Track Cycling - Day 6, September 21
Men's Keirin Women's Points Race Men's Madison Cycling medal tallyMen's Keirin
Rousseau gets his revenge
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After losing to American Marty Nothstein in the sprint yesterday, Frenchman Florian Rousseau went one better to gain the gold in the men's keirin, the final track event of the 2000 Olympics. Although he didn't have a completely smooth run into the finals, Rousseau was fortunate to have compatriot Frederic Magne in the six rider final.
The final saw the two French, Germans Jan Van Eijden, and Jens Fiedler, Australian Gary Neiwand and American Marty Nothsteinl. The latter was not looking as sharp as the previous night when he won gold, but still managed to make it through to the final.
The derny was taken by Neiwand from Rousseau, Van Eijden, Fiedler, Nothstein and Magne, and that's how it stayed for the five and a half laps of pacing. As it pulled off, the Germans and Rousseau tried to take the lead, but Neiwand accelerated with well over a lap to go, and attempted to win in a long lead out.
He was unsuccessful by half a wheel, as Rousseau came around him to earn the gold medal. In third was Fiedler, followed by Van Eijden, Nothstein and Magne. It was a bold move by Neiwand, but a silver medal was still a fine reward for the 34 year old, who was riding in his last Olympics.
"There were two French guys in the race and I wasn't going to let them have it. I put it on the line - they had to chase the rabbit. In the end, he (Rousseau) got over me," said Neiwand afterwards.
Coming right off McGrory and Aitken's win gave the veteran some extra steam, he admitted. "I was warming up for my race and I got a real high. I had to settle down and tell myself "don't go too early". The crowd was great and I didn't want to let them down by failing."
Round 1
Heat 1 1 Jens Fiedler (Ger) 11.26 (63.943 km/h) 2 Gary Neiwand (Aus) 3 Shinichi Ota (Jpn) 4 Christian Arrue (USA) 5 Lampros Vasilopoulos (Gre) 6 Jaroslav Jerabek (Svk) Heat 2 1 Pavel Buran (Cze) 11.355 (63.408 km/h) 2 Roberto Chiappa (Ita) 3 Anthony Peden (NZl) 4 Florian Rousseau (Fra) 5 Chris Hoy (GBr) 6 In-Young Eum (Kor) 7 Grzegorz Krejner (Pol) 1 Jan Van Eijden (Ger) 10.860 (66.26 km/h) 2 Frederic Magne (Fra) 3 David Cabrero (Spa) 3 Yuichiro Kamiyama (Jpn) 4 Marty Nothstein (USA) 5 Matt Sinton (NZl) DQd Ainars Kiksis (Lat)Round 1 - Repechage
Heat 1 1 Ainars Kiksis (Lat) 11.210 (64.23 km/h) 2 Shinichi Ota (Jpn) 3 Grzegorz Krejner (Pol) 4 Chris Hoy (GBr) 5 Matt Sinton (NZl) Heat 2 1 Marty Nothstein (USA) 11.317 (63.62 km/h) 2 Florian Rousseau (Fra) 3 Marcelo Arrue (USA) 4 In-Young Yum (Kor) 5 Anthony Peden (NZl) Heat 3 1 David Cabrero (Spa) 10.703 (67.27 km/h) 2 Vasilopoulos Lampros (Gre) 3 Jaroslav Jerabek (Svk) (crashed) 4 Yuichiro Kamiyama (Jpn) DQdRound 2
Heat 1 1 Jens Fiedler (Ger) 10.999 (65.46 km/h) 2 Jan Van Eijden (Ger) 3 Florian Rousseau (Fra) 4 Ainars Kiskis (Lat) 5 Lampros Vasilopoulos (Gre) 6 Roberto Chiappa (Ita) Heat 2 1 Florian Rousseau (Fra) 11.02 (65.34 km/h) 2 Gary Neiwand (Aus) 3 Jens Fiedler (Ger) 4 Jan Van Eijden (Ger) 5 Marty Nothstein (USA) 6 Frederic Magne (Fra)Final
1 Florian Rousseau (Fra) 2 Gary Neiwand (Aus) 3 Jens Fiedler (Ger) 4 Jan Van Eijden (Ger) 5 Marty Nothstein (USA) 6 Frederic Magne (Fra)
Women's 25 km Points Race
Gold again for Antonella Bellutti
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Italian Antonella Bellutti won her second Olympic gold medal after her individual pursuit gold in the 1996 Atlanta Games. In tonight's points race, she took the honours from Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Ned) and Olga Sliousssareva (Rus).
