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2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Report - Day 2

23-27 March 2011, Omnisport, Apeldoorn, Netherlands |

WOMEN'S TEAM PURSUIT

Watch the post event Interview (BBC) | Watch GB's title winning ride (BBC)
The squad of Wendy Houvenaghel, Dani King and Laura Trott took Great Britain's first gold medal of the championships, with a storming ride against USA - beating their opponents by around 2 seconds. GB started hot and by the halfway stage were almost 2 seconds ahead - a gap they maintained until the end. It was a special moment for the whole team but most notably for Laura Trott - a world champion at 18 years old. The bronze medal final went according to qualifying form, with New Zealand beating their antipodean rivals. Results

WOMEN'S TEAM SPRINT

Watch the gold final (BBC)
Anna Meares and Kaarle McCullogh are World Champions in the Women's Team Sprint, victors in close fight with GB's Jess Varnish and Victoria Pendleton. A lightning start for Anna Meares was the deciding factor; her 18.688 opening lap giving GB's Victoria Pendleton a lot of work to do in the second 250metres. A work in progress for 2012, the Varnish/Pendleton combination is improving event by event, with Varnish's starting technique and speed ever more impressive, the perfect accompaniment to Pendleton's incredible leg speed over the final lap. Bronze was taken by the Chinese duo of Shuang Guo and Jinjie Gong in a close fought battle with the French pairing of Sandie Clair and Clara Sanchez. Results

MEN'S SPRINT

The event scheduling for the Men's Sprint left the competition on a real cliffhanger at the end of day two, with the action paused tantalisingly at the quarter final stage. Here's a roundup of the Men's Sprint action on Day Two.

QUARTER FINALS

Fastest qualifier Mickael Bourgain was first to progress to the semi finals, beating his team mate Mickael D'Almeida 2-0. It was a similar tale for Chris Hoy, who dispatched Robert Forstermann and his huge thighs without need for a decider, the second match being a particularly delightful display of the relative virtues of tactics and sheer power. Gregory Bauge also progressed in two matches, beating cagey Scott Sunderland with his huge turn of speed. The only quarter final heat to go to a decider was that of Jason Kenny and Shane Perkins, with Kenny winning the first match sprint before the Australian responded and squared the heat at 1-1, Kenny allowing Perkins too long a leash in the opening throes. However, Kenny learned from his mistake in the second match, keeping the Aussie in his sights and not allowing a gap to open. At the bell, Kenny could then use his superior speed to get over the top of Perkins, the Australian eventually capitulating. Results

1/8 FINALS

Earlier Chris Hoy comfortably beat Australia's Michael Glaetzer to earn his place in the quarters. The luck of the draw however pitted Jason Kenny against Matt Crampton, with Kenny eventually getting the better of his teammate after leaving himself a lot of work to do. The big upset in the 1/8 finals was the defeat of two French contenders; Kevin Sireau, bronze medallist in 2010, was outwitted then outgunned by Shane Perkins; D'Almeida was also pushed into the repechages by an Aussie, this time Scott Sunderland. More predictable perhaps was 2010 World Champion Gregory Bauge's easy ride into the quarters against the thunderous thighs of German Robert Forstermann, as was fastest qualifier Mickael Bourgain's win over Japan's Kitatsuru.

In the repechage, Sireau failed to capitalise on his second chance to progress, beaten into second by Robert Forstermann, while in the second repechage, Mickael D'Almeida made amends and outdragged Australia's Glaetzer and GB's Matt Crampton. Results

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT

Australia's Jack Bobridge took gold in a calculated and purposeful ride beating New Zealander Jesse Sergent. Bobridge killed the contest off in the opening 1km, opening up a 2 second gap, then easing off in the middle of the effort before piling on the pressure again in the closing laps. A 4:21 ride was four seconds adrift from his qualifying time and 11 slower than his own world record set in Sydney earlier in the year. However his controlled ride was enough to claim the rainbow jersey. In the Bronze final, the Aussie against Aussie fight was won my Michael Hepburn, who looked beaten at 3km, only to come back with a 1:02 final kilometre to cruise past his countryman Rohan Dennis and onto the Apeldoorn podium. Results