Track Cycling - Day 2, September 17

Reports & results - Men's Olympic Sprint    Women's 3000 m IP    Men's 4000 m IP    Cycling medal tally

Preview to today's events 

The inaugural Olympic Games Olympic Sprint will start the proceedings this evening, with the qualifying at 18:00 and the finals at 20:10. Favourites are France, Australia, Germany, Great Britain and Greece and it will be a titanic battle. 

Next up is the women's 3000 metre individual pursuit, with the qualifying and semi-finals today. Favourite is French World Champion and record holder, Marion Clignet, who has been clocking 1:03 for flying 1 kms in training. She will be hard pushed by 'superwoman' and defending Olympic Champion, Antonella Bellutti of Italy. Bellutti has recently had her bike and position approved by the commissaires, as they falls within the UCI's technical regulations. 

Leontien Zijlaard Van Moorsel is the other big favourite for the event, although her track preparation has not been as extensive as the former two. German Judith Arndt, New Zealander, Sarah Ulmer and Australian Alayna Burns are other strong candidates for the top four. 

Then there will be the finals of the men's 4000 metre individual pursuit, with an all German final (Bartko versus Lehmann) and the possibility of an Australian or British bronze medal (McGee versus Hayles). 

Of course, cyclingnews.com was there once again to providing the fastest and most comprehensive coverage of the Olympic cycling events.

Men's Olympic Sprint 

The French team
Photo: © AFP

France - or, more specifically - Arnaud Tournant, made amends for an unexpected loss in the Kilo last night by powering home the French team to snare the inaugural Gold Medal in the Olympic Sprint this evening. However, the emotional response from Tournant was the same: last night he cried when he unexpectedly lost, tonight he cried again when he won. 

But this is not to deny the brilliant ride in the Kilo last night by Jason Queally, who took the final flying lap to secure the Silver for Great Britain, only 0.448 behind the World Champion French trio of Laurent Gane, Florian Rousseau and Tournant. 

The ride off for Bronze was won by Australia, who defeated Greece with a time of 45.161. In what will be his last Olympics, Australia's Gary Niewand was happy, but not elated. "It's not gold, but it's certainly something I'll cherish. As long you take something home, that's OK," he said afterwards. His teammates, Darryn Hill and Sean Eadie, were "stoked" to have secured their first Olympic medal. 

Nonetheless, Gold medals still elude the Australian track team, who have now won eight silver and nine bronze medals in Olympic track cycling since 1980, with only one Gold medal coming in the Team Pursuit at Los Angeles in 1984. 

Qualifying

1  France          44.400 (60.81 km/h)
Laurent Gane        
Florian Rousseau 
Arnaud Tournant

2  Great Britain   44.659    
Chris Hoy           
Craig MacLean 
Jason Queally

3  Australia       44.719
Sean Eadie          
Darryn Hill 
Gary Neiwand

4  Greece          45.207
Kleanthis Bargkas 
Dimitrios Georgalis 
Lampros Vasilopoulos

5  Japan           45.406      
Narihiro Inamura        
Yuichiro Kamiyama 
Tomohiro Nagatsuka 

6  Latvia          45.589 
Viesturs Berzins          
Ivo Lakucs   
Ainars Kiksis

7  Slovakia        45.659
Peter Bazalik      
Ivo Lakucs
Ainars Kiksis

8  Germany         45.701
Jens Fiedler
Stefan Nimke
Soeren Lausberg

9  Spain           45.799
Jose Antonio Escureda
Salvador Melia
Jose Villanueva

10 Poland          46.186
Konrad Czajkowski
Marcin Mientki
Grzegorz Krejner

11 Czech Republic  46.276
Pavel Buran
Martin Polak
Ivan Vrba

12 USA             46.337
Christian Arrue
Jona Carney
John Bairos

Qualifying Heats - Round 1

Heat 1
Latvia          45.589 
defeated 
Poland          46.186

Heat 2
Slovakia        45.659
defeated
USA             46.337

Heat 3
Spain           45.799
defeated
Czech Republic  46.276

Heat 4
Japan           45.406    
defeated
Germany         45.701

Heat 5
Great Britain   44.659    
defeated
Australia       44.719

Heat 6
France          44.400
defeated
Greece          45.207
Semi-Finals
Round 1
Greece             45.079
defeated
Japan              45.264

Round 2
Australia          44.745
defeated
Latvia             46.525

Round 3
Great Britain      44.517
defeated
Slovakia           45.523

Round 4
France             44.302
defeated
Germany            45.537
Finals
Bronze medal

Australia          45.161 (59.79 km/h) Bronze Medal
defeated
Greece             45.332

Gold Medal final

France             44.232  (61.04 km/h) Gold Medal
defeated
Great Britain      44.680  Silver Medal


Women's 3000 m Individual Pursuit 

Leontien Ziljaard Van Moorsel
Photo: © AFP

It was a dramatic evening for the Women's 3000 metre Individual Pursuit, with first an Olympic Record and then the World Record falling. Holland's Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel set a new Olympic Record in qualifiying heats for the Women's 3000 metre indvidual pursuit with a flying 3.31.57, one of the fastest times all year and very close to Marion Clignet's world record of 3.30.974 set at the World Championships in 1996 at the Manchester Velodrome using the "superman" position. 

