Glenn O’Shea has become the first Bendigo cyclist to win a world championship gold medal.
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O’Shea won gold in the omnium at the World Track Championships in Melbourne last night to all but guarantee himself a berth in the London Olympics.
O’Shea clinched gold after defeating Canada’s Zach Bell in the final heat of the 1km time-trial.
O’Shea and Bell had been level on points going into the final event, but it was the Bendigo boy who produced the ride of his life to claim the rainbow jersey.
“This is amazing,’’ O’Shea said. “The crowd really lifted me. It’s hard to believe (that I won).”
The gold medal comes days after O’Shea earned a silver medal in the team pursuit.
Just 18 months ago O’Shea had given up cycling after battling glandular fever.
But his decision to move from Bendigo to Adelaide to join his long-time coach Tim Decker paid dividends.
“I set myself a goal of going to the Olympics and I’ve been ticking off the boxes ever since,’’ O’Shea said.
“This is a massive box to tick off. Hopefully, I can go to London now and do the same thing.”
O’Shea had started yesterday’s second day of the omnium with a commanding six-point lead.
However, a sub-standard individual pursuit cost him four points. Bell finished second and O’Shea fourth in the scratch race to level scores going into the 1km time-trial.
O’Shea grabbed an early lead on Bell in the time-trial and never looked like being reeled in.
