Pendleton wins fifth sprint title

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Men's sprint: Bauge still on track after knocking out Hoy

Defending champion Gregory Bauge remains on track to take another world champion's jersey, sprinting well against rivals like Chris Hoy and progressing through to tomorrow's semi-finals.

Bauge came up against Hoy in the quarterfinals this afternoon and came out 2-1 in their clash. Triumphing over the Olympic champion will give the Frenchman additional motivation, and he will sprint against compatriot Kevin Sireau on Sunday afternoon.

Sireau beat Jason Kenny (Great Britain) in two rounds.

The other semi-final will put Robert Forstemann (Germany) and Shane Perkins (Australia) against each other. Perkins appeared to be in very strong form today and beat Francois Pervis (France) without serious problems. Forstemann was also going well, but took three rounds to get the better of the Briton Matt Crampton.

Men's sprint finals, 5-8

Matt Crampton proved best of the four riders who contested the 5-8 final in Ballerup this evening. The 23-year-old met teammates Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny in the final, as well as Francois Pervis.

The Frenchman jumped hard and held a lead on the final lap, but was caught and passed by Crampton and Hoy. Afterwards, the latter said that he had made a few tactical errors, and admitted that he was caught out by Forstmann's gamble to attack immediately at the start of their 1/8 final.

The German opened a large lead and while Hoy reeled him in all the way to the line, the Olympic gold medallist was left half a wheel short.

That ensured he had to face a repechage and perhaps cost him some energy he could have used in his duel with Bauge.

"Things just didn't work out today - sometimes you have days like that," he said. "I was beaten by the better rider [Bauge] in the quarter-final today. There were a couple of very minor tactical errors in the second and third ride; there are some guys you can get away with stuff like that, but not guys of the standard of Bauge."

Men's Sprint quarterfinals:

Bauge vs Hoy:

Past winners Gregory Bauge and Chris Hoy lined out in the first heat of the quarterfinals, the headline billing facing each other at this point rather than later on. After a bit of maneuvering for position, Bauge led things out on the penultimate lap and had a lead of two bike lengths at the bell. Hoy fought hard to get back to him and then came past inside the final 50 metres, taking it by half a wheel.

The roles were reversed in round two, ratcheting up the stakes. The initial laps were extremely slow and nervous, with Bauge and Hoy engaging in the first significant trackstand of the championships and then continuing to inch along, watching each other. The pace moved upwards going onto the penultimate lap and halfway around that, Hoy accelerated and went to the front. He hit the gas from here, but Bauge grabbed his wheel, bided his time and the scrambled past right before the line.

Everything rested on the result of the third round, where it was certain that one of the former champions would go out. Hoy took the front early on, looking back over his shoulder repeatedly to watch the Frenchman. The latter then moved up and, after some finessing and maneuvering around, the two hit full gas at the bell. Bauge pulled slightly ahead on the back straight, but Hoy was on the inside and drew back up to him around the bend. It looked like it could go either way and, after the photo finish, the decision went in Bauge's favour. Hoy was out.

Crampton vs Forstemann:

The Briton's compatriot Matt Crampton took on Robert Forstemann in the next quarter final, and his rival held the lead going onto the final lap. The German wound things up but Crampton came past on the finishing straight, taking first blood.

As was the case with Bauge versus Hoy's second clash, things turned around in round two. Crampton was high on the banking just before the start of the final lap and dropped down to get the acceleration to take on Forstemann. He moved alongside him on the final corner but couldn't find the extra few percent to get ahead, thus losing out.

Things were more clear-cut in the decider, with Forstemann the quicker of the two.

Perkins vs Pervis:

Australia's Shane Perkins and Frenchman Francois Pervis went head to head in the third heat, and were neck and neck heading onto the final lap. The two remained side by side for several metres, then Perkins hit the jets and pulled well clear, taking a straightforward win.

He also came out on top in the next clash, going from the front and resisting Pervis' attempts to avoid his elimination from the contest.

