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HomeWorld CupReportsUCI Track Cycling World Cup II – London – Day 1 Qualifying

UCI Track Cycling World Cup II – London – Day 1 Qualifying

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The Second round of the UCI World Cup kicked off in London on Friday with the Men’s and Women’s Team Pursuit and Team Sprint qualifying at the Lee Valley Velodrome. As well as the qualifiers, the organizers managed to squeeze in a Women’s Scratch Race, to provide a diversion from seven hours of team time trials!

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The first event up in the qualifying session on day one of the world cup held in London was the women’s team pursuit. 19 teams took to the boards of the Lee Valley Velo Park with Team USN from Wales consisting of Amy Roberts, Ellie Coster, Manon Lloyd and Emily Kay up first setting a time of 4:44.102 along the 4km distance. This time was quickly undermined by the next team up, the Irish squad of Ryan, Boylan, Creamer and Knight who posted a time of 4:39.813, some 4 seconds quicker. Up next were the team from Spain of Olaberria, Dorronsoro, Bonnin Palou, Gutierrez Ruiz and Rodriguez Sanchez who could not match the times of either of the previous teams and set a final time of 4:46.441, unsurprising considering their disappointing performance in the previous round. Next came the team of France who failed to push the Irish women from the top spot by posting a time of 4:48.304. Hong Kong were next and after a slow start they managed to pick up the pace in the final 1km to post a time of 4:43.644, still not  able to push Ireland from the lead.

The team from Japan came next and placed just 2 hundredths of a second slower than the team from Hong Kong with a time of 4:43.890. The team from Belarus of Piatrouskaya, Pivovarova, Savenka and Shmayankova who just missed out on a top 10 finish in the last round managed to top all the times set so far to put themselves in the lead with a time of 4:38.395. The teams from Belgium and Ukraine were up next but neither managed to push the team from Belarus from the top spot, setting times of 4:40.478 and 4:47.910 respectively. The Italians; Beatrice Bartelloni, Simona Frapporti, Tatiana Guderzo and Silvia Valsecchi were up next and by 1km in were over a second up on the team from Balarus. The strong team continued this trend and finally set a time of 4:34.537, just under 4 seconds ahead. This was short lived as the German team featuring Anna Knauer, Charlotte Becker, Mieke Kroger and Stephanie Pohl after a slow start managed to finally post a time of 4:32.816, over 2 seconds faster than the Italian squad. The strong team of Romanyuta, Balabolina, Goncharova and Molicheva from Russia were up next however they could not match the time set by the Germans, and posted a time just over a second slower at 4:34.129. Up next were the kiwis; Racquel Sheath, Rushlee Buchanan, Lauren Ellis and Georgia Williams, who at the first split were over a second under the Germans time, this continued throughout however in the final thousand meters the team weakened and ended with a final time of 4:33.677, securing them a place in the next round along with Germany. The Polish squad of Wojtyra, Bujak, Jasinska and Pawlowska were up next but could not manage a fast enough time to qualify for the finals as they posted a 4:36.079.

The strong Chinese team came next and were ahead of the Germans the whole way, this put them in the lead by just under 2 hundredths of a second with a time of 4:32.685. The American squad of Sarah Hammer, Kimberly Geist, Lauren Tamayo and Jennifer Valente were next to hit the boards and managed to push their way to the top with a time of 4:32.523 securing their place in the next round. Australia’s Amy Cure, Melissa Hoskins and Rebecca Wiasak took bronze in Colombia earlier in the year and are joined by Annette Edmondson for their qualifying ride next. Ahead all the way the quartet from Australia manage to post a time some 9 seconds ahead of the Americans with a time of 4:32.498. The World silver medalists from Canada are up next featuring Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay and Stephanie Roorda. On the back foot all the way they and after a crash from Lay ay 2500m the rest of the team post a time over 4 seconds slower than the Aussies at a time of 4:28.051, securing them a place in the next round. The final team up are the host nation, the team from Great Britain of Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott. After 2000m the team were a second behind Australia, but finally they ended with a time of 4:23.406, qualifying in 1st position. 

