Cycling: Sarah's real road to glory

1.00pm - By CHRIS BARCLAY

ATHENS - Like her riding style, the symmetry was pure perfection. Sarah Ulmer, goddess of the individual pursuit, reigned supreme in the home of the Gods on a sleek black bike christened Zeus.

Ulmer completed her golden treble at the Olympic Velodrome in devastating fashion here today, sweeping to victory with ruthless, robotic efficiency.

The Commonwealth, then world, and now Olympic champion pulverised her opposition, twice rewriting the record books as she inherited the pursuit crown from retiring Dutch legend Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel.

Australian Katie Mactier, a great mate from their road racing days in the States, was her final victim, just as she was at the world championships in Melbourne three months ago.

Twice runner-up at the world level, Mactier feared she would again have to settle for second best, despite significantly improving her personal best since riding on her home track across the road from the MCG.

"It's deja vue," Mactier said with an air of resignation after Ulmer won gold in a world record time of 3min 24.537sec.

Mactier, a pursuiting novice who turned to the track two years ago, feared what was in store when she rubbed out Ulmer's world mark (3min 30.604sec) yesterday.

Her time of 3min 29.945sec lasted just five minutes.

"I thought I better put my hand up and celebrate it because I would have been surprised if Sarah had not gone out there and equalled or bettered it," Mactier said of her brief term as world and Olympic record holder.

Composing herself track-side ahead of her qualifying ride, Ulmer saw 'WR' flash up on the screen but did not panic.

"It was actually quite exciting," Ulmer revealed.

"I was a little bit surprised. I knew the track was fast and that confirmed it.

"I thought it's time for me to do something similar."

Inevitably Ulmer rose to the challenge, erasing Mactier's name with a stunning 3min 26.4000sec for the 3000m endurance test.

She backed up less than an hour later in 33degC heat with a 3min 27.444sec first round effort to demolish the faint claims of Russian road race bronze medallist Olga Slyusareva -- and steam into today's gold medal showdown.

Mirroring the rowing effort of the imperious Evers-Swindell twins, Ulmer's "wicked" march to the medal dais had a definite air of inevitability enveloping it -- once she overcame the disappointment of placing fourth at the 2003 world championships.

Stuttgart, Germany, proved a career defining moment.

"I pretty much quit cycling after the world champs.

"I didn't have any confidence and I didn't want to go to the Olympics without doing it properly.

"I couldn't do it on my own."

Team Ulmer then started taking shape.

Her boyfriend of eight years Brendan Cameron quit his job as a cycling company rep to coach her full time.

Then last October, Christchurch cycling guru Terry Gyde came on board to cast an astute critical eye over her training regime.

Gradually the self-doubts disappeared and the confidence returned.

"Brendan had way more faith than I did. He knew I could do it; he just said, 'We've just gotta get it out of you'.

"At the end of the year October or November I thought 'bugger it' I'll give it a nudge. I gained momentum from there and things started to click."

She duly qualified for the world championships in Melbourne where she atoned for Stuttgart, by winning gold and notching the then world record (3min 30.604sec).

In Melbourne, French veteran Marion Clignet believed finishing outside the medals last year was a blessing in disguise.

"She was flying last year and I thought she had the worlds in her pocket. Maybe she peaked too early but she's learned from that. She's not someone to make the same mistake twice."

Quite. Ulmer and her tightly-knit support crew left nothing to chance as she narrowed focus for the Olympic final.

Anxious to avoid any hype following her world record-breaking exploits three months ago across the Tasman, Ulmer and Cameron promptly packed their bags in the Waikato and headed to France via the US.

There, in a departure from previous years, she limited herself to a couple of low key road races while practising her French and enjoying the cuisine.

Normally pursuit riders tune up by busting a gut in elite road races -- but the core of Ulmer's training took place in a Cambridge garage, on the ergometer.

"That's where the pools of sweat were," Cameron said.

Working off a fitness programme co-ordinated by trainer Dave Slyfield, Cameron said the focus was primarily on strength work rather than road racing -- the conventional way.

Mentally she also developed tunnel vision for this afternoon's ride at the Olympic Velodrome.

Sacrificing her claims as New Zealand's flag bearer for the August 13 opening ceremony, Ulmer only arrived from a BikeNZ camp in Bordeaux last week.

"I'm trying to do everything catered towards my competition rather than anything else," she explained in her only pre-race media conference.

"I wouldn't have dreamed about that in Atlanta or Sydney. I just wanted to soak up everything to do with the Olympics."

Her mission emphatically accomplished, Ulmer can belatedly start to have fun after Wednesday's points race, almost an afterthought in the grand scheme of things.

- NZPA