Then in the semi-final Leontien went one better and did break Marion's record, one that many thought would never be broken. Her time of 3.30.816 using the normal aero position shaved 0.158 off the Frenchwoman's record and sets up a cracking final for tomorrow evening. In her semi-final, Clignet did enough to ensure a finals berth and finished with a 3.36.224, over two seconds ahead of British rider Yvonne McGregor, who will ride off for the bronze with Sarah Ulmer from New Zealand, who posted a 3.43.8 and was caught by the Dutch rider with over one lap remaining. 

In the qualifying rounds, defending Olympic champion Antonella Bellutti stretched the limits of acceptable riding positions with a recent - but presumably legal - adaptation of Graeme Obree's now-outlawed tuck position, but was still off the pace and qualified in fifth place, defeating Germany's Judith Arndt in a time of 3.36.967. 

Qualifying Times

1  Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned)   3.31.57 (51.04 km/h) OR
2  Marion Clignet (Fra)                  3.34.636
3  Yvonne McGregor (GBr)                 3.35.492
4  Sarah Ulmer (NZl)                     3.36.764
5  Antonella Bellutti (Ita)              3.36.967
6  Judith Arndt (Ger)                    3.37.609
7  Alayna Burns (Aus)                    3.38.223
8  Erin Mirabella (USA)                  3.38.431
9  Natalia Karimova (Rus)                3.41.627
10 Lada Kozlikova (Cze)                  3.43.019
11 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu)                  3.43.980
12 Maria Luisa Calle (Col)               3.44.395

Qualifying Heats

Round 1

Heat 1
Lada Kozlikova (Cze)                  3.43.019
defeated
Maria Luisa Calle (Col)               3.44.395

Heat 2
Alayna Burns (Aus)                    3.38.223
defeated
Erin Mirabella (USA)                  3.38.431

Heat 3
Yvonne McGregor (GBr)                 3.35.492
defeated
Natalia Karimova (Rus)                3.41.627

Heat 4
Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned)   3.31.570
defeated
Rasa Mazeikyte (Lit)                  3.43.980

Heat 5
Antonella Bellutti (Ita)              3.36.967
defeated
Judith Arndt (Ger)                    3.37.609

Heat 6
Marion Clignet (Fra)                  3.34.636
defeated
Sarah Ulmer (NZl)                     3.36.764
Semi-Finals
Round 1 - first semi
Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned)   3.30.816 (51.23 km/h) WR
defeated
Sarah Ulmer (NZl)                     3.43.820
 
Round 2 - second semi
Marion Clignet (Fra)                  3.36.224 (49.95 km/h)    
defeated
Yvonne McGregor (GBr)                 3.38.409     
 

Men's 4000 m Individual Pursuit 

The final podium
Photo: © AFP

The somewhat parochial Australian crowd raised the roof at the Dunc Gray Velodrome this evening to cheer home local boy Bradley McGee to a Bronze medal, while Robert Bartko prevailed in the all-Germany final and defeated Jens Lehmann to secure the Gold Medal with a time of 4.18.85.

The Australian rode a personal best to record a 4.19.25 and was trailing British rider Rob Hayles for the majority of the event and with only 500 metres remaining he dug deeper than ever before and gradually pegged back Hayles as the volume inside the velodrome reached a crescendo. "To do it under pressure, ah hell, this crowd just brought me on," he said afterwards.

It was also a personal best for McGee, who only 10 days earlier had hit a kerb in Adelaide, fell and broke his collarbone. A steel plate was inserted that same day and only two days later, he was back on the stationary trainer. 

The final for the Gold Medal was more subdued as the two German riders set off and Bartko rode the fastest time of the day to secure Germany's first gold medal at the velodrome and set a new Olympic Record.

Results
 
 

Bronze Medal final
Bradley McGee (Aus)                 4.19.25 (bronze medal)
defeated
Rob Hayles (GBr)                    4.19.618   

Gold medal final
Robert Bartko (Ger)                 4.18.515 (Gold medal, new Olympic Record)
defeated
Jens Lehmann (Ger)                  4.23.824 (Silver Medal)         

Cycling Medal Tally - Day 2 

                        Gold    Silver  Bronze  Total
France                    2       0       0       2
Germany                   1       2       0       3
Great Britain             1       1       0       2
Australia                 0       1       3       4
China                     0       0       1       1

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