Woman’s Team Pursuit Qualifying Results

  1. Great Britain (Katie ARCHIBALD, Laura TROTT, Elinor BARKER, Joanna ROWSELL) 4:23.406
  2. Australia (Isabella KING, Ashlee ANKUDINOFF, Amy CURE ,Melissa HOSKINS)  4:23.498
  3. Canada (Allison BEVERIDGE, Jasmin GLAESSER, Kirsti LAY, Stephanie ROORDA) 4:28.208
  4. United States (Jennifer VALENTE, Elizabeth NEWELL, Lauren TAMAYO, Ruth WINDER) 4:32.523
  5. China (Dong Yan HUANG, Wenwen JIANG, Yali JING, Baofang ZHAO) 4:32.685
  6. Germany (Anna KNAUER, Charlotte BECKER, Mieke KROGER, Stephanie POHL) 4:32.871
  7. New Zealand (Racquel SHEATH, Rushlee BUCHANAN, Lauren ELLIS, Georgia WILLIAMS) 4:33.677
  8. Russia (Evgeniya ROMANYUTA, Tamara BALABOLINA, Alexandra GONCHAROVA, Irina MOLICHEVA) 4:34.129

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The next event was the men’s team sprint qualifying. Trade team Japan Professional Cycling Association set the opening mark in heat one against the USA with 45.686. Heat 2 saw Team Erdgas take on Canada with the Canadian team coming out on top and putting themselves in the overall lead with a time of 45.390. Next up were Minsk Cycling Club featuring Novik, Veramchuk and Ziatsau against the Brazilians; Borges, Cipriano and Freitas. Minsk cycling club won heat three over the Brazilians by 7 seconds. Heat 4 saw Teams from the Czech Republic and Argentina take to the boards with the team from the Czech Republic coming out on top with a time of 45.234, putting themselves in the overall lead.

The fifth heat featured the Spanish and Chinese teams with the team from China coming out way ahead of the Spaniards with a time of 45.085 and putting themselves at the head of the qualifying table. Teams from Korea and Japan were in the sixth heat and the Japanese team placed themselves ahead of the rest with a time of 44.762. However their rein at the top was short as the Japanese team were relegated by the commissaries. Venezuela and the last rounds host nation, Columbia were up in heat 7. The Venezuelan team took top spot with a time of 44.682 with the Columbian team placing in third overall with a time of 45.088. Heat 8 saw Russia and Poland take to the boards and after a cl
ose ride, the team from Russia finished with a time of 44.360 to place in top spot overall. France and trade Team Jayco-Ais from Australia were up next. Team Jayco-Ais set the top time of 43.832 taking first position with France completing their ride with a time of 43.907 putting them in second position overall.

Next up were the world champions from New Zealand who would be facing the team from the Netherlands. The world champions could not manage a time to beat Team Jayco-Ais, but finished with a time exceptionally close to theirs with a time of 43.832. The second to last heat of qualifying featured teams from Great Britain and Germany. The team from the host Nation featured Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner. However the strong team struggled and could only manage to place seventh overall with a time of 44.551. Their opponents, the Germans, took the top of the board with a time of 43.700.  Lastly came Spain who could only manage a 45.380 placing them 13th overall.

Men’s Team Sprint Qualifying Results

  1. Germany (Rene ENDERS, Robert FORSTEMANN, Joachim EILERS) 43.700
  2. Team Jayco-Ais (Nathan HART, Shane PERKINS, Matthew GLAETZER) 43.832
  3. New Zealand (Ethan MITCHELL, Sam WEBSTER, Edward DAWKINS)  43.839
  4. France (Francois PERVIS, Kevin SIREAU, Michael D’ALMEIDA) 43.907
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Next event on the schedule was the men’s team pursuit qualifying. Up first were the team from Ireland of Clarke, Downey, Fallon and Nulty. The quartet posted a benchmark time of 4:17.358.The team following them was   Coquard, Duval, Fourneir and Gougeard from France. The French team managed to go under the time set by the Irish squad with a time of 4:12.148. Next onto the track came the team from Canada of Caves, Mackinnon, Pelletier-Roy and Veal. The Canadians managed a time of 4:08.751 putting them in top spot.