Sireau vs Kenny:

The final pairing pitched Kevin Sireau and Jason Kenny against each other. The French World Cup winner went from the front and remained there for the whole final lap, with Kenny getting close but finishing half a wheel behind.

The same tactics played out in their second round, with a confident Sireau kicking hard on the home straight and having little problems staying clear on the last lap.

Bauge, Forstemann, Perkins and Sireau thus go through to the semi finals, which will be held tomorrow. The finals for placings 5-8 will be settled this evening.

Pendleton bounces back from crash to take fifth sprint gold

Shrugging off a crash in the second round of the final, Victoria Pendleton took her fifth world title in the sprint with a confident, determined two-round victory over Chinese rider Shuang Guo.

The Briton, who took the Olympic title in 2008 and now has a total of 11 rainbow jerseys from various disciplines, qualified only seventh quickest yesterday but looked in better shape as the rounds progressed. After fighting off various rivals en route to the final, she came from behind Guo in their first leg of the final, nipping past her on the final corner to take the win.

The second part of that clash could have proved very costly, as her bike slipped from under her as she moved up the banking and she landed heavily. She was limping badly afterwards but was able to restart and came out best again, keeping the inside line on the final lap and coming back from being half a length behind on the back straight.

"This is another step towards London, I think," a relieved Pendleton said afterwards. "It was difficult at last year's worlds, I didn't want to be in the same position again. I did too much after the Olympics, it all takes over your life and I really struggled."

She came up against Guo in the finals three years ago in Majorca and had a much easier time of it then. Things were tighter this time round, and she praised the 24-year-old. "She is getting stronger. I have absolutely no doubt that she will have more world titles than me when she retires."

Guo went close again, but had to be satisfied with the runner-up slot. "I am happy to get the silver medal," she said. "I had some problems with tactics in the final, I have to get more experience to correct that. Maybe I could have done things differently in the last lap, perhaps I have to wait a little bit. I went too early.

"I have two years to the Olympic Games. I will train hard and also look more at tactics for that."

The bronze medal ride off took place between Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania) and Anna Meares (Australia). In the first round, Meares jumped heading onto final lap, but Krupeckaite came back at her and took it by half a bike-length. The 2008 silver medallist also came out best in the second, securing a medal. It wasn't the colour she wanted, but it will doubtlessly spur her on to try harder in tomorrow's Keirin.

Pendleton is also thinking about the last contest of her campaign. She was in considerable pain after the finals, limping noticeably as a result of her crash and grimacing, but had a warm down on the rollers and will hope to be in good shape in the morning.

"I enjoy the keirin, I will see how it goes...I will give everything I have got left in my legs," she promised.

Women's sprint semi finals

Guo vs Krupeckaite:

The first heat of the semifinals was a contest between World Cup winner Shuang Guo and Simona Krupeckaite, the 2008 sprint runner up and 2009 500m TT winner. The latter got the upper hand in the first round, winning relatively easily.

Guo however bounced back in the second round, being glued to her opponents wheel on the last lap and then inching past, taking it by a very narrow margin. A photo finish was needed to decide the result of this, and also of the third clash; this too played out the same way and had the same result.

The Chinese woman thus progressed to the second world championship sprint final of her career, after Majorca in 2007.

Meares v Pendleton:

Two multiple gold medallists were up against each other in the other semi final. Meares wound it up from the front in the first of those, and had three lengths at the bell. Pendleton didn't panic, drawing alongside her and pulled clear on finishing straight.

In round two, Pendleton led off with Meares on her wheel. The Australian went on the inside and took her up the banking. She wound it up but Pendleton came back to her and pushed slightly ahead, progressing to the finals.

Madison: Meyer, Howard take yet another gold for Australia

Australia continued its best world championship in several years when the pairing of Cameron Meyer and Leigh Howard raced to an impressive win in the men’s Madison. Meyer was talking his third gold medal of the championships, following on from his victories in the points race and the team pursuit.

Howard was also involved in the latter success, although he rode the qualifiers before Meyer took over for the final. With one day left in the Ballerup championships, the Aussies have racked up an excellent eight medals, six of which are gold of which three are Meyer’s.

