Ashton Lambie (Lincoln, Neb.; HUUB Wattbike) was the highlight of the third day of the 2021 Tissot UCI Track World Championships, winning the Men’s Individual Pursuit World Championship title. Jennifer Valente (San Diego; TWENTY24 Pro Cycling) raced four events today, all part of the Omnium, and Gavin Hoover (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) competed in the Points Race.
The IP qualifiers went down in the morning, and Lambie destroyed it! Lambie, the current World Record Holder for 4,000 meters, laid down a time of 4:03.237 in qualifying. With this time, Lambie was 2.548 seconds faster than second-place rider Jonathan Milan (ITA). The two would match up in the Gold Medal round later in the day. While Milan started faster, Lambie took control of the race at 1,000 meters into the race. At 3,000 meters, Lambie was leading but still only up by half a second until he dug deep to pull off the win. He finished with a time of 4:05.060, winning by 1.089 seconds.
In a post-race interview, Lambie said, “I went out with the same schedule and at the end of the day it’s a race, the time doesn’t matter and you’re just racing against second place. With a [kilometer] and a half to go, I heard I was up by 0.4 then it kind of spread out the same way we raced the qualifiers so it went according to plan. It was awesome.”
USA Cycling Men’s Track Coach Rob Stanley could not be happier for Lambie and his performance today. He said, “It’s hard to know what to say to do Ashton’s ride justice, I think it’s remarkable how he has gone out and fought hard to achieve something incredible and will forever have created a piece of cycling history which is amazing for him and inspirational to American cyclists all over the world. And to top it off he got on his bike and rode back to the hotel because he loves riding that much!”
1. Ashton Lambie (USA)
2. Jonathan Milan (ITA)
3. Filippo Ganna (ITA)
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Valente set out to defend her Olympic title today. Her morning started with the Scratch Race. Katie Archibald (GBR) was in front on the last few laps, but Valente attacked on the final lap. Archibald came around in turn three, taking the win with Valente in second. In the Tempo Race, Archibald stayed consistent, continuing to pick up points, solidifying her win early, with Valente scoring one point. She would hold her second place in the Omnium standings behind Archibald.
In the evening session, the Omnium continued with the Elimination race. Valente stayed towards the front until the final five riders, where she was eliminated. She would place fifth, with Archibald going three for three, winning this event as well. It all came down to the final Points Race. Valente entered the final event 24 points behind Archibald’s perfect score. However, Archibald was able to stay on top of all the moves making it hard to be beat. Valente scored three more points in the second sprint but eventually landed in sixth place in the final Omnium standings.
1. Katie Archibald (GBR) - 137 pts
2. Lotte Kopecky (BEL) - 119 pts
3. Elisa Balsamo (ITA) - 116 pts
6. Jennifer Valente (USA) - 99pts
Hoover started off the Points Race strong. He secured points in most of the first sprints, winning Sprint 3, where he was sitting in third. In Sprint 4, the UCI Commissaires relegated Hoover out of points contention for moving down the inside of the track when a rider was already there, then was caught by another rider losing 20 points. At about 35 laps to go, Hoover knew he had to get a lap on the field to be in the running. He was able to score another point but was not able to lap the field. Hoover finished with
1. Benjamin Thomas (FRA) 94 points
2. Kenny de Ketele (BEL) 84 points
3. Vincent Hoppezak (NED) 35 points
16. Gavin Hoover (USA) -13 points
Tomorrow Hoover is back on the track for his third race of the World Championships with the Men’s Omnium. Lily Williams (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Rally Cycling) and Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles) will compete in their first Madison at a World Championships. Williams will race again an hour and a half later in the Women’s Individual Pursuit.
