin, the stellar achievement puts Field right up in cycling’s elite echelon.
She went within a whisker of defending her junior world championship – won last year in South Korea – defeated in the gold medal best-of-three race by Germany’s Emma Hinze.
Field lost the first race and went within a whisker of forcing a third and deciding race, but the German was too strong to the line to take the second victory and leave Field to take the silver.
“I am really happy with getting silver,” Field said, on the Cycling Australia website.
“You know I’m always going to be that little bit disappointed I didn’t get the gold but I did my best and Emma was just better on the day.
“I was super happy with my qualifying time, it was an amazing time for me I was over the moon.
“The same with my match sprints, I feel like I executed some really good races. I’ve learnt a lot in the past year.”
She also claimed the silver in the women’s keirin for the second year in a row as a powerful charge to the line was only pipped by her German rival Hinze once again.
In the women’s team sprint, Field and Australian team-mate Tahlay Christie set an Australian record of 34.499 seconds in qualifying, earning them a spot in the bronze medal ride against Italy, but was pipped into fourth position.
In the Women’s 500m Time Trial, Field finished sixth in a time of 35.537 seconds.
Australia finished second on the medal tally with 12 medals across the five days of competition – four gold, five silver and three bronze, with the combined 12 medals the most won by any nation.