“You couldn’t even put that into a dream,” said Meyer. “To win three world titles – I am just over the moon. For Leigh to come out and join all of us boys with a rainbow jersey this year is great…he rode unbelievable tonight. He has deserved this medal for the last couple of years. He is an amazing Madison rider who rode so well tonight.

“This is down to a lot of hard training and just self-belief,” he added. “We wanted to come out on fire tonight and that is what we did. We played a perfect race. We got points, we took a lap. I am so happy to be on the first podium again.”

Howard won the omnium in last year’s championships and had hoped to be part of the team in yesterday’s team pursuit finals. The Australian quartet pulled off a big upset when they beat the British riders who had qualified quickest, but he had been replaced by Meyer on the finals team. He’s still got a share of the world title, but going out today and doing it was a big motivation.

“Cameron has done great, [getting] three out of three,” said Howard. “It is a pretty unbelievable effort. For me, missing out on the finals was a big disappointment, but I have put that behind me. I put my focus on tonight and we pulled it off.”

After a very fast start to the 200 lap race, German riders Robert Bartko and Roger Kluge nabbed the first of 10 sprints. Meyer and Howard took the next two, clocking up 10 out of their final total of 16 in those early gallops, and tried to get clear on several occasions.

However the first to succeed in getting a lap were the French duo, who jumped clear very soon after the start and had completed that first mission after just 14 laps of racing. The Belgians later followed suit, while others such as the Russian, Danish and German team tried but were unable to do so. They were amongst the most aggressive and clocked up a substantial share of the points between them.

Poortere confirmed that the Belgians had a game plan worked out before the start. “We didn’t sprint [early on], we knew that is the approach we had to take. Then wait, wait, wait until a good moment and then attack. It was early in the race and we did it. Then we controlled the race a little bit.”

The Australians knew that they too would have to take a lap to win the race and tried on several occasions, They finally broke the elastic in the final quarter and had gained their lap with 40 to go. Thanks to their better points total, that put Meyer and Howard firmly in the driving seat.

Shortly afterwards, the Russian and Dutch duo tried to pull off the same move, but hard chasing from Denmark, Germany and Australia foiled that. The Russians tried again inside the final 15 laps but with Meyer and Howard working hard to control things, the bunch finished as one unit.

That ensured a sixth goal for the country, plus strong emotions from the young duo.

“My reaction is one of shock, and disbelief…it is unbelievable,” said a beaming Howard. “I came here last year without my partner, Glenn O’Shea. He missed out last year with sickness, and the same thing again this year. That is a bit unfortunate, but to come here with Cameron Meyer …you can’t ask for a better replacement.”

Howard admitted that they were concerned when their earlier attempts to get clear were not successful. “I guess you always have a bit of panic but the biggest thing in Madison is to realise that it is never over until the very end. That is the same as last year, we didn’t get away and get our lap until 30 laps to go,” he said.

Silver medallist Riblon said that they had no regrets due to the way the Aussie duo rode. “I am satisfied with this medal as the Australians were too strong,” he said. “We attacked before the first sprint and after that, when we got back in the bunch, the speed was high. We tried to stay there and 50 laps later we tried to get more points then. But we couldn’t do anything about Australia.”

De Poortere was also happy, especially after a setback in the build-up to the race. “Normally I should have been riding with Iljo Keisse, but he crashed and he broke his collarbone. Now I am with Steve Schets and he did a super job. We were third, I was not expecting that today,” he said.

Whitten's determination pays off with omnium victory

Last year's runner up Tara Whitten said that she had thought about gold every day for the past year, and that dream turned to reality for the Canadian when she won the women's omnium event with a strong showing in the final two events.

Whitten was lying second overall behind the Spaniard Leire Olaberria Dorronsoro at the start of the evening session; she then took sixth in the points race and third in the 500m time trial to jump to the top of the leaderboard.

Young British rider Liz Armitstead also improved in the final two rounds, moving up one place from third to second overall.

