World Track Champs 2008

World track cycling champs 2008 held at Manchester March 26/30.

Day four from Manchester, March 29 - Results, Quotes and Championship daily schedule

Intro
With six Gold medals already credited the Great Britain account, the fourth day of competition offered a couple of realistic chances to add to the total and equal – or even surpass – the seven . Victoria Pendleton was a clear favourite to retain her Sprint title and Chris Hoy’s performances in the earlier part of the competition.

Cavendish and Wiggins - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Madison podium - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Hoy & Mulder - Keirin - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Chris Hoy - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Vos wins the points race - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Pendleton & Krupeckaite Pic Guy Swarbrick

Victoria Pendleton - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Women's points podium - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Tilde Schmidt Points - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Keirin - Pic Guy Swarbrick

Women Points
Unlike the Men’s event earlier in the week, the Women’s Points race saw no fewer than three riders lap the field – first Trine Schmidt of Denmark, then Vera Carrara of Italy and finally – and decisively – Marianne Vos of the Netherlands who, with two sprint victories and a second place as well as the lap gain amassed 33 points to Silver medallist Schmidt’s 25.

It was a chaotic, disjointed race - in a field of 22 riders only four - including Bronze medallist Carrara and, unfortunately, young GB rider Lizze Armistead failed to score any points, with no other rider offering any real opposition to Vos who has now won world championships on the road, on the track and in cyclo-cross.

GOLD Marianne Vos NED
SILVER Trine Schmidt DEN
BRONZE Vera Carrara ITA

Men's Madison
The men’s Madison is a marathon event – 200 laps in just under an hour at an average speed of 35mph, with 10 sprints helping to determine the final positions. Unlike the Points race, though, where taking a lap gives you 20 points, taking lap is the key to winning a Madison because the points simply determine the order of the riders who have taken the most laps.

Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins’ chances of taking another gold were looking slim at the half way point. With eight points on the board – including five for winning the first sprint – they were second in terms of points scored to Denmark, who had 10. But Denmark and Belgium, on four points, had made an early break - joined shortly afterwards by pointless Switzerland. Those three nations occupied the medal positions when Spain joined them in the closing stages, a lop up but with a solitary point.

With just over 20 laps to go the only way Cavendish and Wiggins could take the win was to take a lap. With the crowd willing them on they thundered off the front taking the eighth of the 10 sprints in the process. With 16 points they would take the lead if they could get on to the back of the rapidly thinning pack. They made it, to a huge roar from around the stadium and looked secure until Germany, too, took a lap – and a sprint – moving to within 3 points.

But all the British pair needed to do was finish ahead of the Germans to take the title, but they clearly weren’t sure of the position and contested the final sprint – picking up another 3 points that put the result beyond doubt. Roger Kluge & Olaf Pollack took the Silver for Germany and Denmark were rewarded for their early heroics with the Bronze.

Unlike previous British victories this week, this one looked so unlikely at the halfway stage that the awe struck crowd was still on its feet applauding five minutes from the end as Wiggins and Cavendish celebrated with their families.

GOLD Mark Cavendish & Bradley Wiggins GBR
SILVER Roger Kluge & Olaf Pollack GER
BRONZE Michael Morkov & Alex Rasmussen DEN

Women's Sprint
The Women’s Sprint started at the semi-final stage and went pretty much to form with Pendelton taking two easy wins over Jennie Reed of the US. The other semi between was closer, but Lithuania’s Simona Krupeckaite was too strong for Shuang Guo of China.

Indeed, Krupeckaite was looking like a real challenge to Pendleton and the final was going to be close. But the Bronze medal matches came first – with Reed taking the first comfortably and Guo sneaking the second. Reed made no mistake in the decider, though, leading from the front to take the bronze.

In the first match Pendleton took the lead, keeping a good lead of Krupeckaite who attacked at the bell. She started to come around the outside on the final bend but Pendleton held her line and surged ahead in the home straight. In the second Krupeckaite tried a different tactic, taking the lead and attacking from the front. It was a much better strategy and the Lithuanian had a substantial lead as they entered the banking for the final time. The result was the same, though, with Pendleton easing past to take the second of the three Golds she was targeting and sending the velodrome into a frenzy again.

GOLD Victoria Pendleton GBR
SILVER Simona Krupeckaite LTU
BRONZE Jennie Reed USA

Men's Keirin
The first round of the Keirin produced a few upsets. Hoy went straight off the front of his and won it comfortably from Toshiaki Fushimi of Japan. Teun Mulder came third and would have to try again in the repechage. The second was won by the impressive Malaysian Azizulhasni Awang from Australian Shane Perkins.

Beating Perkins is one thing, but the round saw Arnand Tournant of France take third and Theo Bos of the Netherlands finish in fourth. Hoy’s Team Sprint team mate Ross Edgar won heat three from Shane Kelly of Australia with Kévin Sireau down in fourth and Roberto Chiappa sixth. The third Brit, Matthew Crampton, also qualified automatically, coming second to Christos Volikakis of Greece. Mickaël Bourgain crossed the line in third place ahead of Ryan Bayley of Australia but was disqualified for moving down on Josiah Ng of Malaysia, resulting in a heavy crash involving Ng and Spain’s José Antonio Escuredo.

Incredibly, with half his skin suit and base layer torn away, Ng took part in the first repechage and led the race until the final bend but faded and finished third. Mulder went through to the second round. Tournant qualified from the second repechage, the impressive Sireau disappointing fourth; Stefan Nimke played lead out man for Carsten Bergemann, denying Bos a second round place in the third heat and Bayley took the last berth.

Three riders would go through to the final from each of the second round heats. In the first, there were three Australians – Kelly, Bayley and Perkins – but it was Hoy from a long one off the front, Volikakis and Mulder who went through. In the second Crampton and Egdar started side by side behind the derny with Matthew easing off to let Ross in at the head of the field.

With the other riders coming round quickly as they jostled for position in anticipation of the derny’s departure, Edgar found himself boxed in at the back with Awang alongside him and Crampton find himself at the front.

Constantly looking back as though we was riding a match sprint, Crampton controlled the pace and took the heat from Tournand. Edgar struggled to find a way out and although he finally came around the outside on the home straight he couldn’t quite catch Fushimi and came home fourth.

The final was vintage Hoy. Chomping at the bit as the derny prepared to pull of he was off like a rocket and time trialled off the front to take the win and his third medal – and second Gold – of the week. Mulder, who’d only made it in to the second round through the repechage took the Silver and Volikakis the Bronze.
Cue more wild celebrations and a ninth Gold medal for Great Britain.

GOLD Chris Hoy GBR
SILVER Teun Mulder NED
BRONZE