Commonwealth Games gold medallist Michael Freiberg was 5th in the Omnium in the first leg of the Track World Cup over the weekend in Beijing, China.
Freiberg only needs to finish in the top 15 at the remaining World Cup meet in Manchester next month to secure his place in the March World Championships, to be held in the Netherlands.
With the Omnium part of a reduced track cycling program at the London 2010 Olympics, Freiberg is gaining valuable race experience against the best cyclists in the world.
Described by Freiberg as the “decathlon of track cycling”, the Omnium consists of 6 events; a flying lap against the clock, a 20km points race, an elimination, a 4000m individual pursuit, a scratch race and a 1km time trial.
Points for the event are awarded in reverse order depending on finishing place; the first rider gets one point, the second two points, and so on. The rider with the fewest points after all events is declared the winner.
Freiberg was first across the line in the scratch race portion of the event.
Returning to Australia tomorrow, he will now turn his attention to the Australian Track Championships in Sydney later this month.