Talkin Sport - Howard and Goss score medals for Australia on final day of World Championships

Australia has ended the 2008 track cycling World Championships in Manchester with one silver and three bronze medals to finish fifth on the medal tally after a week dominated by Great Britain.

The host nation collected a record nine gold medals, seven in Olympic events, with six nations sharing the remaining nine gold medals on offer. Australia collected bronze medals in the teams pursuit and through Katie Mactier in the women's individual pursuit on day two but had to wait until today to add to the total.

18 year old Leigh Howard rode with a maturity far beyond his years to claim silver in the men's omnium, a five race event that includes a flying 200 metre time trial, a five kilometre scratch race, three kilometre individual pursuit, 15 kilometre points race and a one kilometre time trial, all contested in the space of six hours. Points are awarded based on placings in each event and the rider with the lowest final tally wins the gold medal.

Howard began with a personal best time for the 200 metres (10.857sec) to place eighth in the 18 man field. He outclassed his more experienced rivals in the scratch event with a second placing and again recorded a personal best time to finish third in the individual pursuit (3min18.080sec). The points race saw him slip from second overall to third after he finished the 60 laps in in 12th place but he came back strongly in the final event for yet another personal best time and third place in the kilometre time trial (1min03.779sec).

His final tally of 28 points was nine off the gold medal which was won by New Zealand's Hayden Godfrey with Aliaksandr Losouski of Belarus in third place on 35 points.

"I'm ecstatic," said Howard. "I knew I had a good chance to be in the top five but (I recorded) personal bests in every timed event so I can't ask for much more than that.

"I didn't race the best points race but you can't be perfect in everything (and I had a) very good scratch race, the timed events (were) fantastic for me so can't ask for anymore," said Howard adding that he actually felt better as the competition progressed. "Especially after the pursuit, it really hurt me but an hour and a half's rest and I was good as gold."

Last year the teenager claimed three medals at the Junior World Championships with gold in the teams pursuit, silver in the Madison and bronze in the individual pursuit but his senior World Championships debut had a rocky start. He finished last in the scratch race on Wednesday but regrouped for today's omnium.

"Coming from Australia where I was doing quite well I put a lot of pressure on myself so that probably didn't help," said Howard. "I went in and didn't have the best legs and made a few mistakes but it's my first World Championships as a senior and I'll learn from my mistakes and come back next year and do better."

In fact he learned from his mistakes a lot quicker than expected and came into today's event with a single minded determination to make an impact.

"I went home (to the team hotel) after the scratch race quite disappointed but told myself that race is over and there is nothing you can do about it," he explained. "I refocussed on the omnium (knowing) I am quite good in all-round events so knew I had a good chance.

In the women's scratch race Belinda Goss, 24, continued the form she has shown all season to sprint home for the bronze medal. The two time Australian points race champion, who was the silver medallist in the scratch race at last year's Beijing World Cup, had to wait until the final day of competition for her chance at a medal.

"It has been a long week and I had to put it in my head that I had longer to train this week and get a little bit better," said Goss. "I was certainly stoked with the result, it's such a great improvement on last year and a little bit further to go to claim the top prize but I'm really happy."

Dutch rider Eleonora Van Dijk collected the gold medal after launching a solo attack five laps from the end and holding off the fast finishing field led home by Cuban Yumari Gonzalez who pipped Goss for the silver medal.

Goss heads to Italy tomorrow to join up with the Australian women's road team ahead of next weekend's third road World Cup round in Belgium.

"Hopefully I can find some road legs between now and then," she laughed.

Assistant National Track Endurance Coach Matthew Gilmore says he's very proud of both Goss and Howard.

"Belinda's really made a big step this year more so in her commitment than in other years and I'm really, really pleased not only with how she has raced but with how she's conducted herself within the team," said Gilmore who agrees such a long wait to race can be difficult. "Absolutely, it's hard to keep focus but she's been really supportive to other team members and still remained focus on what she's here to do.

"I'm quite proud of Belinda and it's a fantasttic reward for her that will hopefully spark her to go to the next level."

Gilmore says Howard's performance signals a very bright future for the young Victorian.

"We brought him here purely for experience and to expose him to senior World Championship competition but he snagged a medal along the way and the times he is riding at only 18 years of age are impressive," said Gilmore who was also impressed with the way Howard overcame his shaky start on day one. "I think it's a real mark of a champion of the future and he's a very talented cyclist that we hope to work a lot harder with in the future.

"He is fastidious about the way he prepares himself and that was reflected in today's result," said Gilmore. "He's terrific to work with as well."

In the men's kilometre time trial Scot Sunderland was the best placed of the two Australians recording a time of 1min02.515sec for eighth place while Ben Kersten's 1min03.330sec ranked him 14th. The gold medal was won by Teun Mulder of the Netherlands in a time of 1min01.332sec.

In the women's keirin Kaarle McCulloch was knocked out of the competition in the fist round repechage.

The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are being staged in Manchester, England from 26 to 30 March.

'Cyclones' Australian Team

Men - Sprint Team

Ryan Bayley (Alexander Heights , WA 09.03.1982)
Daniel Ellis (Ngunnawal, ACT 07.10.1988)
Mark French (Elwood, VIC 13.10.1984)
Shane Kelly (Ararat, VIC 07.01.1972)
Ben Kersten (Kiama, NSW 21.09.1981)
Shane Perkins (Hughesdale, VIC 31.12.1986)
Scott Sunderland (Hillarys, WA 16.03.1988)
Women - Sprint Team

Kaarle McCulloch (Gymea Bay, NSW 20.01.1988)
Women - Endurance Team

Katherine Bates (Northmead, NSW 18.05.1982
Belinda Goss (TAS, 06.01.1984)
Katie Mactier (St Kilda, VIC 23.02.1975)
Men - Endurance Team

Jack Bobridge (Mt Pleasant, SA 13.07.1989)
Graeme Brown (Menai, NSW 09.04.1979)
Leigh Howard (Waurn Ponds, VIC 18.10.1989)
Mark Jamieson (Acacia Hills , TAS 04.05.1984)
Bradley McGee Wentworthville, NSW 24.02.1976)
Cameron Meyer (Helena Valley, WA 11.01.1988)
Luke Roberts (Walkerville , SA 25.01.1977)
Phillip Thuaux ( Point Clare, NSW 09.07.1979)