Bellutti snagged 9 points during the opening three sprints of the race, and was always in the top four. She kept in contention, as others such as Zijlaard-Van Moorsel and Sliousssareva tried to take control. There was a serious but unsuccessful attempt to lap the field by formidable French cyclist, Marion Clignet. In addition, Judith Arndt (Ger) attempted to escape but was not able to maintain the pace, although she did pick up some intermediate points. Arndt's points were not good enough at the end to better her silver medal at last year's World Championships.
However, Belutti secured her victory by winning the penultimate sprint and in the end the race was determined by points only. The final tally stood at 19 points for Bellutti, with world record holder Zijlaard-Van Moorsel on 16 points and Russia's Olga Sliousssareva (early leader) gaining the bronze with 15 points.
Silver medallist, Van Moorsel needed a good result on the final lap to move her into the silver position, and her second place to Dori Ruano was good enough to do this. "Believe it or not, I was never so tired in my whole life as in this points race. I've trained only for the pursuit and not for this race. And then winning a silver medal, it's unbelievable. Five laps before the finish I wanted to stop with the fast racing. I was in incredible pain, and no oxygen," she said.
"But, it was a ideal training for my time trial. You can't go as deep with training. I knew this race was about 40 minutes, and that's nearly the same as a time trial. And then you have to go dead too."
Why was she hanging behind the bunch? "I was so scared with such a lot of riders on the track. I miss my brakes! I'm a sissy."
Are you going celebrate the medals now? "First, I need some oxygen, but then I will support the two Dutch riders in the men's madison. With my last breath. And then I will see what more there is to do today."
Sprint Results
Sprint 1
Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 5 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 3 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) 2 Erin Mirabella (USA) 1Sprint 2
Judith Arndt (Ger) 5 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 3 Erin Mirabella (USA) 2 Alayna Burns (Aus) 1 Points standings after sprint 2: Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 6 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 5 Judith Arndt (Ger) 5 Erin Mirabella (USA) 3 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) 2 Alayna Burns (Aus) 1Sprint 3
Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 5 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 3 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 2 Alayna Burns (Aus) 1 The following riders have attacked: Sarah Ulmer (NZl) Michaela Brunngraber (Aut) Judith Arndt (Ger) Marion Clignet (Fra)Sprint 4
Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 5 Judith Arndt (Ger) 3 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 2 Marion Clignet (Fra) 1 Standings after sprint 4: Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 10 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 9 Judith Arndt (Ger) 8 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 5 Erin Mirabella (USA) 3 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 2 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 2 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) 2 Alayna Burns (Aus) 2 Marion Clignet (Fra) 1 Erin Mirabella (USA) has pulled outSprint 5
Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 5 Alayna Burns (Aus) 3 Judith Arndt (Ger) 2 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 1 Standings after sprint 5 (halfway): Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 11 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 10 Judith Arndt (Ger) 10 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 9 Alayna Burns (Aus) 5 Erin Mirabella (USA) 3 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) 2 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 2 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 2 Marion Clignet (Fra) 1Sprint 6
Marion Clignet (Fra) 5 Erin Mirabella (USA) 3 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 2 Maria Luisa Calle (Col) 1 Standings after sprint 6: Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 11 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 10 Judith Arndt (Ger) 10 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 9 Marion Clignet (Fra) 6 Erin Mirabella (USA) 6 Alayna Burns (Aus) 5 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 4 Clignet has attacked and has half a lapSprint 7
