Women’s Omnium I – 10km Scratch Race

Day two opened with the women’s omnium event. With neither World Cup leader, Jolien D’Hoore (BEL) or winner from the London round, Laura Trott (GBR), riding in Cali, the attention would revert to Marlies Mejias Garcia of Cuba. Garcia currently stands in second place in the overall World Cup standings, and needs just 45 points to draw level with D’Hoore. Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands, currently in fourth place, should also prove a force to be reckoned with.

The first event in the omnium competition was the 10-lap scratch race. Seeing her opportunity to take the lead in the World Cup competition, it was Wild who took the field by surprise with three laps remaining. The rider has graced the podium for the past seven years in the Dutch national individual pursuit championship, and used this ability to hold her advantage for the final three laps to cross the line first. Italian time trial and omnium champion, Simona Frapporti (ITA), took second place and Anna Knauer (GER) finished in third place. Wild’s closest rival, Garcia, could only manage sixth spot.

1 Kirsten WILD  NETHERLANDS
2 Simona FRAPPORTI  ITALY
3 Anna KNAUER  GERMANY
4 Racquel SHEATH  NETHERLANDS
5 Leire OLABERRIA DORRONSORO  SPAIN
6 Marlies MEJIAS GARCIA  CUBA
7 Jupha SOMNET MAX SUCCESS PRO CYCLING
8 Emily KAY  WALES
9 Caroline RYAN  IRELAND
10 Lotte KOPECKY BELGIUM

Women’s Omnium II – 3km Pursuit

The heats were, as usual, seeded in reverse order to the standings after the scratch race. The first rider to break the 3:40 barrier was the Russian rider, Tamara Balabolina, in the fifth heat. Balabolina, who is part of the team who hold the Russian team pursuit record, rode a sensible race to clock a time of 3:38.595 which would undoubtedly unnerve those who were further up the leaderboard. The Danish rider, Amalie Dideriksen, was the next to come close to challenging Balabolina’s time. A consistent race which only saw her slow notably in the final lap which undoubtedly cost her stealing the virtual lead, her final time just a tenth of a second slower than Balabolina (3:38.696).

Irish rider Caroline Ryan clocked a respectable 3:41.157, whilst 19 year old Emily Kay of Wales managed a time of 3:44.360. However, it was Kirsten Wild who put on a fine display of pursuiting to steal the second round of the competition with a time of 3:35.133 – with barely a fade noticeable in her lap splits. Second-placed Simona Frapporti, pitted against Wild in the final heat, could only manage 3:41.361 – a time good enough for ninth place.

1 Kirsten WILD  NETHERLANDS 3:35.133
2 Tamara BALABOLINA  RUSSIA 3:38.595
3 Amalie DIDERIKSEN  DENMARK 3:38.696
4 Marlies MEIJIAS GARCIA  CUBA 3:39.540
5 Anna KNAUER  GERMANY 3:40.009
6 Leire OLABERRIA DORRONSORO  SPAIN 3:40.702
7 Caroline RYAN  IRELAND 3:41.157
8 Sofia ARREOLA NAVARRO  MEXICO 3:41.316
9 Simona FRAPPORTI  ITALY 3:41.361
10 Ausrine TREBAITE  LITHUANIA 3:41.875

Women’s Sprint – Qualifying

Next on the schedule were the women’s sprint heats. 32 riders were on the startsheet, with 24 going through to the 1/16 finals. Germany’s Doreen Heinze was the first rider in the qualifiers, and set the bar at a fairly modest 11.923. Victoria Tyumneva (RUS) was the first rider to post a time closer to 11 seconds rather than 12, her 11.131 time suggesting she was performing significantly better than her early heat time suggested.

Canada’s Monique Sullivan was the next rider to cause heads to turn. Off as the 20th rider, the Commonwealth bronze medallist powered around the track and miss going under 11 seconds by just 0.7 seconds, stopping the clock with an impressive time of 11.069 – a clear demonstration as to why Sullivan is the Canadian 200m TT national record holder.

