UCI TRACK CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, FRANCE, DAY 2 NEW ZEALAND WRAP
New Zealand sprint coach Nick Flyger is satisfied that Ellesse Andrews is progressing well after making the quarterfinals in the individual sprint on the second day of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in France.
Andrews, at 22 years among the youngest of the female sprinters, qualified ninth fastest in the individual sprint. She won through two rounds before going out in the quarterfinals to multi world champion Lea Sophie Friedrich (GER), who was part of the winning women’s team sprint on the opening day.
Flyger said they are looking forward to the upcoming keirin competition and getting more crucial race competition on the St Quentin En Yvelines Velodrome, which will be the venue for the Paris Olympics.
“The sprint qual was probably just a little off but we tried something new and learned more about the track. It was a very tight competition with eight to 10 riders within 0.2s of eachother,” said Flyger.
“Ellesse is a talent, already an Olympic medallist. This year we had a major focus on the Commonwealth Games and now have had to reset for the worlds, and as such I am pretty happy with the progress.
“We have a list of things where we can make more gains, so overall it bodes well.”
Flyger said the track will provide an excellent opportunity for racing.
“The track is actually brilliant. It’s built for sprinters – wider than most and rounder than most which makes for extremely fast and close racing which we saw today.,
“Ellesse is quick and now we have to work on racing smart. We have come here with more emphasis on race-day plans than technical and tactical things. In terms of goals off the track, I am pretty content with the progress today.
“We put our best foot forward on the track and came with all we had. We know there’s more to come. We will park it, have a couple of days off and have a crack at the keirin.”
Andrews qualified ninth fastest in 10.574, only 0.01 off her national record, and 0.2s off Friedrich who was the top qualifier. The German takes on Laurine van Riessen (NED) in one semifinal, while Mathilde Gros (FRA) meets Hetty van der Wouw (NED) in the other semi.
Waikato’s Ally Wollaston finished an unlucky 10th in the elimination race, progressing well before being eliminated with the photo finish suggesting she had narrowly survived.
Kiwi star Aaron Gate finished in the leading group in 10th place in the men’s scratch race. He was prominent throughout an aggressive 15km race won by Canada’s Dylan Bibic.
Tomorrow’s third day of competition sees Nick Kergozou in the 1000m time trial, Michaela Drummond returns for the four-discipline omnium, Commonwealth Games silver medallist tom Sexton in the individual pursuit and Corbin Strong in the Points race.
Results:
Women sprint qualifying: Lea Sophie Friedrich (GER) 10.357, 1; Mathilde Gros (FRA) 10.401, 2; Hetty van der Wouw (NED) 10.416, 3. Also: Ellesse Andrews (NZL) 10.574, 9.
First round: Pauline Grabosch GER) bt Anis Rosidi (MAS), Emma Hinze bt GER) Paulina Petri (POL), Sophie Capewell (GBR) bt Oria Walsh (IRL), Lauriane Genest (CAN) bt Yuli Osuna (MEX), Ellesse Andrews (NZL) bt Miriam Vece (ITA), Olena Starikova (UKR) bt Nicky Degrendele (BEL), Taky Kouame (FRA) bt Veronika Jabornikova (CZE), Kelsey Mitchell (CAN) bt Nikola Sibiak (POL), Laurine van Riessen (NED) bt Fuko Ume Kawa (JPN), Kristina Clonan (AUS) bt Luz Gonzalez (MEX), Mina Sato (JPN) bt Liying Yuan (CHN), Riyu Ohta (JPN) bt Sarah Orban (CAN).
Second round: Friedrich bt Ohta, Gros bt Sato, Van der Wouw bt Clonan, Van Riessen bt Pineda, Grabosch bt Mitchell, Hinze bt Kouame, Capewell bt Starikova, Andrews bt Genest,
Quarter-finals (best of 3): Friedrich bt Andrews 2-0, Gros bt Capewell 2-0, Hinze bt Van der Wouw 2-0, Van Riessen bt Grabosch 2-0.
Women Elimination: Lotte Kopecky (BEL) 1, Rachele Barbieri (ITA) 2, Jennifer Valente (USA) 3. Also: Ally Wollaston (NZL) 10.
Men Scratch race: Dylan Bibic (CAN) 1, Kazushige Kuboki (JPN) 2, Roy Eefting (NED) 3. Also: Aaron Gate (NZL) 10.