Day 1 – Morning Session
The first morning of competition saw the men’s sprint (55-59 and 60-64) and men’s pursuit (45-49 and 50-54) take place with riders from all over the world competing to progress to the latter rounds of each event.
Men’s sprint 55-59
Richard Voss of the USA was fastest in qualifying with a time of 11:458, a new unofficial world best. Second was David Willmott of Australia (11:558) and third Steve Cronshaw (GBR) with a time of 11:584.
In the first round, there were five heats of three riders with the winners of each going through to the next round whilst the losers were relegated to riding the repechages. Winners of the round 1 heats was a truly international mix with Richard Voss (USA), David Wilmott (AUS), Steve Cronshaw (GBR), Scott Russell (NZL) and Gill Hatton (USA) all victors in their respective heats.
The final racing of the morning in this competition was the repechages where there were three heats. In the first, Maas Van Beek of Holland defeated Mark Zasche of Britain and Brenhard Kluender of Germany. The second heat saw a second British rider get through to the next round as Andy Laing beat fellow Brit Martin Bush to the line. In the final repechage, the USA’s Aron Seiken defeated his countryman Steve Smith and Jim Robertson of Britain while Britain’s David Smith came to grief, crashing out on the final bend before the finish.
Men’s sprint 60-64
The qualifying round of this competition saw 12 riders take to the track for the flying 200 and the winner was Carlos Reybaud of Argentina whose time of 12:088 was quickest. Second fastest was Mark Rodamaker of the USA (12:104) and third Eduardo Gualteri of Argentina (12:208).
The next round of this competition saw four heats of three riders take place with competitors from four different countries coming through as winners. In heat 1, Carlos Reybaud (Arg) defeated the two Brits Geoff Brandt and Doug Conroy. In heat 2 Mark Rodamaker (USA) won through beating Rene Grignon of France and Patrick Whelan of the USA.
The heat 3 winner was Marc Dagleterre of France who defeated Eduardo Gualteri of Argentina and Malcolm Clasohm (Australia) whilst in heat 4, Peter Gumbley of Australia held off the challenge of Italian Angelo Onofri and Eddie Malarczyk (GBR).
Men’s 45-49 individual pursuit
There were twenty eight riders in the qualifying round of the pursuit with the fastest being the USA’s Daniel Casper with a time of 3:33:501 for the 3km. His time was only a fraction quicker than Stephen McNally of Ireland who recorded a time 3:33:683.
Fastest of the British riders was Peter Ettles with a time of 3.36.328 for fifth place.
Men’s 50-54 individual pursuit 2000m
The qualifying session for the 50-54 event saw eighteen riders race over 2,000 metres with the fastest four progressing through to the medal finals. It was Danish rider Claus Christiansen who topped the table with a time of 2:20:460, an average speed of over 51kph. Stephane Lebeau of Canada recorded a time of 2:20:960 for the distance, only a few tenths slower.
The first British rider in the qualifying session was David Mills with a time of 2:29:794 (sixth).
Evening Session
Men’s Sprint 55-59 - Round 2
After the morning qualifying session, the number of riders in contention for the medals was being reduced and in round 2 of the sprint competition, each of the heats went to form with the favourites easily dispensing of their opponents.
In heat 1, Richard Voss (USA) won easily his heat against Andy Laing (GBR) while Aussie David Wilmott, the defending champion, also had no trouble defeating Aron Seiken of the USA.
Britain’s Steve Cronshaw was next onto the track, against Van Beek of Holland and Cronshaw like the riders before him cruised to victory, holding his opponent high on the track until the last turn on the final lap before Cronshaw dropped to the bottom of the banking and from then on having no trouble out pacing his Dutch rival. The final heat of round 2 was won by Gil Hatton of the USA who defeated New Zealand’s Scott Russell.
