Track Cycling – World Championship 2023 [DAY 4]

August 6, 2023
Track Cycling – World Championship 2022 – DAY 4 🇬🇧 – Sir Chris Hoy Velodrom, Glasgow

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI’s predecessor, the International Cycling Association (ICA). Current events include: time trial, keirin, individual pursuit, team pursuit, points race, scratch race, sprint, team sprint, omnium and madison. Women’s events are generally shorter than men’s. Events which are no longer held include the motor paced events and tandem events. The 2023 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are held from 3 to 9 August 2023, at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the 120th edition of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and is being held as part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships.

Program :

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
Italy’s Filippo Ganna won the elite men’s individual pursuit on day 4 of the UCI World Track Championships at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. The current world record holder, set at last year’s Track Worlds, celebrated his second consecutive rainbow jersey in the discipline, and his sixth title since 2016.

In the gold medal round, Ganna clocked a time of 4:01.976 over the 4km race, besting Daniel Bigham (Great Britain) by 0:00.054 seconds. Silver medalist Bigham set the fastest pace for the first three time-checks, extending his lead from 0.7 seconds after one kilometer to 2.3 seconds after 3 kilometres. It looked like an upset was in the making but Ganna blasted to the victory in the final kilometre as Bigham faded.

The bronze was taken by Jonathan Milan (Italy) who edged out Ivo Oliveira (Portugal).

Ganna set the fastest time in the qualification round with the four riders finishing in the same placings as qualification in the final medal contests.

The scheduling of the UCI combined Worlds forced Ganna to pick the early track events, including the individual pursuit which was held on the same day as the elite men’s road race won by Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands).

With an eye on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Ganna and Milan decided to focus on the pursuit events. Ganna and his compatriots took the silver in the Team Pursuit won by Denmark on Saturday.

His racing is not done as Ganna will compete in the elite men’s time trial, part of the Road World Championships, on August 11.

Men’s Individual Pursuit results
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Filippo Ganna (Italy) 4:01.976
2 Daniel Bigham (Great Britain) 4:02.030
3 Jonathan Milan (Italy) 4:05.868
4 Ivo Manuel Alves Oliveira (Portugal) 4:08.469
5 Tobias Buck-Gramcko (Germany) Row 4 – Cell 2
6 Conor Leahy (Australia) Row 5 – Cell 2
7 Oliver Bleddyn (Australia)
8 Felix Gross (Germany)
9 Chris Ernst (Canada)
10 Manlio Moro (Italy)
11 Thomas Sexton (New Zealand)
12 Corentin Ermenault (France)
13 Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)
14 Kacper Majewski (Poland)
15 Kazushige Kuboki (Japan)
16 Niccolo Galli (Italy) Row 15 – Cell 2
17 Michael Foley (Canada) Row 16 – Cell 2

WOMEN’S ELIMINATION RACE
Lotte Kopecky of Belgium won the elite women’s elimination race at the UCI World Track Championships for the second year in a row. Strong form clearly still in place from her second place at the Tour de France Femmes, Kopecky beat out Valentine Fortin (France) and Jennifer Valente (United States) for the rainbow jersey.

Kopecky avoided a three-rider crash early in the race and maintained her position. Italy’s Rachele Barbieri was the penultimate rider to be dropped, leaving Kopecky, Fortin and Valente to battle it out for the podium. After Valente was gone on the next lap, Kopecky showed her sprinting prowess to take the victory at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.

This is Kopecky’s fifth gold medal across four Track Worlds, having taken the title in the madison (2017, 2022), points race (2021), and elimination race (2022, 2023).

The Belgian champion has more racing on her schedule at the unified Cycling World Championships with the points race (August 8) and omnium (August 9) at Track Worlds and finally the elite women’s road race on August 13 to conclude the UCI World Road Championships. She will not defend her madison title.

Women’s elimination race results
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) Row 0 – Cell 2
2 Valentine Fortin (France) Row 1 – Cell 2
3 Jennifer Valente (United States) Row 2 – Cell 2
4 Rachele Barbieri (Italy) Row 3 – Cell 2
5 Elinor Barker (Great Britain) Row 4 – Cell 2
6 Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) Row 5 – Cell 2
7 Sarah van Dam (Canada)
8 Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway)
9 Lea Lin Teutenberg (Germany)
10 Yareli Acevedo Mendoza (Mexico)
11 Ebtissam Zayed Ahmed (Egypt)
12 Patrycja Lorkowska (Poland)
13 Maho Kakita (Japan)
14 Gabriela Bartova (Czech Republic)
15 Argyro Milaki (Greece)
16 Marit Raaijmakers (Netherlands) Row 15 – Cell 2
17 Alžbeta Bacikova (Slovakia) Row 16 – Cell 2
18 Nafosat Kozieva (Uzbekistan) Row 17 – Cell 2
19 Chloe Moran (Australia) Row 18 – Cell 2
20 Emily Shearman (New Zealand) Row 19 – Cell 2
21 Lena Mettraux (Switzerland) Row 20 – Cell 2
22 Emily Kay (Ireland) Row 21 – Cell 2
23 Laura Rodriguez Cordero (Spain) Row 22 – Cell 2

WOMEN’S KEIRIN
Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand stunned the pre-race favourites by winning the women’s keirin at Track Worlds.

