Bauge blasts to men's sprint title

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Bauge bags repeat gold in men's sprint

Gregory Bauge has taken a rainbow jersey in every worlds since 2006 and today snagged his second consecutive Maillot Arc-En-Ciel for the individual sprint.

The 25-year-old Frenchman took two confident wins over Shane Perkins (Australia) in the final, and said afterwards that he was both elated and relieved.

"I'm very happy. This year, all the main riders were here. I was nervous, but I didn't think that it was finished when I won the first sprint [against Perkins]. I had a taste for the jersey from last year, I had to get it again."

In both of their sprints, Perkins and Bauge followed essentially the same pattern. There was a bit of maneuvering around before the start of the penultimate lap and then, before the bell, Perkins jumped hard and opened a slight lead. In each case, the Frenchman closed up to him, began passing on the final bend and then edged ahead on the finishing straight.

Without any disrespect to Perkins, Bauge had probably a more difficult time of it against Olympic champion Chris Hoy in the quarter-finals. That went to three races, with the outcome of the last being determined by a photo finish. Bauge was fully aware of Hoy's past history and dominance of the sprint events, and so beating him gave him greater confidence that he would go on to take his second rainbow jersey in the discipline.

"I couldn't fail this year after beating Hoy," he said.

Perkins was in his first senior world championship final for an individual event and recognised that his rivals all have a head start on him. "They have been around a bit longer, they have been racing a bit longer and they handle the nerves better," he said. "They know what to expect, whereas I am just starting to learn that now. Hopefully everything keeps going forward and I keep progressing."

Had he managed to win, he would have emulated his coach Sean Eadie, who took his 2002 world championship title on this same track. "That brought a bit of extra pressure as it would have been great to have copied that," he said. "But we got pretty close with a silver medal for me...it is my first individual final at the worlds, and look at the progression we made from last year with a 9.9 and reaching the final of the sprint. You can't ask for more than that. But I still have a lot of work to do."

The bronze medal ride-off was between Kevin Sireau (France) and Robert Forstemann (Germany). Their first clash saw Forstemann open up the acceleration, with Sireau managing to pass on the finishing straight. The next race saw a reversal of the tactic, with the Frenchman leading from the front and resisting the attempts of his rival to get back on terms.

That ensured he took the bronze medal, making it two out of three for an ecstatic French team.

Clancy grabs omnium gold with fine all-round performance

Ed Clancy has previously taken three rainbow jerseys and an Olympic title in the team pursuit, but it wasn't until today that he scored gold in an individual event. He showed superb versatility in the men's omnium contest, winning the 200 metre time trial and the kilo and also netting fourth in the pursuit and fifth in the points race.

The only disruption to his run of top 10 placings was his 13th in the scratch race, but he performed sufficiently strongly in the other events to finish well clear.

"It's a tough event. Trying to do five races in one day is a bit of a war," said Clancy afterwards. "We took a shot in the points race so that dropped me back. I knew I'd have to get into the kilo in a decent position and then I could do it. Things worked out very well."

Defending champion Leigh Howard did what he could to win out, but ended up eight points adrift. He too finished in the top 10 four times, with his best placing being third in the scratch race.

"I didn't have the best start in the flying 200, I'm getting slower," he said, referring to his 11th place. "But in some of the other timed events I'm doing better than last year. In the scratch race once again I had a good race, but Ed was unbeatable today. He was a level above everyone else and hats off to him."

One point behind Howard was the American Taylor Phinney, who previously took gold in the individual pursuit. He won the equivalent event today and was second in the kilo, but dropped back with 10th in the scratch race and 14th in the points event.

"The race was interesting today. It was something of an emotional rollercoaster because the mass-start races didn't go well at all for me," said Phinney. "I have a lot of things I need to learn there. I knew going into the kilo that if I did a really good time, I could potentially get a medal.

"Going into the event, getting a medal was the main priority. I was surprised but really happy with my 1.02.8 at the end [in the kilo].

"It was the case that I was feeling better and better throughout the day. You have to fight for every single place and every single second in every single race. That's hard, but it's an interesting event. The fact that I got a medal makes me very happy as regards my future potential for the Olympics."

The other competitors in the race will also be thinking of London 2012, particularly as the omnium will be one of the most important events then. The three medallists today will all fancy their chances, and have two more years to build experience before the big test takes place.

Kreupeckaite takes first keirin world title

Simona Krupeckaite seized the first gold and what was the fourth medal of her 2010 world championship campaign when she took an impressive win in the final of the keirin competition.

The 27-year-old Lithuanian rocketed to the front of the group before the start of the final lap, holding enough speed to fend off the efforts of 2007 champion Victoria Pendleton to get by. The Briton had to settle for silver while Olga Panarina (Belarus) took bronze, beating Kaarle McCullough (Australia), Mirian Welte (Germany) and 2009 third-place finisher Clara Sanchez (France) to the line.

