Australia is off to a flying start in the 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics with stunning results in the opening round, which took place in Manchester, England from 30 October to 1 November 2009.

Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) cyclists Belinda Goss, Anna Meares and Kaarle McCulloch were among the gold medal winners.

Belinda Goss won Australia’s first gold, sprinting to victory in the women’s scratch race ahead of Russian Evgenia Romanyuta (second place) and the United States’s Shelly Olds (third place).

‘I’m really stoked,’ said Goss. ‘I’ve managed a few podiums on the track but it’s really exciting to win one.’

Fellow AIS cyclist Anna Meares also performed brilliantly, winning gold in the women’s 500-metre individual time trial in 33.63 seconds, beating the current world and Olympic champion, the United Kingdom’s Victoria Pendleton, in 33.83 seconds. Dutch rider Willy Kanis finished in third place (33.98 seconds).

Meares teamed up with AIS team-mate McCulloch to win a second gold, in the women’s team sprint event. Meares posted a fast first lap of 18.74 seconds, which assisted McCulloch to make a perfect home run for a total time of 33.65 seconds. Dutch pair Yvonne Hijgenaar and Willy Kanis came in second (33.65 seconds).

The AIS’s Josephine Tomic also had a great result: silver in the women’s 3-kilometre individual pursuit. The United Kingdom’s Wendy Houvenaghel took first place.

In the men’s events, AIS cyclist Shane Perkins qualified for the sprint final ride off for bronze, but finished fourth behind the United Kingdom’s Jason Kenny. Fellow AIS sprint cyclist Daniel Ellis, who came in seventh, also gained valuable experience from competing with Perkins.

The AIS’s cyclists are now preparing for the second round of the four-round 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, which will take place in Melbourne from 19 to 21 November 2009