Aussie cycling eyes long way back to top

Everyone knew Australian cycling would fall short of their dazzling Athens 2004 campaign, but no-one thought Beijing would be this barren.

Anna Meares' heroic silver was the squad's only podium finish, cycling's worst return at the Games since failing to secure a medal at Moscow 1980.

It was a dramatic fall from the last Olympics, when the cyclists enjoyed an unprecedented six gold, two silver and two bronze.

While Cycling Australia's high performance program deserves to squirm under the blowtorch for this ultimate Olympic hangover - such a steep drop in only four years - there is no need to gut the structure.

Not yet, anyway.

Australian cycling has never been so strong.

Cadel Evans has finished second at the last two Tours de France and this year's world junior track championships yielded a record haul of seven gold medals.

There is an abundance of talent and key managers such as national performance director Shayne Bannan and head track coach Martin Barras have significant runs on the board.

But now comes their sternest test.

A combination of post-Athens complacency, the rise of the British cycling program monster, some significant form slumps and plain bad luck combined to sink this Australian Olympic cycling campaign.

Two years ago, the alarm bells were ringing in the track program, which had won five Athens titles.

But the momentum built by the British meant that the measures put in place to re-invigorate the Australians would have minimal effect in Beijing.

Australia had four fourth placings on the track, while Michael Rogers was sixth in the road race and Cadel Evans was fifth in the road time trial.

Jared Graves was sixth in the BMX final after another rider's crash also took him out and Nicole Callisto made the women's last eight.

Evans competed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, suffered when he slipped on a wet floor at a post-Tour de France party.

The Tour also cost the teams pursuit group, which must rebuild after declining from world record holder in Athens to fourth here - and beaten by the Kiwis, to boot.

Brett Lancaster, for so long the engine room of the teams pursuit squad, did not ride the event in Beijing because he was cooked by his Tour campaign.

The biggest slumps came from two-time gold medallist Ryan Bayley, who was smashed in the sprint events, and pursuiter Katie Mactier, always a nervous competitor, who had a nightmare in an event where she was a favourite.

The women's road race team was also a non-factor as they lacked the hill-climbing firepower to go with the key moves.

Big pluses were the encouraging Olympic debuts of youngsters Jack Bobridge, Mark Jamieson, Cameron Meyer and Daniel Ellis.

"If we'd come here and had a lot of eighth, 10th and 12th places, then I think we'd walk away from this think 'gee whiz, we've really got to make some big changes," Bannan said.

"The facts are, we had a lot of close ones - there's certainly a fair bit of work to be done.

"I do believe we have some fantastic talent coming through and we just need to sit down, analyse everything and we'll be doing that in about four weeks' time.

"It's certainly not panic stations, but obviously some changes need to be made."

Bannan said the two crucial factors now are developing more depth in the track sprint program and having better access to the professional road riders when they cross over for track endurance.

More money would help, too.

"It needs a fine-tune - an overhaul is probably too strong (a term)," Bannan said.

"You could always do with more money - it's a real challenge for us coming up."