Shuang Guo (Max Success Pro Cycling) was the first to unseat Sullivan from the top spot; her time of 11.058 just a hundredth of a second faster. With Britain’s Victoria Williamson and Jessica Varnish both easing through to the 1/16 finals with a times of 11.201 and 11.111 respectively, attention reverted to the up and coming Dutch prodigy, Elis Ligtlee. And Ligtlee certainly did light up the track, posting a time of 10.805. With the reigning world sprint champion, Lin Junhong (CHI) crossing the line ninth in 11.179, Ligtlee finished the fastest by a whole quarter of a second.

1 Elis LIGTLEE  NETHERLANDS 10.805
2 Shuang GUO  MAX SUCCESS PRO CYCLING 11.058
3 Monique SULLIVAN  CANADA 11.069
4 Wai Sze LEE  HONG KONG 11.097
5 Olga ISMAYILOVA  AZERBAIJAN 11.100
6 Jessica VARNISH  GREAT BRITAIN 11.111
7 Tania CALVO BARBERO  SPAIN 11.129
8 Victoria TYUMNEVA  RUSSIA 11.131
9 Lin JUNHONG  CHINA 11.179
10 Victoria WILLIAMSON  GREAT BRITAIN 11.201
11 Lisandra GUERRA RODRIGUEZ  CUBA 11.294
12 Caitlin WARD  AUSTRALIA 11.334
13 Helena CASAS ROIGE  SPAIN 11.354
14 Olivia MONTAUBAN  FRANCE 11.379
15 Kayono MAEDA  JAPAN PROFESSIONAL CYCLISTS ASSOCIATION 11.421
16 Katie SCHOFIELD  NEW ZEALAND 11.444

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/16 Finals

The 24 qualifiers were pitted in 12 heats with all the finals going to form with
the exception of Calvo Barbero who was relegated due to obstructing her competitor’s line, allowing Sandie Clair of France to progress through to the 1/8 finals. Surprisingly, the tightest final was between Ligtlee and the slowest qualifier, Melissa Erickson, of the USA. Ligtlee progressed to the final by just two hundredths of a second.

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/16 Finals – Heat Winners Progressing to 1/8 Finals

1 Elis LIGTLEE  NETHERLANDS
2 Shuang GUO  MAX SUCCESS PRO CYCLING
3 Monique SULLIVAN  CANADA
4 Wai Sze LEE  HONG KONG
5 Olga ISMAYILOVA  AZERBAIJAN
6 Jessica VARNISH  GREAT BRITAIN
7 Sandie CLAIR  FRANCE
8 Victoria TYUMNEVA  RUSSIA
9 Lin JUNHONG  CHINA
10 Victoria WILLIAMSON  GREAT BRITAIN
11 Lisandra GUERRA RODRIGUEZ  CUBA
12 Caitlin WARD  AUSTRALIA      

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/8 Finals

With just 12 riders remaining in six heats, the tension was palpable as riders’ sought to avoid losing their heat and being forced to ride in the much maligned repechages. Ligtlee progressed on her journey to knock Ward out to take the first spot in the quarter finals, with Shuang doing the same in the second heat.

British fans will be pleased with Williamson’s performance in the next heat who succeeded in pushing the favoured Canadian rider into the repechages by less than two hundredths of a second. Sadly, Varnish could not emulate the performance of her British teammate and ended up losing to Clair of France in her heat.

Lee will undoubtedly be ecstatic to progress through to the quarter finals after beating the world champion, Junghong, by just a thousandth of a second whilst Ismayilova was victorious against Tyumeva in arguably the most exciting heat of the round.

