British Track Cyclists Dominate Manchester World Cup
01 Nov 2009
British Cycling put on a dominant display at the season opening of the UCI World Cup at the Manchester Velodrome. Britain claimed ten gold medals from 17 events, adding four silver and one bronze.
Four-time Olympic Champion Sir Chris Hoy showed he was back to his best after his hip injury by winning gold in each of his three events, replicating his success at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In the men’s sprint final, it was a British 1-2-3 with Matt Crampton taking silver behind Hoy, and Beijing Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny beating Australia’s Shane Perkins to take bronze.
In the team sprint Hoy teamed up with Beijing Olympic gold medallist Jamie Staff and silver medallist Ross Edgar to beat fellow compatriots Kenny, Crampton and David Daniell in the final.
“I don't think I could've expected anything more," said Hoy. “That last lap was 13.02 seconds and I believe that's the fastest time ever for a third lap of a team sprint. Quicker than Beijing, quicker than anyone's ever done."
The British women's team pursuit trio of Lizzie Armitstead, Joanna Rowsell and Beijing Olympic silver medallist Wendy Houvenaghel produced a stunning World Record, with a time of 3mins 21.875secs, shaving 0.54secs off the previous best to take gold.
“I'm so chuffed," said Armitstead. "As a team we've really come together. To pull out a time like that was really, really special."
Whilst the men's pursuit quartet of Beijing Olympic gold medallists Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas, bronze medallist Steven Burke and Andy Tennant - clocked the second fastest time in history, with a track record of three mins 54.395 seconds, just 1.081secs down on the World Record Britain set at in Beijing Games silver.
Beijing Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, won the gold in the sprint, silver and a British record in the 500m time trial, but left herself too much to do in the closing stages of the keirin final, finishing fifth as Lithuania's Simona Krupeckaite took gold.
There were also gold medals for Houvenaghel and Thomas in the individual pursuit, and Armitstead and Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Chris Newton in the points race.
Crampton rounded off a winning weekend for British Cycling taking gold in the international keirin.
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