Semi-finals
These heats were the best of three matches and in it only took Gil Hatton two rides to defeat Richard Voss to progress to the final for the gold medal. It was the same in the other heat as defending champion David Wilmott managed to hold off the strong challenge of Steve Cronshaw twice to go through to the final for gold against Hatton. For Cronshaw however, his chance of a medal lay in the bronze medal ride against Voss.
Finals
Gold/silver medal heats
The racing between these two was so close in the final for gold that in the first heat, the victory margin for Gil Hatton was only a fraction and tactics were surely going to play a big part in deciding where the gold medal went in the next match. In that, the defending champion from Australian certainly threw all he had at Hatton in the next heart which he had to win but a big lunge at the line by Hatton was enough to clinch the gold and show how pleased he was with a celebration so wild he was given a warning by the judges!
Bronze medal final
The ride off for the bronze medal, whilst close and exciting to watch, the challenge from Voss was not the same as in the one between Hatton and Wilmott. Cronshaw was simply too quick, way too quick in fact in the first heat and while Voss got closer in the second heat, the very experienced Cronshaw was just too good for his opponent from the USA.
Minor final
The ride off for fifth to eight went to New Zealand rider Russell Scott who had qualified fourth earlier in the day but until the minor final had not been able to make use of that speed. That changed in the four up race for fifth to eighth where Russell blitzed his rivals, winning by the length of the finishing straight with a photo finish behind him between Andy Laing and Aaron Seiken for the next two places. Maas van Beek came behind them for fourth and eighth overall in the competition.
Men’s sprint 60-64 - Round 2
There were three heats for round 2 of the 60-64 sprint where Argentina supplied two of the winners. In heat 1, Carlos Reybaud was too quick for Rene Grignon of France whilst in heat 2, Eduardo Gualtieri of Argentina defeated Mark Rodamaker (USA).
The third and final heat in this round of the 60-64 sprint saw Australian Peter Gumbley up against French rider Marc Dangleterre and whilst the Aussie gave Dangleterre the run around on the track, the French rider was just too quick and with a late rush at the line, Dangleterre won through to the semi finals while Gumbley would join the other losers in the repechages.
Round 2 Repechages
It was in the reps that Gumbley fought his way back into the competition, leading the race from the front and easily holding off the challenge of Rene Grignon and Mark Rodamaker.
Semi-finals
As in round 2, both the semi finals were won by the riders from Argentina to make it an all Argentinean final for gold. In the first heat, Peter Gumbley did his best against Carlos Reybaud but the number 1 seed after the qualifying was far too fast and Reybaud went through in two rides.
In the other heat, Eduardo Gualtieri of Argentina had no trouble against Dangleterre of France, winning both matches with ease and going through to meet his teammate in the final for gold while in the fight for bronze, it was going to be another rematch between Dangleterre and Gumbley.
Finals
Gold/silver
Match A didn’t get off to the best of starts with Carlos Reybaud slipping down the backing on the opening lap as they slowly circled the track. In the rerun, there was no repeat of any slipping on the track as the pace was a little brisker this time. Both Argentinean riders were closely matched and whilst Gualtieri certainly had a good go at winning the title, his teammate Reybaud was simply too fast and won both heats to clinch the Gold medal with Silver going to Gualtieri.
Bronze medal ride-off
This was expected to be a win for Frenchman Marc Dangleterre and certainly in the first heat, the rider from France was way too quick for the Aussie Gumbley. In match B however, Gumbley hit back and won that in a very tight finish to level the heat at one match all. It was all down to match C and with Gumbley leading from the bottom of the track; Dangleterre was forced to go the long way round. That journey was probably one too far for him and despite a strong challenge down the home straight, the Aussie held on to win the bronze medal.
Men’s 35-39 kilometre time trial
Fastest in the four lap race of the track was British VC St Raphael rider, Ben Elliott, who took the lead in the penultimate heat and managed to keep that place at the top of the table. The USA’s Sky Christopherson was second and Terence Mackin (IRE) a very happy bronze medal winner in third.
