McGee takes world pursuit title

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By VeloNews Interactive wire services , Copyright AFP2002

McGee goes back to his roots

Photo: AFP

Bradley McGee easily beat fellow Aussie Luke Roberts to win the world individual pursuit title at the world track cycling championships at Copenhagen’ Ballerup velodrome Wednesday night.

Roberts took silver while German Jens Lehmann won bronze after he beat Ukrainian Volodymyr Dyudya in their final.

American Mike Tillman failed to recover from a slow start to his pursuit qualifying ride and was timed at 4:33.955, 16th in a field of 21.

McGee and family.

Photo: AFP

The all-Australian final promised plenty of drama from Tour de France stage winner McGee, who is also the Commonwealth champion and a three-time Olympic bronze medallist, after he set the day’s only times under 4:20.

In the final of the 16-lap event over 4000 metres, where riders start off on opposite sides of the track, McGee clocked a rapid 4:17.875 and almost caught Roberts before the gun went off to signal the end of the race.

A delighted McGee said afterwards that such a successful return to his first love of track cycling was something he did not expect, especially as the 26-year-old came into the competition with little preparation recently.

“I used the anxiety I had through not having much preparation for the competition to my benefit,” said McGee, who has been primarily a road rider for the French FDJeux.com team since 1999.

Roberts meanwhile was ecstatic by his second place finish.

Although he won gold in the team pursuit in the Commonwealth Games in a world record time, he admitted he almost passed up on the individual event here as he felt he didn’t have the legs.

“I’m delighted, especially as I didn’t know if I was going to enter the individual pursuit,” the 25-year-old told AFP. “But then I talked to my coach and he told me otherwise.I thought I would be doing well if I finished in the top five. So when I came through second in qualifying I was really surprised. It’s great. I knew Bradley was going to be strong but what can you do?”

McGee signaled his form when he set the days’s only times under 4:20 prior to the final.

Now despite an improving career as a road racer, following his first stage win on the Tour de France this year, McGee is ready to defend his rainbow jersey with gusto.

“Now I’ve got the jersey I’ll be making it one of my objectives from now on,” he said.In the race for the bronze medal 34-year-old Lehmann, the silver medal winner last year and a former world champion, took bronze after outclassing Dyudya.The first ever women’s keirin went to Na Li of China after a rough house final which had the commissaires studying the video film before awarding the race to Li ahead of France’s Clara Sanchez and Rosealee Hubbard of Australia.The women’s keirin is one of three new disciplines in the year’s world’s. With the men’s 15km scratch and women’s 10km scratch races, a record 15 world titles are at stake in the five-day meet.VeloNews correspondent Martin Ayers contributed to this report

Photo Gallery

Results

Keirin qualifying

Heat 1

1. Rosealee Hubbard (Aus), 2. Svetlana Grankovskaia (Rus) – qualified

Nancy Contreras (Mex), Li Na (Chn), Laura Yoisten (Can)

DNF: Celine Nivert (Fra), Yvonne Hijgenaar (Ned)

DQ: Susan Panzer (Ger)

Heat 2

1. Yumari Gonzalez (Cub), 2. Iryna Yanovych (Ukr) – qualified

Daniela Larreal (Ven), Clara Sanchez (Fra), Jennie Reed (USA),
Anna Meares (Aus), Oxana Grichina (Rus)

Repechages

Heat 1

1. Clara Sanchez (Fra) – qualified

Anna Meares (Aus), Celine Nivert (Fra), Nancy Contreras (Mex), Laura
Yoisten (Can)

Heat 2

1. Na Li (Chn) – qualified

Daniela Larreal (Ven), Oxana Grichina (Rus), Jennie Reed (USA),
Susan Panzer (Ger), Yvonne Hijgenaar (Ned)

Final

1. Na Li (Chn) 12.784,

2. Clara Sanchez (Fra),

3. Rosealee Hubbard (Aus),

4. Svetlana Grankovskaia (Rus),

5. Yumari Gonzalez (Cub),

6. Iryna Yanovych (Ukr)

Places 7-12th

1. Daniela Larreal (Ven), Oxana Grichina (Rus), Nancy Contreras (Mex),
Jennie Reed (USA)

DNF: Anna Meares (Aus)

Men’s Keirin

Qualifying

Heat 1

1. Florian Rousseau (Fra), 2. Viesturs Berzins (Lat) – qualified

Theo Bos (Ned), Garth Blackburn (USA), Ryan Bayley (Aus), Kleanthis
Bargas (Gre)

