ATHENS, Greece - Unsettled by a pre-Games doping inquiry, disrupted by team changes and burdened with stress, Australia’s Olympic cycling team have let their legs do the talking in Athens.

The message from the Olympic Velodrome has been broadcast loud and clear. With Australia winning the men’s madison and Ryan Bayley picking up keirin gold on Wednesday a day after winning the men’s sprint, the Australians have enjoyed a standout Olympics in the cycling with six golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

“This is bloody amazing,” said madison winner Stuart O’Grady, who has worn the yellow leader’s jersey on several occasions in the Tour de France.

“It keeps just getting better and better. The whole year has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster but I trained hard and it paid off.”

Ian Waldie / Getty Images Olga Slyusareva of Russia waves to the crowd after winning gold in the women's track cycling point race.

Sara Carrigan upstaged the favourites to win the women’s road race, Queensland coal-miner’s daughter Anna Meares took the 500 metres time trial gold and the men won the team pursuit.

On top of that, Katie Mactier took silver in the women’s individual pursuit while Brad McGee did the same in the men’s event. Bronze medals went to Meares in the sprint and Shane Kelly in the keirin.

“It’s a pretty good statement to come back and win the most medals and have the best Olympics Australia’s ever had,” said points race rider Mark Renshaw.

“It’s certainly a good comeback after what’s happened.”

He was referring to the past few months, with Australian cycling awash with controversy and the team performing below expectations at the recent world championships.

The doping inquiry was set up after former junior world track champion Mark French, banned from the Olympics for life over a range of drug offences, accused five elite Australian cyclists of injecting themselves with legal and illegal substances at his room at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Former world keirin champion Jobie Dajka was dumped from the team late last month for bringing the team into disrepute after he admitted lying to investigators.

Sean Eadie was dropped after being charged with trafficking human growth hormone but was reinstated after the case was dropped.

Kelly, a four-times world champion, was also investigated but — while admitting injecting vitamins — he denied using banned drugs and was allowed to stay.

“It’s great that they’ve come back and let their legs do the talking and proven to Australia that Australian cyclists really are top-notch people,” said Renshaw after Bayley and Meares won medals on Tuesday.

“It’s good that we’ve got these performances to show everyone at home that we are good riders and good people. Really it’s the hard work they’ve put in that’s paid off.”

Renshaw, who did not win a medal, said the stress had been unbelievable.

“I spoke to one of the guys and he said he lost four or five kilos just over stress and really it’s hard to come into the Olympic Games when you’ve got that stress,” he said.

“It’s a credit to the whole sprint group in bouncing back.”

Russian Slyusareva strikes gold at last
Russia’s Olga Slyusareva, the most successful exponent of the women’s cycling points race, finally won an Olympic gold in the event on Wednesday to add to her four world championship titles.

The 35-year-old has been by far the best female points rider of the past decade but has never translated that success to the Olympics. Her only previous Olympic points race medal was a bronze in Sydney four years ago.

But the Ukrainian-born Russian won the 100-lap competition comfortably to add to the bronze she took in the Olympic road race on the opening weekend of the Games.

“The most important thing in my life was when my son was born. The second was winning this Olympic gold medal,” she said.

“When I lost the first two sprints I thought I probably had no chance to win but I’m very strong. Finally I did win. I’m so happy as this gold medal is so important to me.”

Belem Guerrero Mendez won the silver medal to give Mexico their first track cycling medal since 1984 and their first ever silver.

Maria Luisa Calle Williams claimed bronze — Colombia’s first medal in Olympic track cycling history — and promptly fell over near the finish line.

Williams was later stripped of her medal after testing positive for a banned stimulant. American Erin Mirabella, the fourth-place finisher, was awarded the bronze.

New Zealand’s highly fancied rider Sarah Ulmer, who won the individual pursuit on Sunday, finished sixth.

Slyusareva won with 20 points to Guerrero Mendez’s 14 and Calle Williams with 12.

Riders get points for lapping the main pack or for placing in the sprints, which are held every 10 laps.

Wiggins wins three medals, a first for Britain
Bradley Wiggins rode his bike into British sporting history on Wednesday as the country’s first athlete in 40 years to win three medals at a single Olympics.

The 24-year-old bronze medalist in an action-packed madison at the Athens velodrome despite teammate Rob Hayles crashing for the second Games in a row, recognized that his life would never be the same again.

“The events in sport this week have changed my life,” said the Londoner, winner of the individual pursuit and silver medalist in the men’s team pursuit. “It’s become a bit of a cliche but these kind of things happen to other people. Growing up in London as a kid, I’d never ever thought anything like this would happen to me.

“I always wanted it but it’s just hard to take in ... we stand here and you guys tell us we have made history. It’s just mind-blowing really.”

The last Briton to take three medals at one Games was Mary Rand who won the women’s long jump in Tokyo in 1964 after silver in the pentathlon and bronze in the 4x100 relay.

He had a pint of beer after his gold medal race and he planned to down rather more than that now.

“I’m going to get very drunk and spend a lot of time with my girlfriend Catherine,” he said.

U.S. Nothstein's hope for triple medals dashed
Marty Nothstein’s hopes of becoming the sixth person to win individual cycling medals in three consecutive Olympics ended Wednesday after he failed to get past the opening round of the keirin competition.

Nothstein, the sprint silver medalist at Atlanta in 1996 and the sprint gold winner four years ago at Sydney, placed fourth in the repechage, or second-chance race, ending his medal hopes. He had to place first or second to advance.

“The mind was good. The body was good,” said Nothstein, who lives in Orefield, Pa. “I lacked a little bit of the power I’m used to racing with, but I put on my big gear and I was right there.”

Cycling - Women's Individual Points Race (medals: Aug. 25th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Olga Slyusareva Russia 20 Silver Belem Guerrero Mendez Mexico 14 Bronze Erin Mirabella United States 9 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Cycling - Men's Madison (medals: Aug. 25th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Graeme Brown, Stuart O’Grady Australia 22 Silver Franco Marvulli, Bruno Risi Switzerland 15 Bronze Rob Hayles, Bradley Wiggins Britain 12 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Cycling - Men's Keirin (medals: Aug. 25th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Ryan Bayley Australia 10.601 Silver Jose Escuredo Spain Bronze Shane Kelly Australia NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

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