All you need to know...for AUS WOC 2012

With WOC 2012 fast approaching it is time to give all our fans (you) a run-down of the week ahead. All the information you need to follow the Australian team at WOC 2012.

First of all who is running the show for the Australian team this year...our dedicated and hard working coaches are Wendy Read and Tom Quayle. Read on to find out their intimate secrets..

Wendy in action

Wendy Read
Place of Birth: Brisbane
Hometown: Brisbane (geez I get around)
Nicknames: Weed / Weedy
Attack point name: pipsqueak – after a particular brand of cider






Coke or Pepsi? Coke
Drive or Ride? Ride
Nike or Asics? Asics
Mountains or Beach? Beach
Coffee or Tea? Tea
Toast or Cereal? Cereal
Abbott or Gillard? Gillard
Public or Private? Private
City or Country? City
Sprint or Long? Long
Long Run or Intervals? Intervals are long runs these days!

TQ back in the day, as he says...

Tom Quayle

Place of Birth: Canberra
Hometown: Örnsköldsvik
Nicknames: TQ
Attackpoint name: TommyQ





Coke or Pepsi? Coke
Drive or Ride? Ride
Nike or Asics? Nike
Mountains or Beach? Australia - Beach, Sweden - Mountains
Coffee or Tea? Coffee morning, tea evening
Toast or Cereal? Cereal
Abbott or Gillard? Gillard - go the carbon tax!
Public or Private? Public!
City or Country? Country
Sprint or Long? They go hand in hand, good at long = good at sprint. Nothing more satisfying than a good result in a long race though.
Long Run or Intervals? These days don't do either but back in the day I loved my long runs and feared my intervals.

What to expect in the coming days...

Thursday 12 July - Model events and accreditation
The team will move into our WOC accommodation at Lausanne youth hostel and return to civilisation with internet access. Today will be spent on reconnaissance in the Sprint Qual area before it is embargoed at 18.00 and some final touch-up training sessions around the Middle and Long model maps.

Friday 13 July - Model Events

Another relaxed preparation day with the sprint runners checking out the Sprint model in the afternoon just across the road from our hostel in Lausanne-Vidy. Start lists for sprint qualification will be published around 3am AEST Saturday.

Saturday 14 July - Sprint Qualification and Final

Women: Rachel Effeney, Bridget Anderson, Susanne Casanova
Men: David Brickhill-Jones, Julian Dent, Simon Uppill

Women start from: 09:00 (17.00AEST) 3.4km 10m climb
Men start from: 10:00 (18:00 AEST) 4.0km 10m climb

A complex university campus for the qualification will provide flat fast running but could also through up some surprise complexity amongst the buildings.

Google Earth of the sprint qual..

This wavey funky building is in the embargoed area...

Top 15 in each heat through to final.

Sprint Final


Women start from: 16:01 (00:01AEST) 3.0km 60m climb
Men start from: 17:11 (01:11 AEST) 4.2km 80m climb

Arena placed on Lake Geneva and the competition taking place in the sloping city streets of Lausanne. Expect some park orienteering, maybe through the Olympic Museum, typical European city streets and some complex buildings with underpasses.

Sunday 15 July - Long Qualification 


Women: Rachel Effeney, Vanessa Round, Aislinn Prendergast
Men: Julian Dent


Women start from: 13:02 (21:02EST) 8.3km 160m climb
Men start from: 13:01 (21:01 AEST) 12.2km 280m climb

Swiss middle-land terrain. Very flat (for Switzerland) typical track network and lots of forested green areas. Track routes and vague controls will be the order of the day.

Long Qual old map

Top 15 in each heat through to final. 

Monday 16 July - Middle Qualification


Women: Vanessa Round, Susanne Casanova, Aislinn PrendergastMen: Murray Scown, Simon Uppill

Women start from: 13:01 (21.01 AEST) 4.2km 130m climb
Men start from: 14:01 (22:01 AEST) 4.9km 170m climb

Run on the slopes of the Jura mountain range at around 1000m, expect some vague controls and downhill courses. Contour shapes similar to back down under!

Middle Qual - old map

Top 15 in each heat through to final.


Tuesday 17 July - Middle Final


Women start from: 12:01 (20.01AEST) 5.5km 170m climb
Men start from: 13:41 (21:41 AEST) 6.5km 240m climb

Run on the plateau of the Jura mountain range at around 1200m, tough going underfoot with limited visibility and some contour detail.

Across the road from the Middle Final

Wednesday 18 July - Rest day

 Recovery swim in Lake Geneva will be on the cards.

Thursday 19 July - Long Final


Women start from: 11:31 (19.31AEST) 12.4km 370m climb
Men start from: 12:02 (20:02 AEST) 18.3km 450m climb

Large forest on the outskirts of Lausanne. A complex track network and vegetation which varies from head high nettles to fast running forest. Expect fast running track routes and vague controls to be decisive.

Long Final and Relay old map jigsaw

Friday 20 July - Rest day

Another recovery swim in Lake Geneva and team meeting for the Relays.




Saturday 21 July - Relay

Women: Vanessa Round, Rachel Effeney, Aislinn Prendergast
Men: David Brickhill-Jones, Julian Dent, Simon Uppill


Women start from: 11:30 (19.30AEST) 5.9km 140m climb
Men start from: 13:30 (21:30 AEST) 6.9km 180m climb


Same forest and arena as the Long Final. It will be a fast and close relay!




We hope you enjoy the action back home and are able to fill in all those quiet hours watching Le Tour with live results and hopefully some live video and GPS from the WOC 2012 webpage.

Support messages for all the team can be sent via the comments section on this blog.