There will be a bonanza of track cycling world records at the London Olympics this summer, Russia’s top coach in the sport told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
Seven world records have tumbled so far at the track cycling world championships in Melbourne, with the women’s team pursuit record changing hands three times before it was recaptured by Great Britain.
Even more records will be broken in London, Russian head coach Sergey Kovpanets said.
“At the Olympics, I think, there will be even more of them,” he said.
The closer elite cyclists get to the Olympics, the faster they race, he said.
“We didn’t see this number of records at the World Cup because there were still stages of preparation to go before the world championships and Olympics, but now everyone’s showing everything they can do.”
Russia won its first world championship gold since 2005 on Thursday, when Anastasia Chulkova won the women’s points race.
“We believed that Nastya Chulkova could compete in the fight for the top place in Melbourne. It’s great that everything worked out and she won today. We’re all very happy for her,” Kovapanets said.
Russia won a single bronze medal on the track in the men’s Madison at the 2008 Olympics, and won its last gold medals in the men’s and women’s point races in Athens in 2004 when Mikhail Ignatiev and Olga Sliusareva claimed victory.