Marion Clignet (Fra) 5 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 3 Alayna Burns (Aus) 2 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 1 Standings after sprint 7: Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 12 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 11 Marion Clignet (Fra) 11 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 10 Judith Arndt (Ger) 10 Alayna Burns (Aus) 7 Clignet was caught, and Ulmer, Guerro and Arndt countered.Sprint 8
Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 5 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 3 Judith Arndt (Ger) 2 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 1 Standings after sprint 8: Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 12 Judith Arndt (Ger) 12 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 12 Marion Clignet (Fra) 11 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 10 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 9 Break caughtSprint 9
Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 5 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 3 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 2 Maria Luisa Calle (Col) 1 Standings after sprint 9: Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 17 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 15 Judith Arndt (Ger) 12 Marion Clignet (Fra) 11 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 10 Sarah Ulmer (NZl) 9Sprint 10 (final)
Teodora Ruano (Spa) 10 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 6 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 4 Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 2 Final standings after sprint 10: Antonella Bellutti (Ita) 19 Leontien Zijlaard (Ned) 16 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) 15 Judith Arndt (Ger) 12 Belem Guerrero Mendez (Mex) 12 Marion Clignet (Fra) 11
Men's 60 km Madison
Gold to Australia
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Australia won their first gold medal in cycling since 1984, as Scott McGrory partnered Brett Aitken to win the men's 60 kilometre madison. Australia won it on points - 26 to be exact - but did not lose any laps to flying Spaniards. The Australians beat the Belgian duo of Matthew Gilmore and Etienne de Wilde, with Italians Marco Villa and Silvio Martinello in third place.
The 60 kilometre madison was making its debut at the Olympics, and the race was as fiercely contested as any of the races. However, the Australians were definitely "on" tonight as they took points in the early sprints, and only trailed Great Britain (Hayles and Wiggins) who made a lightning start. At halfway (120 laps), Australia were equal with Great Britain on 13 points, with the Italians close behind on 10 points.
However, the Australians were really on fire after this, with Aitken doing all the 'grunt' work and McGrory using his superior tactics and speed to keep the duo in the right place at the right time. The result was that two sprints to go (Sprint 10), the Aussies were up by 11 points, 24 compared with Great Britain's 13. A late attack by the Swiss pair of Bruno Risi and Kurt Betschart was dangerous, but controllable and with 20 laps to go, all Aitken and McGrory had to do was to stay upright.
There was a scare with two laps remaining, when Rob Hayles crashed with Isaac Galvez and Roland Garber, putting Great Britain in a vulnerable position for the silver medal. Belgium took the last sprint for double points, giving them the silver, while Italy snuck into third.
It was an emotional pair that circled the track on a lap of honour afterwards and the crowd were ecstatic. "You can't describe the feeling - it's just sensational. It's been my life's work, and a dream and I'm going to retire now," said Aitken who wasn't 100% serious about the latter...
Brett Aitken now has an Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medal, "It's the icing on the cake for sure. I've got the set and I'm happy."
For McGrory, the win possibly meant even more, as he has had a hard year emotionally. He and his wife lost their 3 month old child in July but this tragedy did not deter his Olympic dream. "We did it for our kids, and were spurred on by our families," said McGrory.
Coming into tonight's race, he knew they were in good form, "Brett and I have been racing a long time and tonight I knew it. When we got out there, it just happened," said McGrory.
Australian coach Charlie Walsh was also as excited as you'll ever see him, on his last night coaching the Australian time. Did they race well? "Sort of - I'm a bit bushed from following it," he told Australian TV afterwards.
"McGrory's is a very smart bike rider, with his intellect and Aitken's phenomenal speed, all we had to do was stay up to win. McGrory done some sensational work in the middle of the race when the pressure was on...they did some real hard work when it was required," he said.
Walsh also had to cope with a wheel change to Brett Aitken, but this was carried out without major difficulty, despite the pace being on.
