photo credits @ UCI
Emma Hinze, Jennifer Valente and the Netherlands’ men’s sprint team took gold on Friday, the second day of track competition at Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome as part of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships taking place in the city and across Scotland.
Glasgow had quickly offered Emma Hinze a first crown, as she powered to gold in the women’s team sprint with Pauline Grabosch and Lea Sophie Friedrich on Thursday. Her new triumph today, with a time of 32.820 to conquer the 500m time trial, cements the 25-year-old’s position as one of the fastest and most complete sprinters in the history of her sport.
Hinze has now won eight Elite UCI World Champion titles across the different sprint specialties: the team sprint (every year since 2020), the individual sprint (2020, 2021), keirin (2021) and now the 500m time trial, a specialty that had remained out of reach in the Junior ranks while she’s been ruling the others for years now.
After clocking the fastest time of the qualification, Hinze was the last to start. Pressure rolled off her as she sprinted past the reference set by Australia’s Kristina Clonan (+0.136), who took silver ahead of another German sprinter, Lea Sophie Friedrich (winner of the 500m time trial in 2020 and 2021).
The USA’s Jennifer Valente also expanded her collection of UCI World titles with her sixth Elite rainbow jersey, the first in the scratch. The four-time UCI World Champion in the team pursuit (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020), also crowned in the omnium (2022), showed her skills and craft to dominate a tactical 40-lap race where it all came down to the final sprint.
Poland’s Daria Pikulik animated proceedings, and the two-time defending UCI World Champion Martina Fidanza (Italy) was also in the mix. But Valente kept her cool and produced her effort at the perfect moment. The American star took gold ahead of Maike van der Duin (NED) and Michaela Drummond (NZL).
Valente is the first rider to win the women’s scratch for the USA.
Dutch fast men rule the world again, after Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen and Roy van den Berg got the best of Australia (Matthew Glaetzer, Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Richardson) in the final of the men’s team sprint.
It was a return to victory after the Aussies upset them in last year’s UCI Worlds in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.
This time, the Dutch sprinters delivered an impressive performance to take gold with a time of 41.647. The Australians only trailed by 0.035! France got the best of Great Britain in the final for bronze.
Following Thursday’s qualification, round 1 of the men’s team pursuit framed a thrilling match between the Danes (Niklas Larsen, Carl-Frederik Bevort, Lasse Leth and Rasmus Pedersen), who set the fastest time (3:45.634) and Australia. Filippo Ganna’s Italian team, who own the world record, beat New Zealand. These four teams will ride for the podium: the Danes against the Italians for 1st and 2nd, and the Aussies against New Zealand in the battle for bronze.
In the women’s team pursuit, Great Britain won six titles between 2008 and 2014, and none since, although they kept racking up medals (silver last year). Can Glasgow bring them gold? Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Josie Knight and Anna Morris showed their ambitions with a strong performance (4:10.333) to lead the qualification ahead of New Zealand, the USA, France, Italy, Germany, Australia and Canada.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
