Junior World Track Championships - CMTrexlertown, USA, July 25-29, 2001Women Match SprintSarah Uhl became the first American in 10 years to win a gold medal as the 2001 Junior Track World Cycling Championships concluded at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Uhl, 17, of Perkasie, Pa., defeated defending Christin Muche (Germany) two rides to zero in the women's match sprint gold medal ride. Uhl controlled the first ride as Muche attempted to come around her in the third turn of the final lap, but the German was unable to do so. In the second ride, Muche closed early in the second turn of the final lap, but again was unable to overtake the American before a cheering partisan crowd. "Nobody was going to take that jersey away from me," Uhl said. "I could almost taste it." Uhl is the first American to win a gold medal at the Junior Track Worlds since Jessica Grieco won the women's individual pursuit in 1991. Janie Eickhoff (1987) is the only other American to win the women's match sprint at this event. "I did what I was here to do," Uhl said. "I was ready to claim a medal." After winning the title, Uhl led the crowd in singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" as she watched the American flag raised above her. "That was a re-enactment of all my many dreams," she said. "Everybody waits for that day." Results1 Sarah Uhl (USA) 12.505 12.557 2 Christin Muche (Ger) 3 Valentina Alessio (Ita) 4 Anna Meares (Aus) 5 Clara Sanchez (Fra) 6 Sofiya Pryshchepa (Ukr) 7 Kristine Bayley (Aus) 8 Adrie Visser (Ned) Men Match SprintAustralian Mark French decisively won the men's match sprint title, defeating Robert Gerhardt (Germany) in two rides. In the second and final ride, French blew past Gerhardt in the final turn of the last the lap and shot across the finish line with both hands in the air. "This is awesome — very unexpected," French said. "I was just hoping to qualify (for the first round)." French was the top qualifier and was unchallenged until his semifinal match with Kiyofumi Nagai (Japan). Nagai won the first ride in that round, but French recovered and won the last two rides easily to advance to the final. Results1 Mark French (Aus) 11.151 11.206 2 Robert Gerhardt (Ger) 3 Mathieu Mandard (Fra) 4 Kiyofumi Nagai (Jpn) 5 Serguei Borissov (Rus) 6 Theo Bos (Ned) 7 Nico Hartmann (Ger) 8 Jason Niblett (Aus) 12 Christian Stahl (USA) Team PursuitIn a riveting team pursuit final, the French team trailed with one kilometer left in a see-saw race with the Germans, but the French recovered to win with a time of four minutes, 24.995 seconds. The French was only fourth in qualifying earlier in the day. "I thought we might make the medal stand, but we never expected victory," said Kevin Gouellain. The American team suffered two crashes in the semi-final round and did not finish its ride against Australia. None of the four riders appeared seriously injured. The team pursuit victory was the lone win by the French in these championships. Germany won the most overall medals, eight, followed by France (5) and Australia (4). Australia's three gold medals were the most by any nation. Results1 France 4.24.995 (Kevin Gouellain/Sebastien Greau/ Aurelien Mingot/Fabien Sanchez) 2 Germany 4.26.247 (Robert Bengsch/Henning Bommel/ Karl-Christian Konig/Christoph Meschenmoser) 3 Russia 4.27.075 (Alexei Chmidt/Ilya Krestyaninov/ Roman Paramonov/Alexei Tchounossov) 4 Australia 4.27.354 (Fernando Duran/Matthew Farmer/ Mark