When asked to comment about the team's irst gold medal since 1984, Walsh replied: "It's been a long time coming - we've given it some pretty fair shots. There were some teams trying to crack things up. Aitken has had his best form for years though and he was flying."
"It's my last Olympics - you know when it's time. It's my last day today."
Sprint results
Sprint 1 (20 laps)
Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 5 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 3 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 2 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 1Sprint 2 (40 laps)
Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 5 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 3 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 2 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 1Sprint 3 (60 laps)
Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 5 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 3 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 2 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 1 Standings after sprint 3: Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 10 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 8 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 6 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 4 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 2 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 2 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 1Sprint 4 (80 laps)
Anton Chantyr/Edouard Gritsoun (Rus) 5 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 3 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 2 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 1 Standings after sprint 4: Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 12 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 8 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 6 Anton Chantyr/Edouard Gritsoun (Rus) 5 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 4 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 3 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 3 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 2 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 1Sprint 5(100 laps)
Robert Sassone/Christophe Capelle (Fra) 5 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 3 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 2 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 1 Standings after sprint 5: Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 12 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 11 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 6 Anton Chantyr/Edouard Gritsoun (Rus) 5 Robert Sassone/Christophe Capelle (Fra) 5 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 5 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 5 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 3 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 2 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 1Sprint 6 (120 laps)
Robert Slippens/Danny Stam (Ned) 5 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 3 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 2 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 1Sprint 7 (140 laps)
Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 5 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 3 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 2 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 1 Standings after sprint 7: Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 14 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 13 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 10 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 9 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 6 Robert Sassone/Christophe Capelle (Fra) 5Sprint 8 (160 laps)
Juan Esteban Curuchet/Gabriel Ovidio Curuchet (Arg) 5 Isaac Galvez/Juan Llaneras (Spa) 3 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 2 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 11Sprint 9 (180 laps)
Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 5 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 3 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 2 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 1 Standings after sprint 9: Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 21 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 13 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 10 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 9 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 7 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 7Sprint 10 (200 laps)
Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 5 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 3 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 2 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 1 Standings after sprint 10: Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 24 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 13 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 12 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 12 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 9 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 8Sprint 11 (220 laps)
Kurt Betschart/Bruno Risi (Swi) 5 Robert Slippens/Danny Stam (Ned) 3 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 2 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 1 Standings after sprint 11: Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 26 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 13 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 13 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 12 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 9 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 8 Robert Slippens/Danny Stam (Ned) 8Sprint 12 (240 laps) - Final results
Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 10 (1.07.56 (52.99 km/h)) Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 6 Juan Esteban Curuchet/Gabriel Ovidio Curuchet (Arg) 4 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 2 Final standings after sprint 12: 1 Brett Aitken/Scott McGrory (Aus) 26 2 Etienne De Wilde/Matthew Gilmore (Bel) 22 3 Marco Villa/Silvio Martinello (Ita) 15 4 Bradley Wiggins/Rob Hayles (GBr) 13 5 Roland Garber/Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) 10 6 Guido Fulst/Olaf Pollack (Ger) 9 7 Juan Esteban Curuchet/Gabriel Ovidio Curuchet (Arg) 9 8 Robert Slippens/Danny Stam (Ned) 8 9 Oleksandr Fedenko/Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr) 8 10 Robert Sassone/Christophe Capelle (Fra) 5 11 Kurt Betschart/Bruno Risi (Swi) 5 12 Jakob Storm Piil/Jimmi Madsen (Den) 5 13 Isaac Galvez/Juan Llaneras (Spa) 3 2 laps behind: 14 Anton Chantyr/Edouard Gritsoun (Rus) 5
Cycling Medal Tally - Day 6
Gold Silver Bronze Total France 4 2 0 6 Germany 2 2 2 6 Australia 1 2 3 6 Great Britain 1 1 2 4 Netherlands 1 1 0 2 Italy 1 0 1 2 Spain 1 0 0 1 USA 1 0 0 1 Russia 0 1 2 3 Ukraine 0 1 1 2 Belgium 0 1 0 1 Uruguay 0 1 0 1 China 0 0 1 1Back to top