BENDIGO'S Alessia McCaig has successfully defended her elite women's Keirin title at the Cycling Australia National Track Championships.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
McCaig won Friday night's elite women's Keirin title before adding a second national gold medal on Saturday night when she won the elite women Sprint at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane.
"I'm really happy to defend my Keirin title, especially to do it in a really strong field and have to come around from the back and win," McCaig said on Sunday.
McCaig said she didn't feel any added pressure heading into the Keirin final as the defending champion.
"The top sprinter at the moment (Kristina Clonan) was in the race and I probably felt she had more of the pressure on her than me," McCaig said.
"Maybe there was a bit of extra pressure, but I didn't feel it... I was just so determined to win it."
Maybe there was a bit of extra pressure, but I didn't feel it... I was just so determined to win it
- Alessia McCaig
McCaig sped past Clonan - the women's 500m Time Trial gold medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games - in the straight to win back-to-back Keirin national championships.
After her Keirin success on Friday night, McCaig backed it up 24 hours later with another national title in the elite women Sprint.
Pitted against Queensland's Sophie Watts in the best-of-three final, McCaig lost the first race before winning the last two to clinch victory.
"I was feeling the pressure after the first race and there was no room for error, but I knew that I was strong enough," McCaig said.
"To be honest, I was probably too complacent in the first race and I just knew that I had to come out and dig deep in the last two races and that's what I did.
"Sophie and I have never raced against each other before... we're good friends and used to live together in Adelaide, so it was good to go up against her in the final."
It's the second year in a row McCaig has had multiple success at the Cycling Australia National Track Championships.
As well as winning the Keirin last year, she was also victorious in the 500m Time Trial.
The Cycling Australia National Track Championships for McCaig come on the back of recently competing at the Adelaide UCI Track Nations Cup and Oceania Championships.
"With the Track Nations and Oceania Championships my main focus has been on the teams sprint, which is completely different to the Keirin and (individual) Sprint racing," McCaig said.
"I haven't done a lot of training for the Keirin and Sprint, but still managed to come out on top, which is really pleasing."
As well as McCaig's success in the elite women's Sprint on Saturday night, fellow Bendigo District Cycling Club member Lilyth Jones also won a bronze medal in the under-19 women's Individual Pursuit.
In a time of 2:24.252, Jones beat Queensland's Amelie Sanders (2:26.372) in the race for the bronze.