Heat 2

1. Laurent Gane (Fra), 2. Ainars Kiksis (Lat) – qualified

Vladimir Kiriltsev, Jobie Dajka (Aus), Jaroslav Jerabek (Svk), Jonathan
Cermeno Marin (Col)

Heat 3

1. Jens Fiedler (Ger), Jose Antonio Escuredo (Spa) – qualified

Roberto Chiappa (Ita), Peter Bazalik (Svk), Teun Mulder (Ned), Danny
Day (Aus), Hiroschi Tsutsumi (Jpn)

Heat 4

1. Rene Wolff (Ger), 2. Ross Edgar (Gbr) – qualified

Arnaud Duble (Fra), Pavel Buran (Cze), Andriy Vynokurov (Ukr), Lampros
Vasilopoulos (Gre), Jose Antonio Villanueva (Spa)

Repechages

Heat 1

1. Andriy Vynokurov (Ukr)- qualified

Roberto Chiappa (Ita), Jaroslav Jerabek (Svk), Theo Bos (Ned)

Heat 2

1. Peter Bazalik (Svk) – qualified

Jonathan Marin (Col), Kleanthis Bargas (Gre), Vladimir Kiriltsev (Rus)

Heat 3

1. Jobie Dajka (Aus) – qualified

Danny Day (Aus), Garth Blackburn (USA), Hiroschi Tsutsumi (Jpn),
Lampros Vasilopoulos

Heat 4

1. Jose Antonio Villanueva (Spa) – qualified

Teun Mulder (Ned), Ryan Bayley (Aus), Pavel Buran

Semi-final (first three qualify for final)

Heat 1

Rene Wolff (Ger)

Jose Antonio Escuredo (Spa)

Jose Antonio Villanueva (Spa)

Ainars Kiksis (Lat)

Florian Rousseau (Fra)

Andriy Vynokurov (Ukr)

Heat 2

Jobie Dajka (Aus)

Laurent Gane (Fra)

Jens Fiedler (Ger)

Ross Edgar (Gbr)

Peter Bazalik (Svk)

Viesturs Berzins (Lat)

Final

1. Jobie Dajka (Aus) 10.814sec, 2. Jose Antonio Villanueva (Spa), 3.
Rene Wolff (Ger), 4. Jose Antonio Escuredo (Spa), 5. Jens Fiedler (Ger),
6. Laurent Gane (Fra)

Places 7-12th

Ainars Kiksis (Lat), Ross Edgar (Gbr), Viesturs Berzins (Lat), Andriy

Vynokurov (Ukr), Peter Bazalik (Svk), Florian Rousseau (Fra)

Individual pursuit (first eight qualify)

1. Brad McGee (Aus) 4min 19.290, 2. Luke Roberts (Aus) 4:21.131, 3.

Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) 4:22.469, 4. Jens Lehmann (Ger) 4:23.578, 5.
Bradley

Wiggins (Gbr) 4:24.378, 6. Jerome Neuville (Fra) 4:24.705, 7. Sergi
Escobar

(Spa) 4:25.656, 8. Sebastien Siedler (Ger) 4:26.379

Cut-off

9. Philippe Gaumont (Fra), 10. Alexandre Symonenko, 11. Lyubomyr Polatayko,

12. Viktar Rapinski, 13. Alexei Markov, 14. Alexander Petta Gonzalez
(Col),

15. Jens Mouris (Ned), 16. Michael Tillmann (USA), 17.
Carlos Castano (Spa),

18. Maicol Valgiusti (Ita), 19. Edgardo Simon (Arg), 20. Przsemyslaw
Tokarski

(Pol)

First round

Brad McGee (Aus) 4:19.297

Luke Roberts (Aus) 4:20.393

Jens Lehmann (Ger) 4:22.344

Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) 4:21.469

Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) 4:22.883

Sergi Escobar (Spa) 4:26.634

Jerome Neuville (Fra) 4:3

Sebastien Siedler (Ger) – DNF

Final

1. Bradley McGee (Aus),

2. Luke Roberts (Aus),

3. Jens Lehmann (Ger),

4. Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr),

5. Bradley Wiggins (GB),

6. Sergi Escobar (Spa),

7. Sebastian Siedler (Ger),

8. Jerome Neuville (Fra)

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