Jamieson/Glen Matulich) 5 Czech Republic 4.25.894 (Milan Behunek/Alois Kankovsky/ Jan Kunta/Zdenek Zdimal) 6 Spain 4.34.343 (David Muntaner Juaneda/Alvaro Noguera Sanchez/ Adria Sabate Masip/Samuel Cano Flores) 7 Ukraine 4.25.406 (Andriy Buchko/Volodymyr Dyudiya/ Vitaliy Kondrut/Maskym Polishchuk) (relegated) 8 United States crashed (Tyler Farrar/Josh Kerkhof/ Guillaume Nelessen/Hans Taufen) Women 24km Points RaceGiorgia Bronzini (Italy) controlled the women's 20km points race, scoring points in nine of the 10 sprints. Bronzini finished with 29 points, topping Diana Elementaite (Lithuania), who won the final three sprints to finish with 25 points. Natalia Boiarskaia (Russia) was third with 20 points. Bronzini had a five-point lead over Boiarskaia and a 10-point lead over Elementaite heading into the final sprint, so the Italian merely had to place in the final sprint to assure herself of the victory. Bronzini placed third in the final sprint to capture the rainbow jersey. "I really calculated well and had a sense of what was happening," Bronzini said. "I basically took advantage of their work." American Sarah Hammer, Temecula, Calif., finished ninth. Results1 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) 29 points (1 sprint win) 2 Diana Elemetaite (Lit) 25 (4) 3 Natalia Boiarskaia (Rus) 20 (4) 4 Belinda Goss (Aus) 10 (1) 5 Charlotte Becker (Ger) 10 (0) 6 Vera Koedooder (Ned) 9 (0) 7 Monica Huerta (Mex) 6 (0) 8 Matte Andreasen (Den) 5 (0) 9 Sarah Hammer (USA) 5 (0) 10 Nadine Marbot (Switzerland) 2 (0) Men Kilometer Time TrialRiding early in the kilometer time trial, Dutch rider, Theo Bos posted a time of one minute, 5.539 seconds, setting a new junior track record. He narrowly defeated Mathieu Mandard (France) by 0.024 seconds. American Christian Stahl, Bethany, Conn., was third with a time of 1:06.061. "I thought if I could ride faster than (Mandard), I could win," Bos said. "I knew he was my toughest competition." Bos had to wait for the final 14 competitors to ride, but only Stahl came close to Bos' time. Stahl became only the second American to win a medal in the kilometer time trial at the Junior Track World Cycling Championships. Craig Schommer won a silver medal in the event in 1984. Stahl crashed in training on Tuesday, but showed no ill effects during his ride, despite bandages on his left knee and right hip. "I crashed three days ago, but I just set my mind that I've got to do this," Stahl said. "It was such an adrenaline rush, I couldn't feel anything." Results1 Theo Bos (Ned) 1.05.539 2 Mathieu Mandard (Fra) 1.05.563 3 Christian Stahl (USA) 1.06.061 4 Alois Kankovsky (Chz) 1.06.201 5 Sascha Hartelt (Ger) 1.06.428 6 Kial Stewart (Aus) 1.07.661 7 Maximilliano Richeze (Arg) 1.07.705 8 Alexei Tchounossov (Rus) 1.07.888 9 Ruben Donet Gregori (Spa) 1.07.956 10 Jonathan Hamlin (NZl) 1.08.047 Women 2km Individual PursuitVera Koedooder won the second gold medal of her young career, defeating Sarah Hammer, Temecula, Calif., in the final of the women's 2km individual pursuit. Koedooder also won the women's points race last year. Koedooder finished with a time of two minutes, 32.041 seconds. Hammer ˆ the first American medalist in this event in 10 years ˆ finished in 2:33.953. "I have a trouser (jersey) now, so if I win the points race, that's great, but if not, I'm so happy," Koedooder said. Hammer had come from behind in her semi-final ride, but was unable to do so against the Dutch rider. "I do better when I