Kersten to forget Olympics horror with Ride for Life

By Mike Gandon
Updated November 5 2012 - 5:55pm, first published August 13 2008 - 12:10pm

Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ben Kersten will treat the Ride for Life at Centennial Park as his comeback race on Sunday.After Kersten's event, the kilometre time trial, was eliminated from the Beijing Olympic Games program the 26-year-old missed final selection for the Games, losing in a ride-off against Shane Kelly. The ride-off was to decide the third wheel position in the team sprint.The Wollongong-born flyer and triple world junior champion, who divides his time between Sydney and Kiama - where his parents Harry and Helen live - will be a little short on race condition but the new 1.9km circuit in the centre of Centennial Park should be well suited to the track star who has claimed many titles throughout the world.As a teenager Kersten controversially missed selection for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and then was chosen in the Australian team at Athens 2004 but did not race.He then defeated two Olympic champions to claim the Commonwealth Games kilometre title in Melbourne in 2006.Kersten is undecided as to which race to contest on Sunday - theAces event over 36km or the corporate race over 24km."I would obviously have preferred competing in Beijing but I am a founding ambassador of the Ride for Life along with Athens Olympic Games gold medallist Steve Wooldridge and it will be good to compete on part of the 2000 Olympic course," Kersten said. He will receive plenty of encouragement from Wooldridge, who has retired from international racing after winning four world titles and an Olympic title, and will officially start the race.Ride for Life, sponsored by Trust Company, plays host to leading NSW and Australian cyclists and corporate cyclists. It has raised more than $200,000 for the Prince of Wales Oncology Centre. A TAFE relay challenge will be included this year.

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