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UCI Track Cycling World Championships 2008, World Championships Daily Summary
Thursday, 27th March 2008
Britain’s night is pure gold as records tumble
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Great Britain won all three gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships on day two Thursday 27th March
Gerraint Thomas, Paul Manning, Ed Clancy and Bradley Wiggins spectacularly broke the world 4,000m team pursuit record on their way to pick up the first gold medal of the evening. The quartet recorded 3 min 56.322 seconds to break Australia’s hold on the World Record. The brave Danish team of Michael Faerk Christensen, Casper Jorgensen, Jens-Erik Madsen and Alex Rasmussen could not improve on the superb 3 min 57.734 time set in qualifying but they took the silver in another fast sub four minute time. Australia showed their pedigree in the event when they beat neighbours New Zealand to win the bronze medal in 4 min 00.089 seconds.
Rebecca Romero showed she also had the Midas touch when she beat last year’s champion Sarah Hammer in the final of the women’s 3,000m individual pursuit. Romero has now won World championships in two different disciplines after she took the title in the world quad sculls rowing championships in 2005. Romero went off fast and continued in that vein during the final and had the American in her sights in the back straight with three laps to go. The London girl won comfortably by over six seconds and punched the air with delight. She had enough strength left to do an extra kilometre of celebrating in front of the home crowd. Katie Mactier had won the bronze medal earlier in the evening after she had beaten Britain’s Wendy Houvenaghel in their medal ride-off.
Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade made it three in a row for Britain as they scorched round the Manchester track to win the two lap team sprint event in 33.661 against China in the final. The British duo were marginally down after one lap but Pendleton put the hammer down to pull back the deficit and beat Jinie Gong and Lulu Zheng. Germany beat France to win the bronze medal.
Men’s individual sprint
Kevin Sireau qualified quickest in the 200m time trial in the men’s individual sprint to get the best seeding in round one. Sireau recorded the only sub ten second ride to lead a French 1-2-3 of fast times. Chris Hoy and Theo Bos finished equal fourth. All the top six qualifiers made it through to the quarter finals.
Hoy and Bos were pitched together in the quarter finals with the Scotsman going one nil down after Bos had managed to surprise Hoy in heat one. Bos won heat two but the judges reversed the decision after the Dutchman had left the sprinters corridor and pushed Hoy wide. Hoy made it 2-1 by less than a tyres width to make the semi final against crowd popular Roberto Chiappa from Italy tomorrow (Friday). The other semi final sees French compatriots Mickael Bourgain and Sireau fight it out for a place in the final.
It was a day where records tumbled. Reade and Pendleton had already put up a world best time in qualifying in the women’s team sprint with a time of 33.186 seconds. Denmark smashed their own national record in the men’s team pursuit qualifying session. Kevin Sireau recorded a Manchester track record in the men’s sprint qualifying round. Romero broke the British national 3,000m metre record twice on her way to win the coveted World Champions rainbow jersey.
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