start slowly and then fight back," Hammer said. "I wasn't able to fight back. She had too much on me." Results1 Vera Koedooder (Ned) 2.32.041 2 Sarah Hammer (USA) 2.33.953 3 Charlotte Becker (Ger) 2.34.372 4 Monica Huerta (Mex) 2.34.797 5 Sofiya Pryshchepa (Ukr) 2.35.193 6 Elke Gebhardt (Ger) 2.36.269 7 Adrie Visser (Ned) 2.36.572 8 Belinda Goss (Aus) 2.38.414 9 Lauren Franges (USA) 2.35.544 Men's 24km Points RaceThe last final of the evening, the men's 24km points race, was cut short after a crash occurred with three laps (1km) remaining. Race officials decided to stop the race at that point as it was considered too dangerous to finish the race with medical personnel tending to riders just off the track in the infield. Two riders, Chris Willemse (South Africa) and Cameron Evans (Canada), were transported by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital. Eskov was the first of five riders to gain a lap in the 24km event, gaining a lap with 24 laps to go. "I really felt it was the right moment to go," he said. "Once I got close to the group, it was really hard to get through." Four other riders — Evans, Aaron Kemps (Australia), David Muntaner Juaneda (Spain), and Jos Pronk (Netherlands) — took a lap with 13 laps to go. Eskov, who fell in the crash but was unhurt, had a narrow two-point lead over Pronk heading into the final sprint, but that sprint did not occur. Kemps was third with 10 points. Results1 Nikita Eskov (Rus) 13 pts (2 sprint wins) 2 Jos Pronk (Ned) 11 (1) 3 Aaron Kemps (Aus) 10 (1) 4 David Muntaner Juaneda (Spa) 8 (0) 5 Cameron Evans (Can) 5 (0) One lap behind: 6 Go Takashima (Jpn) 10 (2) 7 Daniel Musol (Ger) 10 (1) 8 Mattia Trevisan (Ita) 8 (1) 9 Piotr Zielinski (Pol) 8 (0) 10T Mads Christensen (Den) 7 (1) 10T Vitaliy Kondrut (Ukr) 7 (1) 16T Bobby Lea (USA) 2 (0) Men Individual 3km PursuitChristoph Meschenmoser won the men's 2km individual pursuit with a time of three minutes, 36.897 seconds, defeating defending junior world champion Volodymyr Dyudiya (Ukraine) in the final."I didn't expect this at all," Meschenmoser said. "I would have been happy with a top eight (finish). This is more than I expected." Meschenmoser set a new Lehigh Valley Velodrome junior track record with each of his three rides during the pursuit tournament. Results
1km 2km time km/h
1 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) 1:10.7 2:19.5 3:26.9 52.200
2 Volodymyr Dyudiya (Ukr) 1:11.1 2:19.8 3:28.8 51.717
3 Sven Krauss (Ger) 1:11.6 2:21.3 3:30.6 51.293
4 Fabien Sanchez (Fra) 1:11.4 2:21.2 3:31.7 51.026
5 Nikita Eskov (Rus)
6 Kévin Gouellain (Fra)
7 Tyler Farrar (USA)
8 Vitaliy Kondrut (Ukr)
Men Olympic SprintAustralia earned its second gold medal of the championships as Jason Niblett, Mark French, and Kial Stewart combined to defeat top-seeded France in the final. The Australians finished with a time of one minute, 3.602 seconds. Stewart, celebrating his 18th birthday, rode the final leg as the Australians edged the French by 0.12 seconds in the final. "This is a great birthday present," Stewart said. "I was expecting the kilo(meter time trial) tonight, but it's better to share this with the others." Resultstime km/h 1 Australia 1:03.6 56.602 (Mark French/Jason Niblett/Kial Stewart) 2 France 1:03.7 56.495 (Mickaël Murat/Mathieu Mandard/François Pervis) 3 Germany 1:05.0 55.396 (Robert Gerhardt/Michael Seidenbecher/ Sascha Härtelt) 4 Italy 1:05.0 55.362 Marco Olivieri/Samuele Marzoli/Marco Bini 5 Russia (Arif