Cycling: Ulmer still riding, but swaps track for road

Sarah Ulmer. Herald file picture

AUCKLAND - Olympic champion Sarah Ulmer today said she would be continuing her cycling career but would switch her focus from the track to the road.

Ulmer, the Olympic and World 3000m individual pursuit champion said she would attempt the 20km individual time trial and was targeting the World Championships in Austria in September next year.

"I'm going to be starting from scratch in an event in which I don't know how I'm going to go," she said.

However, she described it as a "wicked challenge".

Ulmer set the cycling world alight with her gold medal in the 3000m individual pursuit at Athens.

In the process she smashed the world record twice and still holds the honour with her time of three minutes 24.537 seconds in the final.

Ulmer gave the cycling world a taste of what was in store in Athens when the Commonwealth Games champion won the World Championships in Melbourne two months earlier, with a then world record time.

Ulmer's future has been the subject of intense speculation since she has not cycled since winning gold and has constantly deflected questions on her cycling future.

- NZPA