Just six days after establishing a new UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot, Italian Filippo Ganna broke the world record in the individual pursuit.
Ganna's achievement came on the third day of competition at the 2022 Tissot UCI World Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. Five UCI World titles were awarded on Friday.
Men’s points race: Havik's first title
In the men’s point’s race, 21 riders faced 160 laps at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome for a total distance of 40km. Riders gain points and the highest score wins the competition. Points can be scored at the intermediate sprints and a 20 points bonus can also be scored by lapping the field.
It's a game of tactics, stamina and speed… and that’s exactly what Dutch Yoeri Havik displayed, as the 31-year-old took his first-ever UCI Track World Champion title with 76 points. Roger Kluge from Germany took silver with 67 points while Belgium’s Fabio Van Den Bossche secured the bronze with 64 points.
Men’s 1 km time trial: Hoogland does the job
Jeffrey Hoogland from the Netherlands continues his form from the Thursday’s keirin race, where the 29-year-old took silver, as he made it to the final with the quickest qualifying time of 58.294 seconds. It was a dominant display from Hoogland who finished over a second quicker than the second-fastest qualifier Matteo Bianchi from Italy. France’s Melvin Landerneau was the third-fastest qualifier.
In the final, Spain’s Alejandro Chorro Martinez unleashed a surprise performance and took the lead until Landerneau moved into the first position with 59.568 seconds. Bianchi started well but finished outside of the medals. However, it was Hoogland who registered an incredible 58.106 seconds and shattered the competition to win gold. Landerneau got the silver and Martinez held on to the bronze.
"That kilometre was amazing," Hoogland said. "I really wanted it, so I went hard. There's always pressure. So many things can go wrong. You can get stuck in the starting blocks, make mistakes... There's a lot of chances for it to go wrong in four laps. But I stayed focused and did what I had to do."
Men’s individual pursuit: unstoppable Ganna
In the men’s individual pursuit, two UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot holders were present with Italy’s Filippo Ganna facing countryman Jonathan Milan in the final after the two had recorded the fastest qualification times. Ganna stormed to finish at 4:00.693 - the fastest-ever pursuit at sea level - with Milan recording the next-fastest time at 4:03.012. Former UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot, Dan Bigham, who helped Great Britain beat Italy in the Thursday’s team pursuit, faced Portugal’s Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira in the bronze-medal match after the pair had recorded the third and fourth fastest qualifying times with 4:05.181 and 4:06.704.
In the final, the Italians were neck-to-neck through the early stages of the race before Ganna gradually and methodically wore down his opponent and extended his lead. Victory was assured but suddenly Ashton Lambie’s world record was in sight and Ganna made sure to break it with a new world record of 3:59.636.
In the bronze race, Alves Oliveira performed a fine race and beat Bigham, taking bronze in 4:08.738.
"It's been an amazing week," said Ganna. "I tried to do something special, the hour record and the pursuit, and I did it. The record taught me a lot about position and effort, and the preparation helped me here. Today was another great goal."
Women’s Omnium: gold for Olympic Champion Valente
In the Omnium, where riders compete in a Scratch race, a tempo race, an elimination race and a points race in the same day - requires endurance, tactical sense and power. When the last event (the points race) started, American Jennifer Valente, reigning Olympic Champion, was leading with 110 points. The Netherlands' Maike van der Duin followed with 102 points, ahead of Norway's Anita Yvonne Stenberg (96 points).
Finally, Valente won gold with 118 points. Van der Duin remained in second place with 109 points, while Portugal's Maria Martins took bronze with 99 points.
Women’s sprint: Gros delights local crowds
The final event of the day was a nice surprise for the French home crowd, who saw Mathilde Gros take on the German stars. In the semi-final, she beat two-time UCI Track World Champion Emma Hinze in straight rounds. In the final, she faced another German, Lea Sophie Friedrich, who had defeated Dutch Laurine van Riessen in the semi-final.
Friedrich, with her multiple UCI Track World Champion titles, was the favourite, but Gros, supported by her public, won the first round. The velodrome was filled with excitement as the second heat got underway. After launching her sprint, Gros held off Friedrich and took a memorable title. Hinze took bronze after winning the ride-off for third place.