Lavreysen buries sprint loss with keirin hat-trick
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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES - The Netherlands' Harrie Lavreysen stormed to his 10th world track cycling championship gold medal on Thursday with a third consecutive men's keirin title.
The 25-year-old bounced back from the shock disappointment of the Dutch team's defeat by Australia in the men's team sprint final in France on Wednesday.
His compatriot and sprint teammate Jeffrey Hoogland finished second, with Colombia's Kevin Quintero completing the podium.
"It wasn't that tactical but the legs felt really good today so I just went for it," he said.
"I chose my moment and went full gas. We were a bit sad about yesterday (when the Netherlands took the team sprint silver) but, of course, I really wanted to win this jersey today."
Lavreysen, who won both the individual and team sprint gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, will now bid for a fourth straight world individual sprint title, with the finals scheduled for the last day of the competition on Sunday.
Belgian star Lotte Kopecky powered to victory in the women's elimination race to win the third track world title of her career.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a stellar season on the road, winning both the Strade Bianche and Tour of Flanders one-day classics.
Kopecky took silver in the elimination race in Roubaix as part of a three-medal haul at the 2021 world championships.
But she went one better at the velodrome which will be used for the 2024 Paris Olympics, edging out Italy's Rachele Barbieri while American Jennifer Valente had to settle for bronze for the second straight year.
Kopecky is also entered in the points race and the omnium.
Earlier, Britain upset Olympic champions Italy to win the men's team pursuit title. The British quartet of Ethan Hayter, Oliver Wood, Ethan Vernon and Daniel Bigham edged out their final opponents with a time of 3min 45.829sec.
It was a surprise loss for Italy, led by new one-hour world record holder Filippo Ganna, who were bidding to retain their 2021 title. Denmark beat Australia to secure the bronze medal.
In the women's event, the Italian quartet of Elisa Balsamo, Chiara Consonni, Martina Fidanza and Vittoria Guazzini finished in 4:09.760, ahead of Britain's 4:11.369, to take gold, with hosts France coming in third.
AFP, REUTERS