Kazakhstan and Ukraine came up next each posting times over the time of Canada with times of 4:13.946 and 4:16.908 respectively. Next up came the Japanese team of Kuboki, Harada, Ichimaru and Kurabayashi and the Belarussian team of Akhramenka, Ramanau, Tsishchanka and Tsishkou posting times of 4:16.390 and 4:10.443, leaving Canada still in top spot. The Italians were up next and the team consisting of Liam Bertazzo, Omar Bertazzo, Alex Buttazzoni and Francesco Lamon struggled to shift the Canadians from the top spot and finished with a time of 4:13.294, some 4 seconds off the pace. The Dutch squad; Veldt, Beukeboom, Eefting and Stroetinga were ahead of the Canadians time at the half way split, and this continued onto the 3km mark and onto the finish where they posted a final time of 4:04.421 putting themselves at the top of the leader board.

Next up came the team from Hong Kong and the Belgian squad, both could not move the team from the Netherlands from the top spot, posting times of 4:10.931 and 4:07.903. The Chinese quartet were next onto the boards and throughout their qualifying ride were ahead of the Dutch squad, however this slipped at the 3km mark and towards the end of the race as the Chinese team finished with a time of 4:05.964, half a second off the pace. Teams from Argentina, Colombia and Spain followed posting times of 4:08.543, 4:08.145 and 4:15.634 respectively. Next up came the Germans; Henning Bommel, Theo Reinhardt, Leon Rohde and Kersten Thiele. The strong German quartet were placed second at the 1km split, and moved into the lead by the half-way point, this continued into the 3km split however at the finish the Germans set a time of 4:05.302, almost a second off the pace of the Dutch team. The team of Prostokshin, Shilov, Sokolov and Sveshnikov from Russia followed and although being ahead at the first split, their pace soon slowed as they finished in fourth position with a time of 4:07.377. The host nation team were next on the track and the quartet from Great Britain included Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Owain Doull and Andy Tennant, with Clancy and Burke part of the current world record holding team alongside Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas.

The team of Clancy, Burke, Doull and Tennant started steady but would up the pace to finish with a time of 4:02.373, over two and a half seconds ahead of the Dutch team, securing a place in the finals. Switzerland’s squad consisting of Beer, Bohli, Kueng and Pasche could not match the time set by the Great British squad but managed to get themselves a spot in the finals with a time of 4:05.984. The strong kiwi team featuring Gate, Bulling, Gough and Karwowski were up next and after a slow start, by the half-way point the kiwis were up on the leading time by 2 hundredths of a second, however this slipped at the 3km point as they dropped to second position. This continued to the finish as they wrap up their qualifying ride with a time of 4:03.773, over a second down on the leaders. Casper Pedersen, Lasse Norman Hansen, Anders Holm and Rasmus Christian Quaade from Denmark came next in proceedings and at the half way point were up on the leading time by almost a second, this continued to the 3km mark but they couldn’t hold it as they finished with a time of 4:02.399, missing out on the top spot. Only Australia were left to complete their qualifying ride, meaning that Great Britain had secured themselves a spot in the next round. The Aussie team of Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson, Mitchell Mulhern and Callum Scotson took to the track and by the first split at 1km they were ahead, this continued to the mid-way point and into the 3km mark, and into the final straight as the Aussie team qualified fastest with a time almost two seconds ahead of the team from Great Britain with a time of 4:00.577.