Result
1. Ben Elliott (GBR) 1.06.152
2. Sky Christopherson (USA) 1.06.491
3. Terence Mackin (IRE) 1.06.956
4. James Taylor (GBR) 1.07.370
5. Neil Campbell (GBR) 1.08.030
6. Ieuan Williams (GBR) 1.08.149
7. Per Bjess (USA) 1.08.212
8. Boyd Roberts (SAF) 1.08.483
9. Estevm Ciampone (BRA) 1.09.076
10. Wesley Peirce (USA) 1.09.265
11. Andrew Gerber (AUS) 1.09.672
12. Adam Roberts (GBR) 1.09.908
13. Mario Nell (SAF) 1.10.088
14. Yann Dujarrier (FRA) 1.10.432
15. Axel Boland (HOL) 1.10.480
16. Alessendro Picco (ITA) 1.10.639
17. Mickael Dhinnin (FRA) 1.11.006
18. Bryce Dyer (GBR) 1.11.114
19. Thierry Forler (FRA) 1.11.301
20. Roald Sogno (SAF) 1.13.133
21. Dario Ayala (PUR) 1.13.599
22. Jason Streather (GBR) 1.14.277
23. Callum Finlayson, (GBR) 1.14.625
24. Jean Claude Voegeli (SWI) 1.14.629
25. Cyrille Santerre (FRA) 1.16.360
26. Roberto Colon (PUR) 1.19.611
27. Howard Heighton (GBR) 1.21.691
Men’s 65-69 500 metre time trial
Former Olympian for Great Britain and a rider who has won countless titles over the decades, Geoff Cooke, was in a class of his own, winning the title as the only rider to go under 38 seconds. Stan Gregg of the USA was second almost half a second down with British rider David Rowe making it two Brits on the podium.
Result
1. Geoff Cooke (GBR) 37.774
2. Stan Gregg (USA) 38.232
3. David Rowe (GBR) 38.469
4. G Pastosti (ITA) 38.837
5. Lance Ravenhill (GBR) 39.002
6. Michael Briat (FRA) 40.077
7. Stefan Munch Hansen (DEN) 40.134
8. Kevin McComb (NZL) 40.192
9. Sandy Wallace (GBR) 40.366
10. Bill Cotton (GBR) 41.262
11. Robert Wilson (SFA) 41.472
12. Barry Ferguson (GBR) 42.200
13. Roger Langlois (GBR) 42.983
14. George Grant (GBR) 47.712
Men’s 45-49 individual pursuit
Gold/silver medal
Daniel Casper (USA) lead this race for the title from the start, opening up a gap of two seconds as they came into the final third of the race only to find Stephen McNally coming right back at him and in a nail biting finish, Casper won it by a few tenths of a second.
Bronze medal ride off
Japanese rider Kenji Yano had no trouble winning the Bronze medal against Michael Bevan (South Africa), crossing the line a clear three seconds ahead of the South African.
Men’s 50-54 individual pursuit
Defending champion Stephane Le Beau of Canada was simply far to classy for his rival Claus Christenson of Denmark, winning the 2000m race off by two seconds.
Bronze medal
This was probably the most exciting pursuit match of the competition so far with Neville Ackerman of South Africa opening up a gap of a second or so on his rival, Nick Chadderton of Australia before the Aussie started to get a sniff of the finish and in motoring home as he did, Chadderton just managed to steal the medal from the clutches of Ackerman.
Women's points race 35-44
Dana Walton of the USA won this title race after scoring well in the four sprints during the 10km race. Walton finished event with 14 points to the eight of the Silver medallist Siobhan Mullan of Britain with a tie for the Bronze between Edwards and Hulskamp with Hulskamp getting the medal due to her better placing at the finish.
A field of 15 riders had started the race with sprints every 10 laps and except for one attack halfway through the race by Mindy Simmons, the field pretty much stayed together for the whole distance, only giving it full gas for the sprints.
