Frenchman Mickael Bourgain topped off a successful World Cup meet with a hefty pay cheque when he won the lucrative invitational Japanese Keirin in Manchester.
The Frenchman won gold in the sprint and silver for the in-competition Keirin and then pocketed £10,000 (€14,300, AU$25,000, US$18,700) for the invitation-only event which offered a whopping total prize pool of £45,000 (€64,000, AU$111,000, US$84,000). Australia's Shane Kelly, who finished third in the standard keirin, walked away with £8,000 for second place in the invitational event, while Bourgain's countryman, Gregory Bauge, won £6,000 for third.
Bourgain was impressive as he cruised through qualifying with a turn of speed and power that none of his opponents could match. His tactic of taking the lead early and holding on worked right throughout the following rounds and in the final, when he was able to hold off the dual Australian challenge of Kelly and Jobie Dajka. Also in the final were Andrei Vynokurov of Ukraine and Ivan Vrba from the Czech Republic.
The event was sponsored by the Japan Keirin Association in a bid to highlight the event, which is a massively popular betting sport in Japan.
Click here for the full Day 3 report from the Track World Cup.
