2021 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships: Host nation France celebrates second gold in Roubaix

Five more titles were awarded on day three of the 2021 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships: in the men’s points race, kilometre time trial and individual pursuit, and the women’s sprint and Omnium.

Men’s points race: a second French triumph

The evening session began with a thrilling battle for the medals in the points race. The defending UCI World Champion, Corbin Strong (NZL), struck first, taking five points in the opening sprint, before Belgian icon Kenny De Ketele claimed the early lead as he rode aggressively in his last UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Over the 40km of racing (160 laps), he took three laps on his rivals, more than anyone else… and gold still escaped him.

Benjamin Thomas, the only French rider to have claimed a rainbow jersey last year in Berlin (winner of the Omnium), silver medallist this week in the team pursuit, was eager to take gold in front of the French crowd. He gained two laps and dominated eight of the 15 sprints of the day. With a total of 94 points, he succeeded his compatriot Franck Perque, winner of the points race in 2004, and joined Donavan Grondin as a French UCI Track Cycling World Champion in 2021.

De Ketele held on to the silver medal with 84 points. The Dutch rider Vincent Hoppezak (35 points) grabbed the last spot on the podium, preventing the Spaniard Sebastián Mora (24 points) from taking a seventh UCI World Championships medal.

Men’s kilometre time trial: Hoogland’s raw power is out of reach

Jeffrey Hoogland is on a roll in the ‘Stab’, where he claimed gold (team sprint) and silver (keirin) medals in the first two days of competition. He continued his form in the qualifying of the kilometre time trial, a discipline that saw him claim a rainbow jersey in 2018. The Dutch star set the fastest time in the early afternoon with an average speed of 61.281km/h (58.746sesc). Among the 23 starters, UCI World Cycling Centre trainee Nicholas Paul (TTO) was the only rider getting anywhere near Hoogland with a time under one minute (59.269secs).

In the evening session, Joachim Eilers (GER) almost broke the one-minute barrier as well to set the provisional best time (1:00.008) with only Paul and Hoogland left to ride. With a time of 59.791secs, the rider from Trinidad and Tobago brought his country its first Elite medal (silver) in the history of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

But Hoogland, the last starter, was in a league of his own when he smashed Paul’s reference, setting a best time of 58.418secs to take his sixth rainbow jersey in career.

Men’s individual pursuit: Lambie tames the Italians

On the day after their collective victory in the team pursuit, the Italians were dominant again in the qualifying of the individual event. That said, the fans witnessed a massive surprise when Filippo Ganna missed out on the final for gold with a time of 4:06.402. ‘Top Ganna’ had been one of the top two contenders in every UCI Worlds since 2016, claiming four rainbow jerseys and a silver medal.

Second to Ganna in Berlin 2020 and now the holder of the world record since he broke the four-minute barrier in August, Ashton Lambie (USA) set the fastest time of the qualifying (4:03.237), ahead of Italy’s Jonathan Milan (4:05.785), recent winner of the individual pursuit in the European Championships.

Ganna redeemed himself with a strong effort in the final for bronze, overtaking Claudio Imhof (SUI) after 2,375m. Milan also enjoyed a strong start, but he couldn’t resist Lambie, winner with a time of 4:05.060 and a margin of one second.

Women’s sprint: Hinze on a beautiful roll

The first rounds held on Wednesday set the stage for two stellar duals between Canadians and Germans in the semi-finals. The defending UCI World Champion, Emma Hinze (GER), dominated the Olympic Champion Kelsey Mitchell (CAN) over two rounds. Her compatriot, Lea Sophie Friedrich, was equally dominant against Lauriane Genest.

With another two powerful sprints, Emma Hinze won her second gold medal in three days, after the team sprint alongside her runner-up Friedrich. Hinze can still repeat her haul from last year with a third gold medal to chase in the keirin.

In the final for bronze, Mitchell headed compatriot Genest to claim Canada’s first medal in Roubaix.

Women’s Omnium: Archibald’s total dominance

The versatile champions of the Omnium faced a full day of action this Friday, with a qualifying round ahead of the four main events: Scratch Race, tempo race, elimination and points race.

Winner of the Omnium in the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Katie Archibald started the afternoon with two bangs, dominating both the Scratch Race and the tempo race. With 80 points, the British star had already opened a significant gap on her first rivals, the Omnium Olympic Champion Jennifer Valente (USA, 64 points) and road race UCI World Champion Elisa Balsamo (ITA, 62 points).

Archibald’s nerves and legs continued to rule the competition as the top contenders tried to challenge her in the elimination. Again, the Brit took 40 points, bringing her lead up to 20 points on Balsamo, 24 on Valente and 26 on French rider Clara Copponi.

In the decisive points race, Portugal’s Maria Martins and Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky lapped the field early to move onto the provisional podium. The final sprint allowed Kopecky (119 pts) and Balsamo (116) to take the silver and bronze medals just ahead of Copponi (113) and Martins (106), while Archibald remained out of reach with 137 points.

Rainbow jerseys are still up for grabs in nine events across the weekend in Roubaix. On Saturday, riders will battle for the UCI World Champion titles in the women’s 500m time trial, Madison and individual pursuit, and the men’s Omnium, ahead of Sunday’s final races and ceremonies.