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Track World's Roundup: The Bos(s) wins again; Muche claims keirin; Spain reigns in Madison
Theo Bos made it look easy in a daring showdown against Craig MacLean to win his second match sprint world title in three years.
MacLean’s brawn was no match for Bos’s pounce. The big Dutchman sprang away from the Scot after a cat-and-mouse game in two heats to win the men’s sprint title in Sunday’s final day of action at the world track cycling championships in Bordeaux, France.
"This world title comes at a high level because all the riders coming off the Commonwealth are in really good shape, so this means a lot for me," said Bos, who’s been nicknamed by the Dutch press as the "Boss of Bordeaux." "I don’t feel like the boss of Bordeaux. The final was the hardest race of the week because I thought that MacLean could beat me there."
In the medal round, Stefan Nimke (Germany) held off Mickael Bourgain (France) to win the bronze medal, leaving host nation France out of the medals in the prestigious sprint discipline after Arnaud Tournant and Gregory Bauge failed to make it out of Saturday’s qualifying.
In the semi-finals, Bos got by Nimke with a nifty late charge in the first heat. In the second heat, Nimke tried his luck with an early launch, ramping up his sprint with 1.5 laps to go, but Bos once again waited patiently and roared past his shoulder coming off the final corner to reach the finals.
In their semi-final face-off, crowd favorite Bourgain held off MacLean who went high on the boards in a photo-finish in their first matchup, but MacLean won handily in the second round and took another photo-finish despite an elbow check from Bourgain in the final sprint to reach the finals.
Women’s keirin: Muche grabs gold
Jennie Reed’s hopes for a gold medal melted in the final lap when she was crowded out in the homestretch by Germany’s Christin Muche, who held off the field to win the gold in the hotly contested women’s keirin.
Reed, winner of a bronze medal in the keirin two years ago, had the lead position coming off the derny, but was squeezed out by swarming riders. Two-time defending keirin world champion Clara Sanchez of France just missed her third title in a photo finish to take silver.
Shuang Guo claimed the bronze medal for China while compatriot Di Mu was disqualified for dangerous riding and Reed was left to settle for fourth.
In the first round of qualifying, Reed finished first after China’s Di Mu was relegated, but she had already pushed through to the second round after finishing second.
Reed used her good positioning as key, riding on the fourth wheel during the derny laps and then pulling to the front for the final sprint. In the second heat, Reed safely punched through with second behind China’s Shuang Guo
Men’s Madison: Spain reigns, U.S. survives
Mike Friedman and Brad Huff thought their world track championships were over when the UCI came calling Saturday afternoon, offering the Americans and the Canadian team start positions in the 50km Madison if they wanted.
"I laughed and cried at the same time," Huff said. "We were getting ready to go home and the UCI asked us if we wanted to get in."
The first-year pros have already had trial by fire in these world championships, racing on the track more or less for the first time at elite international competition, so they said why not.
"We’re not going to get better until we race more," Friedman said. "It’s a dream come true to be here, but we kind of got thrown into this."
The pair practiced their exchange for the first time Sunday morning, and once the race was under way, they tried to hang on as long as they could.
"Our plan was to ride the first 100 laps just to see how we felt and try to get some opportunities," Friedman said. "You’re supposed to use your hand for the exchange, but sometimes I had an elbow, a wrist, anything to be able to hang on."
Friedman and Huff, who both rode in the men’s team pursuit on Saturday, made clean exchanges and tried to fight for position whenever possible. The Americans scored five points in the seventh sprint, though they were down two laps.
"It’s really hard to fight for position in the sprints. It goes Mach 5 in every sprint," Huff said. "We just don’t have to the experience to fight in every sprint, so we tried to pick our battles."
While the Americans were cramming in lessons in Madison Racing 101, the Spanish duo of Joan Llaneras and Isaac Galvez were schooling everyone else. While never first, they scored points in six of the 10 sprints and stayed near the front in all the key moments.
Ukraine took the silver medal with Argentina finishing ahead of defending champions Britain to take the bronze. Experienced Spanish rider Llaneras thus claims his third world title in the event.
Riders from Denmark and Australia went down with 142 laps to go when riders clipped wheels in what were the first major crashes of the 2006 world championships. With 98 laps to go, Russian Nikolai Trussov went down hard as well. Fatigue started to set in later, with Canada’s Zach Bell hitting the deck with 72 laps to go.
Women’s scratch: Calle takes gold, Quinn fourth
Colombia’s Maria Luisa Calle Williams and Canada’s Gina Grain dared to break away in the women’s 10km scratch race and were rewarded with respective gold and silver medals.
Grain shot away with 14 laps to go through the 40-lap race and the savvy Colombian bridged out to catch her wheel two laps later. With about eight laps to go, the duo surged back onto the main bunch and the fight was over for everything except bronze.
"You can always hope to get into a breakaway, but it’s very hard to stay away from the other riders," Calle Williams said. "Grain got away and the peloton seemed to relax a little and I tried. I was able to catch her and then we worked together."
America’s Rebecca Quinn, with a pair of podiums in recent World Cup track scratch racing, was well-positioned throughout the race. She surged to the front for the final decisive laps, but with Calle and Grain already securing the top two positions, the fight was on for bronze.
"I got into position with two laps to go, but it’s too bad it wasn’t for the podium," Quinn said. "I felt really well, I could have been more ready."
Quinn held off everyone except Russian veteran Olga Slyusareva and finished fourth.
"The key is to keep it rolling, because usually a field of 18 riders will catch two off the front," Quinn said. "No one was willing to chase. Everyone has their own agenda. Sometimes if you sacrifice in the chase, then you have nothing left for the sprint."
Mallorca to host 2007 track worlds
Officials promise a new indoor velodrome will be ready in time for the 2007 world track championships in Mallorca next spring, though construction has yet to begin.
Representatives from Mallorca – a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea – said the velodrome will be ready by December with plenty of time to conduct test events ahead of the 2007 track world’s sometime next spring.
"The track is scheduled to be completed in mid-December and we’re confident it will be ready in time," said architect Sander Douma, who also designed velodromes in Manchester, Athens and Adelaide.
Officials said they want to officially inaugurate the velodrome with world championships next year and promised it will be one of the best in Europe.
UCI president Pat McQuaid, who expressed his confidence in the prospects for the new velodrome, said track cycling is on the right track following recent reforms.
"Track cycling is very, very important to the UCI," McQuaid said. "Several years ago, the UCI initiated a complete reform in track cycling to assist its development. It’s obvious here this weekend that the reform is working. With new velodromes in other parts of the world, the future is looking very good for track cycling."
