Lavreysen claims an impressive 11th title with victory in the men's sprint
In the men’s sprint, Dutch Harrie Lavreysen went for an 11th UCI Track World Championship title after having won the Keirin on the Friday and taken silver in the team sprint on the Wednesday. The great form continued in the men’s sprint semi-finals as he beat Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk and made it to the final.
In the second semi-final, two Australians faced each other with 23-year-old Matthew Richardson against 30-year-old Matthew Glaetzer. Both heats were incredibly close but Richardson won by 0.015 seconds and 0.038 seconds.
Despite Richardson’s fine performance, Lavreysen was the favourite in the final and he secured an advantage by winning the first heat by 0.155 seconds. Richardson had to win the second heat to have a chance and while offering a good match, riding beneath Lavreysen to overtake the lead, Lavreyson remained cool and accelerated and sprinted past the Australian on the final corner to take another UCI Track World Championship gold medal. Glaetzer beat Rudyk for bronze.
“It’s amazing to win four [sprint titles] in a row,” said Lavreysen. “It’s hard to keep the streak going. Both Glaetzer and Richardson were fast on this track. But I really like this track. It’s really fast. Some really quick times during the last couple of races.”
First rainbow jersey for Neah Evans in women’s points race
The women’s points race offered an exciting show as Great Britain’s Neah Evans took the lead after collecting early sprint points but then lost the front position to Denmark’s Julie Leth (Madison silver medalist at the 2020 Olympic Games). Evans came back flying and eventually won gold (60 points) and her first rainbow jersey. Leth took silver (53 points) and the bronze went to USA’s Jennifer Valente.
“I was a little bit panicked over the last few laps; there was a lot of pressure at the end,” Evans said. “It’s a good title to win as it’s been won by some fantastic riders in the past, so I’m delighted to get my name up there.”
French team soar to home victory in men’s Madison
Eighteen teams lined up for the men’s Madison (200 laps, 50 km). The German team with Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt were active early on, as were Great Britain with Ethan Hayter and Oliver Wood and Denmark with Michael Mørkøv and Niklas Larsen. As the race progressed, France, with Donavan Grondin and Benjamin Thomas, were dominating the sprints before taking a lap.
The Dutch team with Yoeri Havik and Jan-Willem van Schip gained a lap and briefly took the lead. But France responded by taking another lap and then pulled away to secure a decisive victory with 65 points. Ethan Hayter unleashed an incredible sprint on the final lap which resulted in a silver for Great Britain. Belgium, with Fabio Van den Bossche and Lindsay de Vylder, took bronze.
“It was an incredible experience,” Thomas said after the race. “We really felt the crowd, especially in the last 10 minutes. My teammate was really strong. We did the perfect race, attacking at the right moment and today was our day.” As for Grondin, “It was a great atmosphere and a great achievement by the French team. Today we delivered in front of the fans, my father, my family and friends.”
Lea Sophie Friedrich retains title in women’s keirin
The women’s keirin was full action from the start until the final, which had a line-up of world-class riders with Lea Sophie Friedrich (GER), Mina Sato (JPN), Shanne Braspennincx (NED), Steffie van der Peet (NED), Ellesse Andrews (NZL) and Mathilde Gros (FRA).
Multiple UCI Track World Champion Friedrich, with a fresh team sprint gold, powered to victory and defended her keirin title. Japan’s Sato took silver and bronze went to Van der Peet.
“I can’t describe this feeling and I’m really proud to defend my UCI Track World Championship title,” said Friedrich. “The race was really painful for me; the last lap was pretty hard but I am happy. It was hard to defend this title. Now I'm going home to celebrate.”
Two in a row for reigning elimination UCI World Champion Elia Viviani
The final race at the 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships started intensely but soon settled down and produced a final trio of riders with Italy’s Elia Viviani, New Zealand’s Corbin Strong and Great Britain’s Ethan Vernon. Out of the three, Vernon was eliminated first and had to be content with bronze. In the match between Strong and Viviani, the Italian launched an attack with a little less than a lap to go to and took a convincing victory, retaining his title.
“I was feeling super good and did my best,” Viviani said. “It was great to win here, especially with my brother watching. And congratulations to the French fans. I’ve never seen an atmosphere like this. Now I enjoy this win and the end of the season is coming.”
Following the conclusion of the 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships, the National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines will soon be alight with action again for the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships (20-23 October).