Bauge takes number three in front of "home" crowd

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It wasn't Bordeaux, but for one moment the Apeldoorn velodrome seemed to exist 1000km further south, as the crowd erupted into vigorous applause as Frenchman Grégory Baugé claimed his third straight men's sprint world title over Great Britain's Jason Kenny. During the podium ceremony, the velodrome rang with the exuberant singing of "La Marseillaise" from Baugé's fans.

Baugé equalled the feat of his coach Florian Rousseau, who topped the sprint podiums in 1996, 97 and 98, and said, "I'm extremely happy to equal that, even if it wasn't the goal. It's something I can add to my happiness today to be world champion."

France and Great Britain proved once more that they are the dominant nations when it comes to sprinting, with two riders from each country destined to make the final rounds.

In the semifinal round, it was British riders Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy who faced off, while Frenchmen Mickaël Bourgain and Gregory Bauge went head to head for the chance for gold.

Kenny stunned the crowd by overtaking Hoy, who had attacked early but then hesitated, to win the round by a wheel. He then repeated the performance in the second race, sending the Olympic champion to the bronze final.

Bauge fought off the challenge from his compatriot Bourgain and then set his sights on his third rainbow jersey.

In the gold medal final, he rode with superior strength and tactical nuance, getting his position at the front leading into the final lap and then holding off the charge of Kenny, who tried to repeat the run which won him the semifinal round.

It didn't work for the young Briton, and Bauge enjoyed a long celebratory lap, greeting the many French fans in the crowd including his proud family.

Baugé said that after finishing only fourth in the 200m qualifying, people might have been betting against him, "But I had confidence because I knew I was good. Sprinting is not the same as the 200 - as soon as you start with the matches it's not the same."

That he went up against Kenny instead of the Olympic champion Hoy, or his countryman Kevin Sireau, who dominated the World Cups, Baugé said, "No - it wasn't a surprise because Kenny was good in Manchester, so he was amongst the favourites for the race to me."

Kenny seemed pleased to get the silver medal - it was a confirmation that he has made great strides in the individual sprint, and is his first medal in the event at the world championships.

He was able to out-smart both his teammate Matthew Crampton in the 1/8 final and twice outwit Hoy in the semi's to enter the gold medal final. That he missed out on gold to Baugé came down to pure power on a speed-sapping track.

"I think a lot of the races went the same way - they were all quite pacey and high up on the track. Everyone's trying to get as much height and as much speed as economically as possible before it comes down to the final sprint in the last lap and a half.

"With Baugé, you have to be aware of the fact that he's the fastest man one (in the team sprint) in the world - he's got some real horsepower. You have to try and peg it and keep a lid on him."

Kenny tried to lay back and get a running jump on the Frenchman, but Baugé kept control of the front of the race, and was able to hold off the charge to claim the win.

In the bronze medal final, Hoy redeemed himself in a hard-fought race against Bourgain, losing the first round but then battling back and demonstrating his class by winning the next two races.

"It was a silver lining to the cloud today," Hoy said of the race. "It wasn't the result I was looking for, but it was nice to bounce back after being beaten in the semifinal.

"Every medal you win is a medal hard fought. You don't just turn up and get given the medals. I had to psychologically work to come back from the first round, being beaten by Mickaël. It meant a lot that I managed to show the strength of character and come back to win the bronze medal."

Qualifying

Bourgain was the fastest in qualifying for the men's sprint on Thursday evening, setting a time of 10.043 in the flying 200m. Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy was forced to settle for second with his time of 10.111, while Kenny was next best with 10.120.

The other French big guns, Baugé and Michaël D'Almeida were fourth and fifth having ridden to gold in the team sprint on day one of competition.

All of the top names breezed through the first round of sprint heats, but the next round, the 1/8 finals, contained a few surprises. First, D'Almeida fell victim to a sneak attack from Australian Scott Sunderland, and then fellow Aussie Shane Perkins overpowered Kévin Sireau, sending the Frenchman to his first repechage round of the year.

The French coach later explained that Sireau may have peaked too early in the season, having won the individual sprint in Cali against Hoy and claiming the win in Beijing and Manchester as well. He was also suffering from an allergic reaction, which combined with fatigue from the team sprint could have hampered his performance.

Sireau was then ousted in the repechage heat, while D'Almeida redeemed himself to move onto the quarterfinal round.

However, D'Almeida faced his countryman Bourgain in the next round, and lost out in two races. Hoy and Bauge also went two for two to move onto the semifinals, while Kenny needed a third sprint to finally top Perkins.

Men's sprint final

Men's sprint 5th-8th final

Men's sprint semifinal

Men's sprint 1/8 final

Men's sprint 1/16 final

Qualifying - Flying 200m