UCI Track World Championships: Wild, Hoogland deliver for the Dutch

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The home country ended the UCI Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, with three more medals including two new world titles on the final day of racing. Kirsten Wild picked up her third rainbow jersey of the event, adding the Points Race to her titles in the Omnium and Scratch Race and the silver in the Madison, making her the best mass-start racer of the competition.

Wild, who hails from Almelo, 60km down the road from Apeldoorn, dominated the Points Race, taking five of the 10 sprints to claim the gold medal over Jen Valente (United States). Canadian Jasmin Duehring was third.

"It's amazing. I couldn't wish for this before," Wild said. "I never thought about this before. I said to my boyfriend that I hoped I would win one jersey, and now I come home with three!

"I think the Scratch just all went really well, and the Omnium was also okay. In the Madison we were a bit surprised by the British girls, they were so fast. They had a really good technique, so we were a bit shocked.

"Today I didn't know what to expect. I felt a bit tired from all the races, but in the race, I thought 'I feel okay.'"

Wild joined in a nine-rider group that lapped the field mid-way through the race, but it was her sprint points that proved essential to securing victory.

"My tactics were to try to get points - easy points - like second is also okay in the sprints, and if it's necessary I have to be able to follow a group. I just gambled a bit on both and then halfway we just decided if we go for a lap or go for the points. And now it was go for the points."

Wild's win was thrilling for the home crowd, who went 'wild' as she won the final points sprint, making it impossible for Valente to overtake her tally.

"It's really, really cool. When I heard that the Worlds would be in Apeldoorn, I thought that must be so amazing. We had it in 2011 also, so I knew a bit what to expect, but it was more than I expected. It was really special.

"Especially the last ten laps of the Points Race! I was already sure for the win, and I think I could only smile, it was a really crazy feeling!"

Men's kilometre

Jeffrey Hoogland made it an even bigger celebration in the men's kilometre, taking out a solid win over Matthew Glaetzer (Australia), with his compatriot Theo Bos - a former world champion in the discipline - taking bronze.

The victory was a relief after Hoogland qualified fastest in the individual sprint competition, but was then eliminated by German Max Levy in the second round of sprint heats.

"Of course I was furious that I did not get any further in the individual sprint, yes you saw the frustration that was deep and came out today," Hoogland said, according to Telegraaf.nl. "My physical condition was not very good this week, but I did not want to give that as an excuse for the failed sprint. "

Hoogland had a bad cold leading up to the championships, brought on by a cold snap that battered Europe last week. "We have done everything in the past few days that you can do against such a cold. I knew my body was strong for the rest. And today I gave everything in the finale. If you still get individual gold, that feels really good."

Bos, who will soon head to Japan to do a full season of Keirin racing, was satisfied to take home a medal from the kilo.

"I am very happy with this result. Beforehand, I was hoping to take home a bronze medal. It's great to be able to fulfil that dream," Bos said. "Over the past few weeks I felt like this result was possible, but you're not always sure if you can pull it off on race day. Today I take third, behind two riders that were definitely stronger than me, which means I'm very satisfied with the result."

Women's Keirin

The women's keirin turned out a surprise winner in Belgian Nicky Degrendele. The 21-year-old was a bronze medalist in the discipline last year, but put in a flawless performance throughout the competition to take the rainbow jersey.

Degrendele sailed through the opening round, qualifying for round 2 with ease. In the second round, she was up against individual sprint winner Kristina Vogel, who was looking to equal the record of Anna Meares by sweeping the sprint events after also winning gold in the team sprint with Miriam Welte.

Vogel won round 2 to move onto the gold medal final, with Degrendele on her wheel in second. In the final, the Belgian was undaunted by the presence of Vogel, former world champion Simona Krupeckaitė, and Olympic bronze medalist Lee Wai Sze (Hong Kong), shooting through to victory with a powerful final lap.

"I still can't believe it," Degrendele said. "This is my first elite title and I'm very happy. I was speechless, I didn't know I actually did it, I still can't believe it. I think in the next few days it will sink in, but at the moment it is so hard to believe. It's nice to get the medal but also the jersey."

Men's Madison

Spain might have drawn first blood in the men's Madison, but it was Germany's Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt who proved to be the quickest and cagiest to claim the rainbow jersey in the 200-lap event. The Spanish team had to settle for silver, with Australia taking a late lap to claim bronze over Great Britain by one point.

Albert Torres and Sebastian Mora of Spain claimed the first sprint of the race, but then sat back to assess the other teams. Great Britain's Ollie Wood and Mark Stewart were particularly aggressive in the middle of the race, consistently taking points and in medal contention until they missed a move that lapped the field late in the race.

Spain once again were the aggressors, hitting out and taking a lap along with Germany and Australia too late in the race for the British to answer. The 20 point bonus pulled Australia ahead of Great Britain into the bronze medal position.

"[I had] good legs today and a good partner as well," said Kluge. "Maybe I was the strongest, but without him I couldn't win. There's always two in the game."

Kluge came to the competition after racing in the Abu Dhabi Tour with his Mitchelton-Scott team.

"I had all week good legs, after I came from Abu Dhabi. It was hard watching all week the other races and now I'm really happy to bring it home."

Although he's been second in the Olympics and in the World Championships, has numerous national titles, Six Day wins and a European title in the Omnium, it's surprising that Sunday's Madison victory is the first world title on the track for Kluge, who will now look toward the 2020 Olympic Games.

"Finally the jersey I've been looking for since 2008. Now I've got it I'm really happy. Thanks to Theo. It's a good start to the way to Tokyo."

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