"I believed I could do it after last year when I was just one point away," said Whitten after receiving her rainbow jersey. "I was thinking about everything I could do to improve on all the events that were tough last year. I did a good job of working on all that. I knew it was possible, but with five events it all has to come together. I am just thrilled."

Twelve months ago she finished just behind the Australian Josephine Tomic in Poland. She said that she went away from that experience motivated to come back for gold, and worked hard in the meantime.

"Last year, it wasn't an Olympic event. I knew it would be a strong event for me, so I thought about it a little bit. My main focus was the pursuit. But now they have changed the programme, I knew I had to focus on the 200 and the 500 to make sure that I was strong in all the events.

"Perhaps the biggest change was that I moved down to LA and spent more time on the track. In previous years I was training in Edmonton; there was snow outside, so I was inside on a trainer for most of the winter. Just being able to be on the track more this year helped me in a big way."

In contrast, Armitstead said that she was prioritising another event at the world championships. She was pleasantly surprised with how the competition went.

"This felt like was the longest day of my life," she joked. "It was hard, actually. I was surprised - my legs felt better towards the end. I think my ride in the pursuit opened my legs. I thought that the points race would be terrible but it went well.

"I didn't train specifically for this at all. I was training for the team pursuit. So to come away with a medal having not trained for it was good. The mental aspect is the hardest thing. It is all about being strong and maintaining it."

Given her silver medal, the 21-year-old clearly has a lot of potential, and could be ideally placed to chase gold in London in two years time. However it appears that she won't commit to the event just yet.

"There are a couple of questions I need to ask myself before London. You can't be a team pursuit and an omnium rider, so I will have to make a decision."

If the Olympic schedule does indeed force riders to pick one over another, Sarah Hammer will also be in the same position. The three-time world individual pursuit champion is a big part of the US squad which took fourth in the team event this week.

She was determined to ride strongly in the omnium, but missed out on her chance when she was relegated for not holding her line in the scratch race. The American lost 13 points and finished the competition nine off the total of the winner. Clearly, she would otherwise have been in the running for the win.

"It was a really good experience. I definitely plan on continuing to compete and work on it," she said, determined to learn from this worlds. "Obviously the scratch was a huge blow, but I bounced back. Any little mistake in the omnium and it's over. It's all about consistency. If you crash or get relegated, it's over."

Women's omnium points race:

Russian rider Tatsian Sharakova took three out of the four sprints in the women's points race and, with no rider gaining a lap, she was the clear winner of this round of the omnium. Second went to the American rider Sarah Hammer, who was still smarting from her relegation from the scratch race, while the young British rider Lizzie Armitstead placed third.

Armitstead was the winner of the first of the sprints, taking the early lead ten laps in to the race. Soon afterwards Sharakova and Barbara Guarischi (Italy) pushed clear and opened a lead of 100 metres. With 25 laps remaining Hammer attacked and caught them two laps from the next sprint; she pushed on ahead but Sharakova got by her to grab top points.

Various riders tried to get across and after several laps, Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso (Cuba) and Xiao Juan Diao (Hong Kong) succeed in doing so. With 11 laps to go this quartet were still 100 metres ahead of the peloton, which temporarily split under the pressure of the chase.

Sharakova beat Hammer in the next sprint, with Guarischi and Charlotte Becker (Germany) netting third and fourth. The Russian pushed on ahead and was caught by Hammer with seven to go. These pulled hard together and fought it out for the win, with Sharakova reaching the line first and winning the heat.

Behind, Armitstead took third in the final sprint and finished in the same position in the points standings.

Women's omnium 500m TT:

The final event of the women's omnium was the 500m time trial, suiting the sprinters better than the endurance riders. As she had done in the opening 200m TT, Yvonne Hijgenaar (Netherlands) was quickest, beating Vilija Sereikaite (Lithuania) and Tara Whitten (Canada) over the longer distance.

Heading into the race, Whitten had been locked on 20 points with Liz Armitstead. However the Briton finished back in ninth in this final event and dropped away, meaning that the Canadian took the overall win. Leire Olaberria Dorronsoro (Spain) placed eighth and remained third, thus securing bronze in the competition.