Hinze sprints to lead in UCI Track Champions League

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World champion Emma Hinze (Germany) bested her compatriot Lea Friedrich to take out the sprint competition in the first UCI Track Champions League round, and moved into the lead of the series as a result.

The world champion proved the most powerful in the two-rider sprint finale after a taxing night of racing.

Hinze was second in the keirin behind Canada's Kelsey Mitchell and leads the standings with 37 points.

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Mitchell is second with 35, while Friedrich is third with 30.

“The race was really intense, really fast - and the atmosphere was amazing," Hinze said. "I feel really proud to be the one to be wearing the leaders’ jersey. The competition here is very tough, but I’m looking forward to the next events."

Sprint

The first rounds of the women's sprint were blowout affairs, with Germans Emma Hinze and Lea Friedrich and Canadian Kelsey Mitchell putting in dominant rides. Lauriane Genest (Canada) had to go long to hold off Simona Krupeckaitė (Lithuania). Olena Starikova (Ukraine) held off Martha Bayona (Colombia), while Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands) took the last spot in the semifinal ahead of Miriam Vece (Italy).

In the semifinal, Hinze was unflappable in her victory over Genest and Braspennincx, patiently waiting then powering through out of the last turn.

Her compatriot Friedrich also displayed immense composure in her elbow-to-elbow battle with Mitchell and Starikova.

The two Germans advanced to face each other in the final where Hinze got the better of Friedrich.

Keirin

Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) claimed the victory in the women's Keirin, putting in the kind of powerful surge that won her Olympic gold in the sprint in Tokyo out of the final turn.

Mitchell came over the top of world champion Lea Friedrich (Germany) in the final turn and held on to win ahead of Emma Hinze (Germany) with Martha Bayona (Colombia) in third.

In the final, Mathilde Gros (France) made the first surge only to be quickly overtaken by Friedrich. The world champion faded before the final turn and Mitchell came over the top to snatch victory at the line.

"I pulled fourth place so I was in the middle of the pack," Mitchell said. "I normally prefer to take the front early but this time I decided to hang back and save energy before hitting it hard on the last lap, so I was happy to get round everyone. It feels incredible to win and I just want to keep this momentum going.”

The opening heat of the Women's Keirin was dominated by world champion Lea Friedrich (Germany), while Canadian Lauriane Genest snuck inside to take second but was relegated, putting Colombian Martha Bayona into the final round.

Mathilde Gros (France) and Miriam Vece (Italy) advanced from the second heat while Olympic sprint champion Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) sailed through with Emma Hinze (Germany) from heat three.