March 28, 2010 (Copenhagen, Denmark) – On Saturday, at the 2010 Track World in Copenhagen, Tara Whitten became the first Canadian to win a world title on the track since Tanya Dubnikoff’s sprint win at the 1993 Track World Championships in Hamar, Norway (for history buffs that same year Lance Armstrong won the men’s Road World Championships in Oslo, Norway).

Whitten won gold in the women’s Omnium, a competition in which riders must race in five events: flying 200 meters, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race, and a 500-meter time trial. Last year in Poland, the talented Whitten won silver in the same event and had some unfinished business. In the Omnium the rider placings in each of the five events are totalled, and the lowest score wins. Whitten placed 2nd, 9th, 3rd, 6th, and 3rd in the respective events, winning the 2010 Omnium title with a score of 23 points.

Waking up with a smile on her face today Whitten followed up Saturday’s gold to claim another world title in the Points race on Sunday and make history as the first Canadian to win double gold at the Track Worlds. Her victory today was a huge boost to her confidence since the Points race was not one of her strongest events in the Omnium. Whitten was still in shock over her second win when we caught up with her by phone in Copenhagen.

Congratulations Tara – you’ve just won two world titles in as many days, how does that feel?
Tara Whitten: Pretty amazing. The Omnium result started sinking in today. I think I woke up with a smile on my face. I’m still in shock about the Points race!

You won silver in the Points race at World Cup in Cali, Colombia earlier this year, so was today’s Points race win such a surprise?
TW: I’ve been really hit and miss in the bunch racing for the past couple of years. I know I have the physical ability to win, but a lot of the time my tactics let me down. Today I went in with a plan and I rode smarter than usual. I made sure I rested when I needed to, and I had enough energy to make some good moves.

How did the Points race play out?
TW: The race was 25km, with ten points sprints. I was in a break early on, and we lapped the field, so I knew I was in a good position after that. I was in another break later on in the race, and we came close to lapping the field, but then we began losing ground. At that point I was in second place, only one point behind first, and I had worked really hard to try to keep that break going. So once the move ended, I went to the back to recover. Then, coming into the second last sprint I saw an opening at the top of the track, so I was able to get up a lot of speed and attack. That move sealed the race for me.

It seems like you’ve been more consistently successful with Points racing than with the Scratch – why is that?
TW: Scratch racing usually comes down to one bunch sprint, and I’m not as strong at positioning for those final sprints. In Points racing there’s more time for things to play out, and I can play to my strengths by stringing out the field and making the whole race really hard.

How will this Points race win help you in future competitions?
TW: This win was really great for my confidence. The Omnium will be my focus working towards the 2012 Olympics, but both the Points and Scratch races are part of the Omnium, and were my weakest events yesterday. My win today is proof to myself that there’s no reason not to be confident in those events.

The flying 200 was your best Omnium result while you’ve earned a reputation as an endurance rider so you’re talented all-round – is that usually the case with Omnium winners?
TW: The level in the Omnium event will keep going up heading towards the 2012 Olympics; we’ll see sprinters working on endurance events, and endurance riders improving in sprint events. The Omnium is great for me because I have a lot of power naturally, as well as endurance. I really made sure I gave a lot of energy to training the shorter events leading up to Worlds.

What does this mean for Canadian track cycling?
TW: Our program over the past couple of years under Richard Wooles has changed quite a bit. A lot of us moved down to LA to train over the winter, since it’s pretty hard to train on the track over the winter in Canada. Everyone is very committed to the program, in the future we need to continue bringing more athletes in, and to find more funding to ensure that we continue to succeed.

Thanks Tara, and congratulations again!
TW: Thanks!