The Spanish UCI World Champion (winner of the Scratch Race in London 2016) triumphed in his two events on the night in Lithuania: the Scratch Race ahead of Great Britain’s Rhys Britton; and the Elimination against New Zealand’s Aaron Gate.
With his two victories, Mora emulated Corbin Strong’s haul in the first round, and the Spaniard even moved to the top of the overall standings with 59 points. Strong has 57 and Gavin Hoover, of the USA, sits on 53. The third round and the grand finale will take place this weekend in London (3 and 4 December) following the cancellation of the originally-scheduled final round in Tel Aviv, Israel, due to restrictions in place to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. While it’s too early to look at the final standings, Mora says, he can already share his delight in the new series.
🤩🌍🇱🇹 @UCITCL #UCITCL @ProyectoFER @VillarrealCF @dipcas @Movistar_Team pic.twitter.com/qHSl0Ng4PC
— Sebastián Mora (@SebastianMoraV) November 28, 2021
What do you take away from the second night of the UCI Track Champions League?
Sebastián Mora: It was a great outcome. We were coming from Mallorca, where I was 3rd in the Elimination and much further back in the Scratch Race (12th). To win a race is always amazing, but to do it twice the same day, it’s really moving and it has to make you happy. In addition, the people of Lithuania supported us a lot during the event, so it’s a really positive balance.
Did the results in Mallorca make you even more eager to perform in Panevėžys?
S.M.: In Mallorca, there was a greater responsibility for Spanish riders, to try and do our best, and that’s why I attacked in the Scratch Race, to make it a more exciting and much harder race. In Lithuania, I raced with a lot more calmness. I think this has been the main difference.
“In the final sprint I thought I couldn’t get past Aaron Gate”
Your night began with the victory in the Scratch Race. How did you get that win?
S.M.: Since it’s a 20-lap Scratch Race, it’s really short for us endurance riders. We had seen in Mallorca that the sprint is what matters, so we tried to stay calm as much as possible and to play it out in the end. We know I’m not the fastest, but I’m not the slowest either. So I changed my tactics that way, and I focused on getting the best position for the sprint, and then launching with all the strength I had to move past my British companion (Britton) and take the win.
What were your feelings after the Scratch Race, with the Elimination coming soon after?
S.M.: Good, really good. The Lithuanian fans cheered a lot and that’s important, it gave us the strength for the second race and it allowed me to start the Elimination with lots of desire and ambition to be as strong as possible.
How did the race go?
S.M.: It’s totally different to the Scratch Race. Your strength is really important, but you also need that bit of luck to not get boxed in and to maintain a good positioning. The last three were really strong and in the final sprint I thought I couldn’t get past Aaron Gate, but I found the strength to take this second win in Lithuania.
“The fans are passionate in every race”
As the new leader of the Endurance League, how do you see the fight for the overall victory?
S.M.: Obviously, the higher you’re placed, the better, and before the final round we’ll be able to see more precisely what can be done tactically to try and win in the end. Until then, we’ll try to be in the best position possible and take the most points but we stay calm, as if every race was separate.
You’ve shone in the Olympic Games, the UCI World Championships, the European Championships… What do you find in the UCI Track Champions League?
S.M.: It’s an event organised with Eurosport, Discovery, the UCI, and it aims to give a lot of visibility to track cycling. We need to be there to give this event more fame, and I want to support this. And of course, there’s the appeal of the short format. We want the people to love track cycling as much as road cycling, I think it’s as fascinating.
What have you been most impressed with in the first two nights of the UCI Track Champions League?
S.M.: We see that in the pandemics we’re fighting, the velodromes are filling up, in Spain and Lithuania as well. The fans are passionate in every race, for their local riders and for the others as well. The races have better international coverage. I think that’s what we’ve seen the most as riders, and that’s good for cycling in general.