Twelve months ago, Sam Welsford was trying to cement his place in the Australian team pursuit squad for the UCI Track World Championships and upcoming Rio Olympic Games. In 2017, the 21-year-old now finds himself as one of the senior figures in the endurance squad and a lynchpin for Australia's aspirations at next week's World Championships.
At the London Worlds, Welsford rode the second wheel for Australia in all three rounds, including the gold medal winning final over Great Britain. At the Olympic Games, Welsford was the fourth wheel as Great Britain reversed the London result for a third-straight gold medal in the discipline.
"I still have the same motivation and probable even more hunger now considering we came away from the Olympic games with a silver medal last year," Welsford told Cyclingnews ahead of the April 12-16 championships in Hong Kong. "To lose by point seven of a second is pretty heart breaking, so you don't want to let that happen again."
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A post-Olympic Worlds often lacks the same buzz, attention and start list as nations recalibrate and plan for the next Olympic cycle. While the team pursuit squads in Hong Kong are barely recognisable from Rio, Welsford isn't showing any lack of respect for the Worlds with the Olympics still fresh in his mind.
"It's the pinnacle of our sport and to come down from that, you are always going to struggle but my passion for the track is still high regardless, and I want to get as many world championships on the boards as possible and try to improve myself in different aspects of track cycling as well. Not just team pursuiting," he said.
A key rider in the team pursuit set up alongside Alex Porter, Callum Scotson and the returning Cameron Meyer, Welsford believes it will be a tight battle for the gold medal. But he believes in the versatile squad Australia are taking to Hong Kong to defend the world title.
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