Pendleton had been drawn to lead off behind the derny, and was vulnerable to attacks from behind. She was disappointed to miss out and also felt that Kreupeckaite had impeded her at one point. Great Britain made a protest on her behalf but this was not upheld by the judges.

Krupeckaite spoke to Cyclingnews before the news of this protest got out, and said then that she was delighted with her victory. "Of course, I'm very happy. It's fantastic to win the race. I'd planned how to do it. It is a very difficult event to win. It's not like a race, it's more like a war. After five days it's very tiring, so to win this is great."

Pendleton wanted the race judges to re-examine footage, but once they did so no action was taken. Even so, she was not happy with whatever happened out there. "I hope they are going to be a bit tighter on the rules. I am a rule-abider and as long as everyone else is, I will be happy," she said, smiling to defuse the statement somewhat.

She feels that she still has a lot to learn in the area. "Next year I am going to have to focus on getting as much experience. It will be part of the programme for 2012 and it one I really haven't focused on before. I know I have got areas to improve my ability in order to do a keirin like Chris Hoy does."

Even so, her career record is an impressive one. She is a five-time winner of the British championships and took gold and silver in 2007 and 2008. Pendleton has two years to get ready and will do all she can to reach London in her top condition. Then again, so too will Krupeckaite and the other rivals.

Whitten takes a second championship gold in women's points race

Twenty-four hours after she took her first-ever rainbow jersey in the women's omnium, Tara Whitten once again earned herself a place on the top of the podium with an excellent performance in the points race.

The Canadian was one of five riders who gained a lap early on in the event, then took third or better in five sprints to finish with a total of 36 points. This was three better than Lauren Ellis (New Zealand), who had uncorked a great final burst to overtake Tatsiana Sharakova (Belarus) and grab silver.

Whitten's ride was partly due to her great condition, and partly due to the confidence that yesterday's result brought. "I was actually a bit worried about my form earlier in the week but it came together in time for these races," she told Cyclingnews. "I was motivated after yesterday, and also felt less pressure. I had already done what I came here so I was just able to race for fun."

The 29-year-old said after the race that she didn't consider tactics as her strong point, and so she had one simple game plan for the race. "I just wanted to make it hard. I planned a couple of moves that I would try, and they worked out."

The race developed into a duel between herself and her Lithuanian opponent and so she paid particular attention to her. "I could see that Sharakova was riding well…I knew I needed to do something, so I went for it and got more points," she said.

Ellis also ramped up her efforts in the second half and was first across the line, surging clear with a perfectly-timed mood. She was very satisfied with the performance. "I didn't really have too many expectations but I just wanted to give it everything and come off absolutely smashed, which I did," she explained. "My plan going in was to take a lap. I'm not much of a sprinter, and that paid off. Then I knew I had to get more points somehow so with four laps to go, it was kind of like, ‘it's now or never,' so I went for it."

Sharakova dropped down to bronze in that final sprint but was nevertheless pleased with the end result. "I am so excited because it is the first medal in the worlds for me. I am so happy," she said. "The race was complicated, everyone was so strong and it was hard. But it went well. For now, I think the result is good for me as I hope to improve in the next years."

The contest took place over 100 laps of the 250 metre track, with a total of ten sprints taking place. Very soon after the start, Andrea Wolfer (Switzerland) fell on the bend and slid down the track, her bike clipping the back wheel of Ausrine Trebaite (Lithuania) and sending her to the ground. Both got back up but Trebaite would not complete the event.

Liz Armitstead (Great Britain) took the first of ten sprints, beating Megan Dunn (Australia) into second place. The second went to Elena Tchalykh (Azerbaijan), who soloed clear and took a lap. Whitten opened up her scoring at that sprint, nabbing three points. She picked up three again at the next sprint, going clear with Tasiana Sharakova (Belarus), Paolo Munoz (Chile) and Lauren Ellis (New Zealand) and finishing second behind Sharakova. Almost immediately after the sprint, these also took a lap.

With 66 laps remaining Madeline Sandig (Germany) and Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) accelerated clear. They were caught before the next gallop but Bronzini had enough left to take top points anyway. Shelly Evans (USA), who crashed hard in the scratch race on Friday and broke a tooth, picked up second and showed she had made a great recovery from her fall.

The next sprint went to Sharakova, then Whitten attacked with 45 laps remaining and was joined soon after by 2008 scratch race champion Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) plus Ellis. The Canadian collected more points when she was second behind the New Zealander in sprint seven.

Armistead and Tchalykh then set off in pursuit and caught the three leaders. However the bunch reeled them all in prior to the next sprint, which went to Leire Olaberria Dorronsoro (Spain). Sharakova nabbed two points there, moving her to equal first with Whitten with two sprints remaining.

The Canadian sensed the danger and responded perfectly, winning the next sprint from Elena Brezhviva (Russia). Sharakova took just one point there and needed to win the final sprint to take the competition. However Ellis frustrated her chances when she took a great flyer with four laps to go, tearing clear and holding off Olaberria Dorronsoro and the rest to nab top points there, sealing her silver medal.