Men’s Team Pursuit Qualifying Results

  1. Australia (Luke DAVISON, Alexander EDMONDSON, Mitchel MULHERN, Callum SCOTSON) 4:00.577
  2. Great Britain (Edward CLANCY, Steven BURKE, Owain DOULL, Andrew TENNANT) 4:02.373
  3. Denmark (Casper PEDERSEN, Lasse Norman HANSEN, Anders HOLM, Rasmus Christian QUAADE) 4:02.428
  4. New Zealand (Aaron GATE, Pieter BULLING, Westley GOUGH, CameronKARWOWSKI) 4:03.773
  5. Netherlands (Tim VELDT, Dion BEUKEBOOM, Roy EEFTING, Wim STROETINGA) 4:04.438
  6. Germany (Henning BOMMEL, Theo REINHARDT, Leon ROHDE, Kersten THIELE) 4:05.302
  7. China (Hao LIU, Chen Lu QIN, Ping An SHEN, Zhong YUAN) 4:05.964
  8. Switzerland (Olivier BEER, Tom BOHLI, Stefan KUENG, Frank PASCHE) 4:05.984
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Next event is the women’s 10km scratch race with no host nation riders as Laura Trott does no start the race, However Emily Kay (Team USN) starts for Wales. The start of the race was filled with attacks, the only successful one being made by Americas, Lauren Stephens and Colombia’s Jannie Salcedo and who both managed to gain a lap on the rest of the field with only 10 laps remaining. A crash in the middle of the bunch took out a few riders and the race was neutralised while an injured rider received medical assistance. All fallen riders re-joined the race with only 5 laps remaining, leaving the medal positions to be decided within this time. The eventful race is over within 18 minutes with Salcedo taking the win ahead of Stephens and Pavlukhina. Emily Kay of team USN finishes in tenth place.

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Women’s Scratch Race Final Results

  1. Colombia – Jannie Milena SALCEDO ZAMBRANO
  2. United States – Lauren STEPHENS
  3. Poland – Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA
  4. France – Laurie BERTHON
  5. Russia – Evgeniya ROMANYUTA
  6. Belgium – Kelly DRUYTS
  7. Netherlands – Kirsten WILD
  8. Italy – Giorgia BRONZINI
  9. Slovakia – Alzbeta PAVLENDOVA
  10. Wales – Emily KAY
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The women’s team sprint qualifying came up next with the teams of Reyno De Navarra-Wrc-Conor and Cuba in heat 1 with Cuba coming out on top with a time of 34.553. Heat 2 saw teams from Belgium and the team of Rusvelo take to the boards with Rusvelo taking over from Cuba in the leading position with 33.903 as their time. Lithuania and Hong Kong featured in the third heat. Gaivenyte and Marozaite from Lithuania set a time of 34.734 placing them third overall.  Teams from the US and Canada are in the fourth heat with neither of them managing to steal the top spot from the Rusvelo duo of Elena Brezhniva and Olga Streltsova. Heat 5 featured the teams from Poland and the Ukraine with a restart as one of the poles falters at the start. The team from Ukraine managed to set a better time of the pair but still not managing to push the Rusvelo duo off the top spot.

Up next were the team from the Japan Professional Cyclist Association and Mexico. The team from Japan were quickest from the pairings but only managed to place fifth overall with a time of 35.074. Heat 7 featured duos from New Zealand and the Netherlands. The dutch pair of Elis Ligtlee and Yesna Rijkhoff managed to post a time quicker than that of Rusvelo and go into the lead with a time of 33.809. Next up in heat 8 came teams from Spain and Colombia who both failed to push the Dutch pair off the top. Spain place second overall in 33.821. Russia and France followed them and the Russian pairing of Tyumneva and Voinova take the lead in a time of 33.336 and France sit second. Heat 10 saw Germany take on Great Britain and both the pairings placed well with the Germans Welte and Vogel taking over the leading position with a time of 33.022 and the pairing from Great Britain of Varnish and Williamson placing third overall in 33.602. The final heat saw Team Jayco-Ais, Anna Meares and Stephanie Morton, take second position overall in 33.130. But also saw the Chinese team take the lead from Germany with a time of 32.956, pushing the pair from Great Britain out of the medal ride offs.

Women’s Team Sprint Qualifying Results

  1. China (Jinjie GONG, Tianshi ZHONG) 32.956
  2. Germany (Miriam WELTE, Kristina VOGEL) 33.022
  3. Team Jayco-Ais (Anna MEARES, Stephanie MORTON) 33.130
  4. Russia (Anastasiia VOINOVA, Victoria TYUMNEVA) 33.336

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