“This has been a dream for a long, long time. My last rainbow jersey was in elite juniors in 2017 so I have been pushing for this one for a long time and super-proud to bring it home for New Zealand this year,” said Andrews.

“The key was absolutely that push to stay in the lead around the bend. That last acceleration on the back straight was absolutely everything I had and from there honestly it was holding on as best I could because Martha was coming at me.

“It was not until that photo finish was confirmed that I was sure but it has still not sunk in.”

She beat Martha Bayona (Colombia) by one hundredth of a second in the final sprint to the line. Two-time world champion Lea Sophie Friedrich (Germany) took bronze.

The six riders battling for gold in the final also included Hetty van der Wouw (Netherlands), Nicky Degrendele (Belgium) and Mathilde Gros (France).

Andrews won her heat on the first round as did Friedrich, Bayona, Kristina Clonan (Australia) and Emma Finucane (Great Britain). The New Zealander finished second to Emma Hinze (Germany) in the quarterfinals and second to Friedrich in the semi-finals.

Women’s keirin results
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand) Row 0 – Cell 2
2 Martha Bayona (Colombia) Row 1 – Cell 2
3 Lea Sophie Friedrich (Germany) Row 2 – Cell 2
4 Hetty van der Wouw (Netherlands) Row 3 – Cell 2
5 Nicky Degrendele (Belgium) Row 4 – Cell 2
6 Mathilde Gros (France) Row 5 – Cell 2
7 Kristina Clonan (Australia)
8 Steffie van der Peet (Netherlands)
9 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
10 Alessa-Catriona Propster (Germany)
11 Riyu Ohta (Japan)
12 Emma Hinze (Germany)
13 Lauriane Genest (Canada)
13 Luz Daniela Gaxiola Gonzalez (Mexico)
13 Mina Sato (Japan)
16 Katy Marchant (Great Britain) Row 15 – Cell 2
16 Miriam Vece (Italy) Row 16 – Cell 2
16 Emma Finucane (Great Britain) Row 17 – Cell 2
19 Veronika Jabornikova (Czech Republic) Row 18 – Cell 2
19 Helena Casas Roige (Spain) Row 19 – Cell 2
19 Cho Yiu Yeung (Hong Kong) Row 20 – Cell 2
19 Marlena Karwacka (Poland) Row 21 – Cell 2
23 Taky Marie Divine Kouame (France) Row 22 – Cell 2
23 Fuko Umekawa (Japan) Row 23 – Cell 2
23 Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri (Malaysia) Row 24 – Cell 2
23 Urszula Los (Poland)

MEN’S OMNIUM
Iuri Leitao gave Portugal their first world title in track cycling in the men’s Omnium in Glasgow on Sunday, combining raw power and clever tactics to steal the show from the better known contenders.

The 25-year-old snuck away in the Scratch Race to take the win in the first event in the morning session, with Oliver Wood (Great Britain) taking the sprint for second. Then, in the Tempo Race where points are available on each lap, Leitao attacked from the gun, swept up all the early points before lapping the field, ending the race with a sizeable lead on Spaniard Sebastian Mora.

Riding a savvy Elimination Race, Leitao held on til the final three, surging ahead to push Kelland O’Brien (Australia) out but missing the final sprint to New Zealand’s Campbell Stewart.

The Portuguese rider only had to watch his nearest rivals in the points race, letting the lower ranked riders lap the field and only going with the threatening moves. Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) lapped the field four times to move into second but lost out to Benjamin Thomas (France) in the final sprint and fell to third. Fabio van den Bossche (Belgium) gained the most points with five laps but finished eighth overall.

“For us it’s a really important step,” Leitao said according to Reuters.

“We have a little bit more than a decade of track cycling and being the world champion of, in my opinion, the biggest race in the UCI World Championships is unbelievable. It’s really a big step up for us.”

Asked how he had responded to the pressure of leading the competition, he said: “I didn’t feel too good after the elimination race so I tried to take it a little bit easy in the points race. I had a big gap so I could manage a little bit the points and after that it was full gas 12 kilometres.”

