Harrie Lavreysen makes history with quadruple gold haul at cycling world championships
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Harrie Lavreysen had already won the team sprint, the keirin and the 1km time trial in Santiago heading in to the final day of racing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SANTIAGO – Dutch sprint king Harrie Lavreysen became the first cyclist to win four gold medals at the same UCI Track Cycling World Championships on Oct 26, as he rounded off a remarkable week of domination by winning the sprint.
Lavreysen had already won the team sprint, the keirin and the 1km time trial in Santiago, Chile ahead of the final day of racing and he proved unstoppable again.
Britain’s Matthew Richardson, who switched allegiance from Australia after the 2024 Olympics, had the task of trying to deny Lavreysen in the final but could make no impression as the Dutch powerhouse won both heats.
The 28-year-old now has an incredible 20 world titles across the various track disciplines to go along with his five Olympic golds, three of which came at the 2024 Paris Games.
“This is unbelievable,” said Lavreysen. “Coming here, I didn’t think I could do it (win four golds), though it was always in the back of my mind.
“And winning the sprint means so much, it’s the main event and today everything just came together. I just love the work, the process and the competition.”
Japan’s Mina Sato claimed the women’s keirin gold medal on Oct 26, edging out Britain’s two-time sprint world champion Emma Finucane in the final to retain the title she won in Denmark in 2024.
Mexico’s Yareli Acevedo Mendoza won the women’s points race from Britain’s Anna Morris.
Italian former Olympic omnium champion Elia Viviani marked the last race of his illustrious career in perfect fashion by winning the gold medal in the men’s elimination race.
The 36-year-old, an Olympic gold medallist on the track in 2016 and stage winner on all three Grand Tours on the road, has been racing at the elite level for 15 years.
He also previously won two world championship gold medals and eight European track titles.
In Santiago on Oct 26, he took a third world title, beating New Zealand’s Campbell Stewart in his career finale having announced his retirement two weeks ago.
Viviani enjoyed a peak while at the Belgian Quick-Step outfit where he won the sprint jersey at the Giro d’Italia in 2018, surging to four of his five career Giro stages.
“I trained a lot on the track and we knew we were coming in great shape. In the points race, I wasn’t at my best, but today I felt it could be my day,” he said.
“This event comes naturally to me – I enjoy it and it allows me to read the situations well. The final sprint was chaotic, but I knew I could come through on the last straight. It was beautiful to finish this way.” REUTERS, AFP