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/8 Finals – Heat Winners Progressing to Quarter Finals

1 Elis LIGTLEE  NETHERLANDS
2 Shuang GUO  MAX SUCCESS PRO CYCLING
3 Victoria WILLIAMSON  GREAT BRITAIN
4 Wai Sze LEE  HONG KONG
5 Olga ISMAYILOVA  AZERBAIJAN
6 Sandie CLAIR  FRANCE

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/8 Finals – Repechages Heats

There were two heats in the repecharges, and the first heat saw Jessica Varnish pitted against Caitlin Ward of Australia and Lin Junhong of China. Varnish put on a fine display to take command in the race to cross the line with a significant advantage. The second heat saw the Cuban rider, Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez, just edge out the Canadian, Monique Sullivan with Victoria Tyumneva of Russia finishing in third place.

Women’s Individual Sprint – 1/8 Finals – Repechages Heats Winners Progressing to Quarter Finals

1 Jessica VARNISH  GREAT BRITAIN
2 Lisandra GUERRA RODRIGUEZ  CUBA

Women’s Individual Sprint – Quarter Finals

It took just two rounds to decide the winner of the first heat with Ligtlee pitted against Guerra Rodriguez. Despite Guerra’s best attempts to get past in the closing lap in the first race, Ligtlee proved too strong for the Cuban and crossed the line 0.14 ahead. The second race saw Ligtlee take an even more convincing victory.

Varnish rejuvenated British interest with a win in her first heat against Shuang. However, heartbreakingly for Varnish who had already got into the finals the hard way, Guo took the next two races to knock Varnish into the race for 5th to 8th place.

Varnish’s teammate, Williamson, sadly suffered the same fate in her match against France’s Clair. Although victorious in the first race, Clair proved two strong in the remaining two races and progressed through to the semifinals.

The fourth race saw Lee easily overcome her component, Ismayilova, in just two races.

Women’s Individual Sprint – Quarter Finals – Heat Winners Progressing to Semifinals

1 Elis LIGTLEE  NETHERLANDS
2 Shuang GUO  MAX SUCCESS PRO CYCLING
3 Sandie CLAIR  FRANCE
4 Wai Sze LEE  HONG KONG

Women’s Team Pursuit – First Round

The odd nature of qualifying for the gold medal final meant the winning teams in heats three and four were the only ones who were able to qualify for the gold medal final. China, who had been fastest in qualifying, took the first place in the final with a time of 4:33.591 – some two seconds quicker than they had been in qualification.

However, it was the Australians who took the second spot in the gold medal final – perhaps by surprise. They beat the Italian team who had been faster than them in qualifying, and managed a ride some nine seconds faster than their earlier ride, clocking 4:28.278 meaning they qualify for the final as favourites to win.

Italy got the consolation of qualifying for the final by posting the fourth fastest qualifying time whilst a much improved United States team who were in the unenviable position of starting first took the second spot in the bronze medal final with a fast time of 4:29.904 – eleven seconds faster than their qualifying time the previous evening.

Women’s Team Pursuit – First Round Results

Heat 3

1 AUSTRALIA (Macey STEWART, Elissa WUNDERSITZ, Alexandra MANLY, Lauren PERRY) 4:28.278 (qualify for gold medal final)
2 ITALY (FRAPPORTI Simona, Beatrice BARTELLONI, Tatiana GUDERZO, Silva VALSECCHI) 4:32.098 (qualify for bronze medal final due to having fourth fastest time)

Heat 4

1 CHINA (Dong Yan HUANG, Di JIN, Hongyu LIANG, Zhao BAOFANG) 4:33.591 (qualify for gold medal final)
2 HONG KONG (Bo Yee LEUNG, Zhao Juan MENG, Yao PANG, Qianyu YANG) 4:35.432

Remaining teams in time order:

1 UNITED STATES 4:29.904 (qualify for bronze medal final due to having third fastest time)
2 BELARUS 4:34.359
3 GERMANY 4:35.178
4 New Zealand 4:40.403

Men’s Omnium I – 15km Scratch Race

the first event of the omnium was the 60 lap 15km scratch race. Only two riders in the current top 10 World Cup standings lined up at the start with Casper Pedersen of Denmark, lying in second place in the competition, the favourite to take the title. It is just Pedersen, ninth placed Tim Veldt and eleventh placed Jasper de Buyst who have the potential to pass Bobby Lea’s 61 point lead.