The gold medal bodes well for Portugal’s future in track cycling and for Leitao with the Olympic Games coming next summer.

“When I started in the track, we had a small team. Now we have a lot of young riders so I think we have given a little bit of motivation for them.

“And it’s really good to be to be a world champion in giving the hope to the new generation.”

1 LEITAO Iuri 40
2 Oliver Wood (Great Britain) 38
3 Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany) 36
4 Vincent Hoppezak (Netherlands) 34
5 Dylan Bibic (Canada) 32
6 Niklas Larsen (Denmark) 30
7 Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) 28
8 Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) 26
9 Benjamin Thomas (France) 24
10 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spain) 22
11 Elia Viviani (Italy) 20
12 Kelland O’Brien (Australia) 18
13 Tim Wafler (Austria) 16
14 Daniel Crista (Romania) 14
15 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 12
16 Artyom Zakharov (Kazakhstan) 10
17 Fabio van den Bossche (Belgium) 8
18 Valere Thiebaud (Switzerland) 8
19 Gavin Hoover (United States of America) 8
20 Ricardo Pena Salas (Mexico) 2
21 Ka yu Leung (Hong Kong) DNF
22 Bernard Benyamin van Aert (Indonesia) DNF
23 Akil Campbell (Trinidad & Tobago) DNF
24 Ahmed Almansoori (United Arab Emirates) DNF
Tempo Race
Rank Rider (Country) Points
1 Iuri Leitao (Portugal) 40
2 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spain) 38
3 Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) 36
4 Niklas Larsen (Denmark) 34
5 Benjamin Thomas (France) 32
6 Fabio van den Bossche (Belgium) 30
7 Dylan Bibic (Canada) 28
8 Vincent Hoppezak (Netherlands) 26
9 Elia Viviani (Italy) 24
10 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 22
11 Oliver Wood (Great Britain) 20
12 Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany) 18
13 Tim Wafler (Austria) 16
14 Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) 14
15 Valere Thiebaud (Switzerland) 12
16 Gavin Hoover (United States of America) 10
17 Ricardo Pena Salas (Mexico) 8
18 Daniel Crista (Romania) 6
19 Ahmed Almansoori (United Arab Emirates) 4
20 Akil Campbell (Trinidad & Tobago) 2
21 Kelland o Brien (Australia) 1
22 Artyom Zakharov (Kazakhstan) 1
23 Ka yu Leung (Hong Kong) 1
24 Bernard Benyamin van Aert (Indonesia) 1
Elimination Race
1 Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) 40
2 Iuri Leitao (Portugal) 38
3 Kelland o Brien (Australia) 36
4 Dylan Bibic (Canada) 34
5 Vincent Hoppezak (Netherlands) 32
6 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spain) 30
7 Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany) 28
8 Oliver Wood (Great Britain) 26
9 Benjamin Thomas (France) 24
10 Elia Viviani (Italy) 22
11 Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) 20
12 Tim Wafler (Austria) 18
31 Fabio van den Bossche (Belgium) 16
14 Artyom Zakharov (Kazakhstan) 14
15 Akil Campbell (Trinidad & Tobago) 12
16 Bernard Benyamin van Aert (Indonesia) 10
17 Gavin Hoover (United States of America) 8
18 Valere Thiebaud (Switzerland) 6
19 Ricardo Pena Salas (Mexico) 4
20 Daniel Crista (Romania) 2
21 Ahmed Almansoori (United Arab Emirates) 1
22 Niklas Larsen (Denmark) 1
23 Ka yu Leung (Hong Kong) 1
24 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 1
Final standings
1 Iuri Leitao (Portugal) 187
2 Benjamin Thomas (France) 185
3 Shunsuke Imamura (Japan) 173
4 Niklas Larsen (Denmark) 170
5 Vincent Hoppezak (Netherlands) 160
6 Elia Viviani (Italy) 158
7 Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spain) 157
8 Fabio van den Bossche (Belgium) 155
9 Oliver Wood (Great Britain) 144
10 Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany) 128
11 Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) 125
12 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 117
13 Dylan Bibic (Canada) 115
14 Tim Wafler (Austria) 92
15 Kelland o Brien (Australia) 75
16 Gavin Hoover (United States of America) 71
17 Valere Thiebaud (Switzerland) 47
18 Daniel Crista (Romania) 42
19 Artyom Zakharov (Kazakhstan) 25
20 Ricardo Pena Salas (Mexico) 14
21 Bernard Benyamin van Aert (Indonesia) -25
22 Akil Campbell (Trinidad & Tobago) -25
23 Ka yu Leung (Hong Kong) DNF
24 Ahmed Almansoori (United Arab Emirates) DNF