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Swift prevails in men's scratch race

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Hoffman dives for silver, Stroetinga takes the bronze

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Ben Swift (GB) took a solid win in the scratch race.

Ben Swift (GB) took a solid win in the scratch race. (Image credit: Mark Gunter)
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An ecstatic Ben Swift (Great Britain) celebrates his world championship in the scratch race.

An ecstatic Ben Swift (Great Britain) celebrates his world championship in the scratch race. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Scratch race action.

Scratch race action. (Image credit: Mark Gunter)
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Austria had a late charge in the scratch race.

Austria had a late charge in the scratch race. (Image credit: Mark Gunter)
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Ben Swift in his new jersey.

Ben Swift in his new jersey. (Image credit: Mark Gunter)
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Scratch race podium (l-r): Nolan Hoffman (South Africa), Ben Swift (Great Britain) and Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands)

Scratch race podium (l-r): Nolan Hoffman (South Africa), Ben Swift (Great Britain) and Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Ben Swift (Great Britain) won the scratch race world championship ahead of Nolan Hoffman (South Africa) and Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands).

Ben Swift (Great Britain) won the scratch race world championship ahead of Nolan Hoffman (South Africa) and Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands). (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Ben Swift (Great Britain) is the new scratch race world champion.

Ben Swift (Great Britain) is the new scratch race world champion. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Ben Swift won Great Britain's second gold of the opening night of competition, his first ever world title in a gutsy victory in the men's scratch race. Swift held off a late surge by South Africa's Nolan Hoffman to win the men's 15-kilometer scratch race. Wim Stroetinga of the Netherlands finished third.

Swift chased down Austria Andreas Mueller and Italy's Elia Viviano who had surged ahead of the field with seven laps remaining.

With one lap to go, and with his escape companions tiring, Swift surged ahead with a margin just enough to hold off the remnants of the field.

"I knew somebody was going to attack in the finish, and just tried to play it cool and make other people chase. It's definitely the hardest I've ever had to work for a track cycling race," Swift said.

Hoffman explained that his result was somewhat of a breakthrough.

"I've been to all the world cups and I've struggled a bit and I always thought the world champs is going to be hard," Hoffman said.

Scratch Race Finals
1Ben Swift (Great Britain)
2Nolan Hoffman (South Africa)
3Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands)
4Alex Frame (New Zealand)
5Martin Blaha (Czech Republic)
6Lucas Liß (Germany)
7Sunjae Jang (Korea)
8Angel Dario Colla (Argentina)
9Pablo Aitor Bernal Rosique (Spain)
10Vivien Brisse (France)
11Edison Bravo (Chile)
12Franco Marvulli (Switzerland)
13Pavel Gatskiy (Kazakhstan)
14Andreas Mueller (Austria)
15Ivan Savitsky (Russian Federation)
16Alexander Edmondson (Australia)
17Hariff Salleh (Malaysia)
18Aliaksandr Lisouski (Belarus)
19Moreno De Pauw (Belgium)
20Bobby Lea (United States of America)
21Elia Viviani (Italy)

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