Champion present for Christmas

WORLD champion track cyclist Adrian Teklinski, from Poland, is heading to Tasmania for the Christmas Carnivals.

Teklinski, 28, won the 16km scratch race at the world championships in Hong Kong in April, launching a solo breakaway seven laps from home before trouncing his rivals by 200m.

Teklinski will contest the full seven-day program of events, starting with the Boxing Day twilight criterium in Ulverstone.

He was recruited for Tasmania by the popular German veteran Christian Grasmann, winner of the Criterium Cups in 2013-14, who will return for his fourth tilt in five years at the carnivals.

Top English track rider Tom Rotherham and Dutch six-day star Nick Stopler will also be in the Grasmann stable.

Rotherham won medals in the keirin, individual time trial and team sprint at the British track championships in February, while Stopler is a former Dutch points race and madison titleholder.

Rounding off the European contingent is the six-times Austrian track and criterium champion Stefan Matzner, who won gold medals in the time trial, sprint, scratch race, madison and criterium. — JAMES BRESNEHAN