An uneventful scratch race followed, and it was eventually Germany’s Maximilian Beyer who crossed the line first with a measured performance with Belgian’s De Buyst grabbing valuable points in second place. Cameron Karwowski of New Zealand took third place. Veldt took third place, whilst Pedersen will undoubtedly be disappointed with seventh place. Oliver Wood, the sole British representation in the Cali omnium competition, sadly came in in 21st position.

Men’s Omnium I – 15km Scratch Race Results

1 Maximilian BEYER  GERMANY
2 Jasper DE BUYST BELGIUM
3 Cameron KARWOWSKI  NEW ZEALAND
4 Tim VELDT  NETHERLANDS
5 Gael SUTER  SWITZERLAND
6 Ondrej RYBIN  CZECH REPUBLIC
7 Casper PEDERSEN  DENMARK
8 Unai ELORRIAGA ZUBIAUR  SPAIN
9 Kazushige KUBOKI  JAPAN
10 Gideoni MONTEIRO  BRAZIL

Men’s Omnium II – 4km Individual Pursuit

The 24 men in the omnium competition were up to put themselves against the clock in the next round of the omnium competition. Ionnis Spanopoulos of Greece set the initial bar in the first heat with a time of 4:38.765; a time which would surely be challenged very early on in the competition.

This turned out to be the case, and it was British rider, Oliver Wood, who unseated Spanopoulos in the second round, clocking a very respectable time of 4:34.449 and catching his Sam Welford of Australia on the line. Both Raman Tsishkou of Belarus and Chun Wing Leung of China threatened the 4:30 barrier in heats three and four respectively, but it was not until the eleventh heat when the mark was passed by both Cameron Karwowski of New Zealand and Tim Veldt of the Netherlands. Veldt, who is part of the record holding Dutch team pursuit squad, as well as a regular podium finisher in the individual event in the national championships, started cautiously to finish his ride with two 15 second laps, clocking 4:25.233. Karwowski was timed as 4:29.049 in the same heat.

The final heat was also a competitive affair, with scratch race winner, Beyer, taking the virtual heat in the pursuit round for the first three kilometres. However, a fade in the final kilometre saw him lose the lead not only back to Veldt, but also to his heat compatriate, De Buyst, to cross the line in a still impressive 4:28.085. De Buyst took the advantage from Beyer in the final three laps, to steal second place in the pursuit competition with a time of 4:27.229.

1 Tim VELDT  NETHERLANDS 4:25.233
2 Jasper DE BUYST  BELGIUM 4:27.229
3 Maximilian BEYER  GERMANY 4:28.085
4 Cameron KARWOWSKI  NEW ZEALAND 4:29.049
5 Chun Wing LEUNG  HONG KONG 4:30.457
6 Raman TSISHKOU  BELARUS  4:30.574
7 Unai ELORRIAGA ZUBIAUR  SPAIN 4:31.232
8 Martyn IRVINE  IRELAND 4:32.136
9 Thomas BOUDAT  FRANCE 4:32.264
10 Viktor MANAKOV  RUSSIA 4:32.277

Men’s Keirin

The Keirin is always one of the most anticipated events of the World Cup, and the early heats did not disappoint. Great Britain’s Lewis Oliva took a decisive win in the first heat, with Maximilian Levy finishing comfortably ahead of his competition in the second heat. The third heat, however, did not go to plan. A burst tyre caused one of the event favourites, Francois Pervis, to crash out – taking the Azerbaijan rider, Sergiy Omelchenko, down with him. Whilst Pervis was able to get up unaided, Omelchenko had to be taken away on a stretcher. Josiah Ng Onn Lam of Malaysia went on to win the depleted heat. Yuta Wakimoto (Japan Professional Cycling Association) took the win in the fourth heat, with Shane Perkins of Jayco AIS taking the final spot in the second round with a win in the fifth heat.

