The evening session of the first day of competition at the UCI Juniors Track World Championships saw four titles decided – the Men’s Team Pursuit, the Men’s and Women’s Team Sprint and the Women’s Scratch.
Men’s Team Pursuit
In truth, the Men’s Team Pursuit title was never in doubt. The New Zealand team put up a brave fight but never got within two seconds of the Australian quartet of Jack Edwards, Joshua Harrison, Callum Scotson and Sam Welsfod – and paid for their efforts, tying up in the run to the line and finishing over six seconds adrift.
The Bronze medal ride between Great Britain and Russia had looked much closer with just six hundredths between them in qualifying, but that, too, was a one sided affair in the end – the same pattern playing out on the track, just with smaller margins. Great Britain didn’t get within a second of the Russians and faded to finish three and a half seconds off the pace.
Great Britain coach Matt Winston said before the start of the competition that the squad’s goal was to make a medal ride. Mission accomplished.
GOLD Australia 4:06.182
SILVER New Zealand 4:12.298
BRONZE Russia 4:09.755
4 Great Britain 4:13.371
Men’s Team Sprint
The Men’s Team Sprint competition saw five nations qualify within a second with France the unlucky trio to miss out on a medal ride with a 46.700. New Zealand were slightly off Germany’s pace in qualifying for the Bronze medal ride with a 46.149 – over four tenths off the 45.980 the Germans recorded.
It was much closer at the top with the Australians topping the table on 45.800 and the Russian’s less than two tenths back on 45.978 and the Russians pushing the Germans in to the Bronze medal ride by just two thousandths of a second.
The medal rides went to form with the Germans clocking a faster time to take the Bronze than the Russians managed in taking the Silver. Nobody could get close to Jai Angsuthasawit, Patrick Constable and Alexander Radzikiewicz of Australia, though. They improved on their qualifying time and took the Gold with a 45.639.
GOLD Australia 45.639
SILVER Russia 45.714
BRONZE Germany 45.581
4 New Zealand 46.363
Qualification
1 Australia 45.800 +0.000
2 Russia 45.978 +0.178
3 Gemany 45.980 +0.180
4 New Zealand 46.419 +0.619
5 France 46.700 +0.900
6 Poland 46.940 +1.140
7 Mexico 47.890 +2.090
8 Japan 48.040 +2.240
9 Belgium 49.030 +3.230
10 United States of America 50.600 +4.800
11 India 52.550 +6.750
REL Malaysia REL
REL Belarus REL
Women’s Team Sprint
The senior Korean track cycling team has been making impressive progress over the last couple of years, so it wasn’t really a surprise to see them in contention for a medal – although the fact that their time of 35.810 was just a quarter of a second off Australia’s table topping time was impressive. And they were just one hundredth off Russia’s Gold medal final time of 35.800.
Still, beating the Germans to the Bronze medal was no mean achievement and the future for Korea’s sprinters looks bright.
In the final, Australia’s Tian Beckett and Tennille Falappi – who weren’t sporting the boys’ ‘traditional’ bleached hair-dos and who had out qualified the Russians by two tenths – took the Gold by three tenths. It was a Gold and green evening.
GOLD Australia 35.344
SILVER Russia 35.656
BRONZE Korea 36.153
4 Germany 36.311
Qualification
1 Australia 35.560 +0.000
2 Russia 35.800 +0.240
3 Korea 35.810 +0.250
4 Germany 36.250 +0.690
5 Mexico 37.070 +1.510
6 Chinese Taipei 37.480 +1.920
7 United States of America 38.280 +2.720
8 Belarus 38.510 +2.950
9 India 39.080 +3.520
REL Belgium
Women’s Scratch Race
Jessica Parra of Colombia had two attempts to break away from the pack in the Women’s Scratch race. The first – with Soline Lamboley of France – only lasted a couple of laps before it was chaaed down. The second attempt – after chasing down and passing Belgium’s Jesse Vandenbulcke – was more successful.
The Colombian pulled out a quarter of a lap in no time at all, then settled in to the job of grinding out the other three quarters. Kinley Gibson of Canada tried to bridge the gap, but couldn’t quite match the Colombian’s pace and, although she pulled steadily away from the bunch, she didn’t make much of a dent in Parra’s lead.
The junction was made with two to go and the Gold was in the bag. The question now was whether Gibson could hold on to the less than half lap lead she’d built.
It was comfortable in the end, with the Canadian taking the Silver and Amalie Dideriksen of Denmark leading the bunch over to take the Bronze.
GOLD Jessica PARRA COL
SILVER Kinley GIBSON CAN
BRONZE Amalie DIDERIKSEN DEN -1
4 Lizbeth Yarely SALAZAR MEX -1
5 Lucja PIETRZAK POL -1
6 Claudia CRETTI ITA -1
7 Marina KUCHINSKAYA BLR -1
8 Soline LAMBOLEY FRA -1
9 Josie TALBOT AUS -1
10 Anastasiia IAKOVENKO RUS -1
11 Ann-Leonie WIECHMANN GER -1
12 Sarah HUANG USA -1
13 Jesse VANDENBULCKE BEL -1
14 Tourangbam BIDYALUXMI DEVI IND -1
15 Danielle NORMAN RSA -1
DNF Rachel Kaye MELLOR IRL
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