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2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Report - Day 5

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

The final day of competition from Apeldoorn saw Anna Meares of Australia take her third world title winning the Women's keirin, while the conclusion of the Women's Omnium saw Canada's Tara Whitten retain her title. Also retaining their world titles were Cameron Meyer and Leigh Howard in the Madison, while Germany's Stefan Nimke put in a stellar performance to win the kilometre time trial. Fortunes were mixed for GB's riders, with Becky James going out of the Keirin in the 1st round repechage while Victoria Pendleton got as far as winning the minor final. However, 18 year old Laura Trott's performances in the final two Omnium events were a huge lift for the sizeable British contingent in the Apeldoorn stands.

WOMEN'S KEIRIN

Pendleton's post-race interview (BBC) | Pendleton in semi final action (BBC)
Following her two world titles earlier in the competition it was clear that Anna Meares was going to be the woman to beat, winning both her 1st and 2nd round heats and easing her way into the final 6. Come the final Meares sat back in third wheel with Guo and Mustapa ahead of her. As the derny peeled off Guerra Rodriguez moved up from the back and into contention. Meanwhile Meares had eased to the front up the inside. Then distaster struck for Guerra Rodrguez, who clashed with Guo and fell heavily, Mustapa of Malaysia just managing to avoid her. Meanwhile, Meares has managed to avoid calamity and got on the gas at the front, with France's Clara Sanchez hunting her down. However, Meares was able to hold Sanchez off to take an incredible third title in five days with Olga Panarina slipping over Sanchez's shoulder to take silver, the Frenchwoman holding on for bronze. 

GB riders Victoria Pendleton and Becky James didn't have things their own way in the first round, with both Pendleton and James failing to win their heat and having to do battle in the 1st round repechage. Pendleton was able to stay in medal contention, winning her repechage heat against China's Gong and Colombia's Garcia Orrego and progressing to the 2nd round. However Pendleton was just edged into fourth place in the 2nd round, with only the top three riders qualifying for the final - no doubt a bitter disappointment. However, Pendleton didn't let her head drop and somehow got herself ‘up' for the minor final, which she won with ease.

GB's Becky James got a cruel draw in her repechage heat, facing Olga Panarina and Simona Krupeckaite. After leading it out James was overcome by the Belarus and Lithuanian powerhouses, eventually finishing third and going out of the competition. Results

WOMEN'S OMNIUM

Canada's Tara Whitten retained her World Omnium title in a thrilling climax. Having moved up to second in the overall standing after three events, Whitten scored well in the fourth event, the pursuit and took the lead from Holland's Kirsten Wild. Next came the scratch race and a lap gain early on for Whitten strengthened her grasp on Gold. The real battle was for silver and bronze between USA's Sarah Hammer and early Omnium leader Kirsten Wild. The sort out came down to the final event, the 500m TT, with Hammer posting the third fastest time and taking Silver.

From a GB perspective the final few Omnium events were another chance of 18 year old newly crowned World Team Pursuit champion Laura Trott to play to her strengths. After her Team Pursuit gold earlier in the week, it was perhaps no surprise when Trott produced an excellent 3:40.684, good enough for fourth place in the pursuit and moving her up to 15th in the overall rankings. Another strong ride in the scratch and then a stellar performance in the final event, the 500m TT, where Trott posted the top time and a PB, elevated her to 11th overall in the final standings - a wonderful performance for the young rider, drafted in at short notice to replace the injured Lizzie Armitstead. Results

MEN'S KILOMETRE TIME TRIAL

Stefan Nimke of Germany put in a superb 1:00.793 on the heavy Apeldoorn track to lift the World Kilo title in a thrilling competition. Nimke was the only rider to dip under the magic 1:01 mark, with French heavyweights Pervis and D'Almeida giving it everything to get on terms with the experienced German. However, both Frenchmen fried themselves in the opening two laps and looked agonized for the final 500m. However it was home rider Teun Mulder who almost stole the show from Nimke. Last on the track, Mulder, 2010 World champion, practically left molten rubber on the starting straight, around 0.4 of a second up on Nimke over the first 750 metres. However, just like the French pair before him, Mulder began to visibly disintegrate at the end and the title began to slip from his grasp. The man in orange eventually finished in silver medal position, utterly spent, and was helped off his bike to huge applause from the Apeldoorn crowd. The title was Nimke's but, for that moment, the crowd belonged to Mulder. Results

MEN'S MADISON

Cameron Meyer and Leigh Howard retained their World Madison title in a savage race in which the Australian pair had to give it everything to make the decisive move stick and then police the counter attacks which persisted to the death.

The Australians were quiet during the opening segment of the race, with early sprints dominated by France and Spain. The first significant move was made by the Czech team of Blaha and Hochmann who gained a lap without much in the way of opposition. So in order for Australia to retain the title, they had to follow suit, and with 55 laps to go, the Aussies made their move. With the pace hotting up at the front of the pack it was an excruciating process to watch, taking almost 18 leg burning laps to make the junction. However, the protracted exercise meant that Meyer and Howard were able to pick up 5 pts at a sprint, which, added to a further 3 points they'd collected during the race, put them in a practically unassailable position.

Therefore the final act of the drama was all about the bronze medal, with France and The Netherlands neck and neck. In the end it was sprinter turned endurance man Theo Bos whose unique skill-set came into bloom. Having been combative all race, Bos was slung into the action with three laps to go by teammate Peter Schep and pulverised the opposition to take the final sprint, and with it the bronze medal. The home crowd were left suitably impressed. Results