Men’s Keirin – Heat Winners Progressing to Second Round

1 Lewis Alexander OLIVA  GREAT BRITAIN
2 Maximilian LEVY  GERMANY
3 Josiah NG ONN LAM  MALAYSI
4 Yuta WAKIMOTO  JAPAN PROFESSIONAL CYCLING ASSOCIATION
5 Shane PERKINS  JAYCO AIS

Men’s Keirin – First Round Repechages

The first heat was comfortably taken by Simon Van Velthooven of New Zealand, whilst Matthew Baranoski (USA) impressively snatched the win from Matthijs Buchli of the Netherlands on the line. Christos Volikakis of Greece won the third heat with an impressive turn of speed in the final lap.

The fourth round was eerily reminiscent of the earlier qualifying heats, sadly. Another puncture took out both Eoin Mullen of Ireland and Hodei Mazquiaran Uria of Spain. Emerson Harwood of Australia took the win – and was also the only rider to finish the heat on his bicycle: Bot mullen and Mazquiaran Uria walked across the line to claim the points.

The fifth heat had a notable absentee: Francois Pervis chose not to ride having been involved in the accident in the earlier heats. Kamil Kuczynski of Poland took the win. The other accident victim, Sergiy Omelchenko, was also a non-starter in the final heat which was taken by Kazunari Watanabe.

Men’s Keirin – First Round Repechages Winners Progressing to Second Round

1 Simon VAN VELTHOOVEN  NEW ZEALAND
2 Matthew BARANOSKI  UNITED STATES
3 Christos VOLIKAKIS  GREECE
4 Emerson HARWOOD  AUSTRALIA
5 Kamil KUCZYNSKI  POLAND
6 Kazunari WATANABE

Men’s Team Pursuit – First Round

The last event of the evening was the slightly controversial first round of the men’s team pursuit and, with the weather taking a turn for the worst, the conditions on the track were verging on dangerous.

Great Britain were off in the first heat, and a tight race ensued with the Spanish squad. After a fast opening lap, the Spanish edged ahead of the British team and were a sixth of a second ahead just after halfway. However, the development squad showed just how far they have developed from the qualifying heats of the previous day and, by 3000m, had closed the gap with the Spanish. Two 14 second closing laps were enough to seal victory in the heat by two seconds (4:03.268).

Rusvelo, who had posted the third time in qualification, took victory in the first of the heats to decide which teams should qualify for the gold medal final; the Germans fading in the final lap to post a time of 4:04.505 against Rusvelo’s fast-for-conditions 4:01.702.

The tightest pursuit heat of the match followed, with Australia pitted against Denmark. Denmark faded in the closing stages however, and despite a 14 second closing lap, were unable to take the lead back from the Australians who took the second spot in the gold medal final with a time of 4:03.409. The Danes had the consolation of posting one of the fastest two rides outside the gold medal qualifying teams’ times (4:03.622) to take a spot in the bronze medal final. And the other team to take the bronze medal place? Great Britain with their excellent ride in the first heat.

Men’s Team Pursuit – First Round Results

Heat 3

1 RUSVELO (Artur ERSHOV, Alexander EVTUSHENKO, Alexey KURBATOV, Alexander SEROV) 4:01.702 (qualify for gold medal final)
2 GERMANY (Henning BOMMEL, Theo REINHARDT, Kersten THIELE, Dominic WEINSTEIN) 4:04.505

Heat 4

1 AUSTRALIA (Scott LAW, Joshua HARRISON, Jackson LAW, Tirian MCMANUS) 4:03.409 (qualify for gold medal final)
2 DENMARK (Daniel HARTVIG, Anders HOLM, Rasmus Christian QUAADE, Casper VAN FOLSACH) 4:03.622 (qualify for bronze medal final due to having fourth fastest time)

Remaining teams in time order:

1 GREAT BRITAIN 4:03.268 (qualify for bronze medal final due to having third fastest time)
2 SPAIN 4:05.309
3 RUSSIA 4:05.486
4 BELGIUM 4:06.000