Cornish finds silver lining to new cycle

The ARA Australian Cycling Team have started their 2026 UCI Track World Cup campaign with a bang, winning four medals from six events on the opening night at the Perth SpeedDome. 

The Australian Men’s Team Pursuit team – Liam Walsh, Thomas Cornish, Noah Blannin and Joshua Duffy – displayed dominance, overlapping Hong Kong, China in the final halfway through the race, to claim a crowd-favourite victory.

Cornish, a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder, was the first to put Australia on the medal tally earlier in the night with a super performance in the Men’s Elimination race. Cornish finished second behind 2025 World Champion Moritz Augenstein (GER).

In his first Elimination Race at the World Cup level, Cornish said he went into the event with high expectations. 

“I thought the form was there if I was on a good day. I was pretty happy with how it panned out. I’ve never really done an Elim at that level so I was kind of trying to find my place at the start. I thought my best bet was playing it safe where I could see everyone and picking them off with not too much pain.”

Originally a sprinter now transitioned to the endurance distances, Cornish feels he’s come a long way in 12 months. 

“I’m pretty stoked. It was a lot of risk that I was taking but I sort of backed myself and just got the training done.

“I’m pretty happy to start seeing the results and seeing that I might have a place long-term in the team. I think that’s quite motivating for me,” Cornish said.   

Despite being the only team in the Women’s Team Pursuit Final, Australia set the track alight setting a new track record at the SpeedDome. 

The Women’s Sprint team – Kristine Perkins, Liliya Tatarinoff and Sophie Watts – rounded out the medals defeating Chinese Taipei to clinch the bronze medal. New Perth local Tatarinoff said she was enjoying her time on her home track.

“It was really fun to have a home crowd, people I knew up there, and it was a new experience to have a home crowd,” Tatarinoff said. 

“I think we executed it pretty well. Got it dialled in for the final so I’m happy.”

Among the other Australia results, the Men’s Sprint Team narrowly missed out on the bronze medal by 0.55 seconds to China. In the Women’s Elimination race, Maeve Plouffe was valiant in her performance to finish just off the podium in fourth. 

The UCI Track World Cup is at the Perth SpeedDome from 6-8 March with the ARA Australian Cycling Team battling it out with the world’s best athletes, including Olympic and World Championship medalists. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

Find replays of the finals action of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup on SBS On Demand and Kayo Sports. 

AusCycling

Photos: Daniela Tommasi