In the first sprint, after a leadout from teammate Dana Walton, Kimberely Edwards of the USA scored the five points from Walton but in sprint two, it was Britain’s Siobhan Mullan who took the five points and put herself well into contention for the victory.
Simmons then attacked with 13 to go with Sandra Bletchley (AUS) chasing her. That injection of pace saw the field split only to come back together before Walton stamped her authority on the gold medal challenge by taking the five points from Simmons and Mullen.
Those points for Walton saw her take the lead and in the final sprint for the line, she made sure of the Gold by winning that final sprint too from Cheryl Hulskamp, Siobhan Mullen and Kimberely Edwards. That finishing position saw Hulskamp win the bronze from Edwards.
Result
1. Dana Walton (USA)
2. Siobhan Mullan (GBR)
3. Cheryl Hulskamp (Aus)
4. Kimberley Edwards (USA)
5. Sandra Bletchley (AUS)
6. Elisa Giachino (SAF)
7. Mindy Simmons (USA)
8. Adriana del Valle Perino (ARG)
9. Alison Holmes (GBR)
10. Caroline Harding (GBR)
11. Kate Abbott (SAF)
12. Clara Lopez (COL)
13. Cheryl Owens (GBR)
14. Aideen Collard (IRE)
15. Fiona Walker (GBR)
Men’s 40-44 750m time trial
Racing in one of the final heats, Australian Gavin White was stunningly fast, going under 50 seconds for the three laps of the track and winning the race against the watch by over half a second from Andrew Weathers of the USA and Allen Vugrincic, also of the USA.
Result
1. Gavin White (AUS) 49.624
2. Andrew Weathers (USA) 50.202
3. Allen Vugrincic (USA) 50.429
4. Neil Potter (GBR) 50.584
5. Aderito DaCruz (FRA) 50.755
6. Eduardo Leguizamono (ARG) 51.080
7. Ahcen Aggar (FRA) 51.508
8. Daniel Rickard (AUS) 52.121
9. Leandro Ardana (ARG) 52.247
10. John McClelland (GBR) 52.289
11. Lou Pascuzzi (AUS) 52.352
12. Joseph Santaniello (NOR) 52.414
13. Michael Paulin (USA) 52.741
14. John Paul Benvenuto (FRA) 53.079
15. Guy Tucker (USA) 53.503
16. Frederick Martin (FRA) 53.708
17. Guy Moulson (GBR) 53.942
18. Joseph Wetzell(USA) 54.314
19. Kurt Broadhag (USA) 54.583
20. Brendan Wheelan (IRE) 54.941
21. Amaury Hernandez (PUR) 55.044
22. Paul Gittins (GBR) 55.104
23. Matt Beeton (GBR) 55.382
24. Graziano Guerra (ITA) 56.182
25. Guiseppe Ravasio (ITA) 56.246
26. David Kirby (GBR) 56.939
27. Brian Coonan (IRE) 1.01.173
Women's 45+ points race (40 laps)
The final race of the evening saw seven riders take to the track for this race with four sprints every 10 laps. Whilst Janet Birkmyre was certainly favourite with no-one in the race remotely as quick as her, there were riders willing to challenge her for that title.
Orla Hendron of Ireland was one who was not afraid to attack and nor was British rider Jayne Payne but despite several injections of pace as they took turns to attack, Birkmyre never looked like being distanced and each time, was on the moves in the blink of an eye.
That made the race a walkover for Birkmyre who had twice the points total of the next rider even before the final sprint which she won as well to give her 20 points, 10 more than second placed rider Orla Hendron with Jayne Payne in third on seven points.
Result
1. Janet Birkmyre (GBR) 20
2. Orla Hendron (IRE) 10
3. Jayne Payne (GBR) 7
4. Hamada Makiko (JAP) 5
5. Liz Clayon (GBR) 2
