SBS Cycling Central's Facebook page will be the place to be to watch the live-streamed action from the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane, with sessions broadcast from 7.30pm AEDT nightly from Thursday to Saturday, with the final session on Sunday starting at noon AEDT.
The AusCycling 2021 Track National Championships will feature 38 national titles contested over five days of cycling action at the Anna Meares Velodrome from 24-28 March. It headlines the 2021 Brisbane Cycling Festival schedule, which will run 24 March – 12 April.
Australia's best sprinters will take to the track, including Australia's sprint king Matthew Glaetzer, the 2018 sprint world champion and eleven-time national champion.
"It's good to back here in Brisbane and racing again, and this year is going to be exciting. It's my chance to get back into racing," said Glaetzer, who will represent his home state of South Australia against his Tokyo team sprint teammates Nathan Hart (ACT) and Matthew Richardson (WA), who headline the men's sprint contingent.
"It's exciting to get back into the fold again and see what I can do amongst some decent training we've been doing in the prep for Tokyo," Glaetzer added.
"Winning a national jersey is a special feeling, knowing that you've got the reward for all that hard work. So, hopefully, I'll be able to win one this week."
For some the national championships are the end goal, but for many of Australia's top cyclists, they have their minds set on the Tokyo Olympics, with the nationals an important event given the dearth of international competition with coronavirus restrictions.
Cycling's next-generation dreaming of a potential Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032 will also be in action, including a dozen riders from the Australian Cycling Team's Podium Potential Academy.
Brisbane's own Kristina Clonan continues her rise through the sprinter's ranks and hopes the home-town track knowledge and crowd support will spur her to defend her sprint crown.
"I'm really excited to be in Brisbane defending my sprint title. Track Nationals (the 2020 edition) was postponed to December last year, so this has been a quick turnaround, but I'm excited," Clonan said.
Clonan will headline the sprint events with Kaarle McCulloch, the London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist and four-time world champion who continues her preparation towards Tokyo.
"To be here amongst riders such as Kaarle, she's been my idol for such a long time, and it's just awesome to get amongst it," Clonan added.
The men's sprinters will be out in force, with Olympics hopefuls in Glaetzer, Richardson and Hart taking on the best in Australia plus some former Aussies competing under different national flags with Shane Perkins (Russia) and Conor Rowley (Ireland) looking to gain selection for Tokyo.
The Olympic endurance squads aren't going to be in competition in Brisbane with the men's and women's team pursuit members not in attendance at racing. Instead, the event will serve as a chance to see the next generation of Australian track stars in competition, with potential retirements from the endurance squad of riders like Annette Edmondson and others like Luke Plapp moving to road racing likely to mean that spots will be available on the track team after the Olympics.
#TrackNats21 Streaming Times
- Thursday 25 March 2021 7.30pm AEDT
- Friday 26 March 2021 7.30pm AEDT
- Saturday 27 March 2021 7.30pm AEDT
- Sunday 28 March 2021 12 noon AEDT
Tickets are still available for ahead of time and at the door. There's an AusCycling available as well to follow the finalised list of placings.
SESSION TIMES
Five days of action in the individual and team sprint, keirin, individual and team pursuits, individual time trials, points race and scratch race, Madison and Omnium.
There are nine sessions across five days:
Session 1 Wednesday 24th March 2021 2pm
Session 2 Wednesday 24th March 2021 7.30pm
Session 3 Thursday 25th March 2021 1pm
Session 4 Thursday 25th March 2021 7.30pm LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Session 5 Friday 26th March 2021 12 noon
Session 6 Friday 26th March 2021 7.30pm LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Session 7 Saturday 27th March 2021 2pm
Session 8 Saturday 27th March 2021 7.30pm LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Session 9 Sunday 28th March 2021 12 noon LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
FINALS
Wednesday 24th March 2021 – Session 2
Under 19 Women Team Pursuit
Under 19 Men Team Pursuit
Elite Women 500m
Under 19 Women Team Sprint
Under 19 Men Team Sprint
Elite Men 1000m TT Final
Under 19 Women Scratch Race 7.5km
Under 19 Men Scratch Race 10km
Elite Women Team Pursuit
Elite Men Team Pursuit
Thursday 25th March 2021 – Session 3
Under 19 Women 500m TT
Under 19 Men 1000m TT
Under 19 Women Madison 20km (80 laps)
Thursday 25th March 2021 – Session 4 - LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Under 19 Men Madison 30km (120 laps)
Under 19 Women Keirin
Elite Women Individual Pursuit
Under 19 Men Keirin
Elite Women Sprint
Elite Men Individual Pursuit
Friday 26th March 2021 – Session 5
Under 19 Women Sprint
Under 19 Men Sprint
Under 19 Women Omnium Round 4
Friday 26th March 2021 – Session 6 - LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Under 19 Men Points Race
Elite Men Omnium Round 4
Elite Men Team Sprint
Elite Women Points Race
Saturday 27th March 2021 – Session 7
Under 19 Women Individual Pursuit
Saturday 27th March 2021 – Session 8 - LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Under 19 Men Omnium Round 4
Elite Men Sprint
Elite Women Keirin
Elite Women Omnium Round 4
Elite Men Scratch Race
Sunday 28th March 2021 – Session 9 - LIVESTREAM SBS CYCLING CENTRAL FACEBOOK
Under 19 Women Points Race
Under 19 Men Individual Pursuit
Elite Women Team Sprint Final
Elite Men Keirin
Elite Women Scratch Race
Elite Men Points Race