Abassov/ Serguei Borissov/Nikkolai Dmitriev) 6 Poland (Tomasz Balcer/ Pawel Giza/ Karol Mazurek) 7 Argentina (Juan Benitez/Dario Burela/ Emanuel Cuevas) 8 Spain (Bartolomé Beltran Garrido/ Ruben Donet Gregori/ Adria Sabate Masip) Women 500mAnna Meares (Australia) followed in her sister's footsteps, winning the 500 meters and capturing the first gold medal at the 2001 Junior Track World Cycling Championships at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome.As soon as Meares knew she had won, she called home to Rockhampton, Queensland, waking her mother at nearly midnight local time with the news. "It was very emotional, but I wasn't uncommonly nervous," said Meares, who sported bands of green and yellow — Australian team colors — in her hair. "The end of the ride was really good." Meares' older sister, Kerrie, won this event last year. Anna Meares won this year with at time of 36.474 seconds, 0.259 seconds faster than Christin Muche (Germany), who finished second in the event for the second straight year. The 16 competitors had to wait over 12 hours to compete after the event's original start was canceled due to a rainstorm that washed away Wednesday evening's schedule. "That's always a bit disappointing," Meares said. "You spend all day preparing and all of a sudden it rains. I slept terribly." American Sarah Uhl, Perkasie, Pa., just missed a medal, and finished fourth with a time of 37.394 seconds. "I really thought I'd be able to do it," Uhl said. "There was a lot of moving around with the times but I don't want to make excuses." Uhl's fourth-place finish is the best ever by an American in the 500 meters at the Junior Track World Championships. Resultstime km/h 1 Anna Meares (Aus) 36.474 49.350 2 Christin Muche (Ger) 36.733 49.002 3 Clara Sanchez (Fra) 37.004 48.643 4 Sarah Uhl (USA) 37.394 48.136 5 Valentina Alessio (Ita) 37.999 47.370 6 Sofiya Pryshchepa (Ukr) 38.193 47.129 7 Adrie Visser (Ned) 38.320 46.973 8 Laura Yoisten (Can) 38.847 46.336 9 Sharon Vandromme (Bel) 39.010 46.142 10 Lenka Valova (Cze) 39.263 45.845 11 Diana Elementaite (Ltu)+E27 39.375 45.714 12 Lisa Haedo (Arg) 39.517 45.550 13 Olga Liakicheva (Rus) 40.086 44.903 14 Pascale Schnider (Swi) 40.259 44.710 15 Cristina Sandoval Castillo (Spa) 40.402 44.552 16 Marisol Ponciano (Mex) 40.732 44.191 Women 2000m Individual Pursuit QualifyingResultsSemi-finals
1km time km/h
Semifinal 1
1 Sarah Hammer (USA) 1:19.1 2:33.9 46.789
2 Elke Gebhardt (Ger) 1:18.0 2:36.3 46.074
Semifinal 2
1 Charlotte Becker (Ger) 1:16.7 2:34.6 46.557
2 Sofiya Pryshchepa (Ukr) 1:17.2 2:35.2 46.394
Semifinal 3
1 Vera Koedooder (Ned) 1:17.0 2:32.6 47.190
2 Belinda Goss (Aus) 1:18.1 2:38.4 45.451
Semifinal 4
1 Monica Huerta (Mex) 1:17.4 2:35.2 46.393
2 Adrie Visser (Ned) 1:15.0 2:36.6 45.985
Qualifying
1km time km/h
1 Adrie Visser (Ned) 1:14.3 2:31.0 47.691
2 Vera Koedooder (Ned) 1:16.4 2:31.8 47.421
3 Sofiya Pryshchepa (Ukr) 1:18.1 2:31.9 47.392
4 Sarah Hammer (USA) 1:17.7 2:33.0 47.045
5 Elke Gebhardt (Ger) 1:16.9 2:33.3 46.969
6 Charlotte Becker (Ger) 1:16.4 2:33.5 46.905
7 Belinda Goss (Aus) 1:16.1 2:34.1 46.734
8 Monica Huerta (Mex) 1:18.5 2:35.0 46.444
9 Lauren Franges (USA) 1:17.4 2:35.5 46.289
10 Diana Elementaite LTU 1:18.4 2:36.2 46.099
11 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) 1:17.7 2:38.0 45.562
12 Nadine Marbot (Swi) 1:18.2 2:38.2 45.521
13 Catherine Sell (NZl) 1:19.5 2:38.2 45.503
14 Mette Andreasen (Den) 1:18.5 2:38.3 45.489
15 Natalia Boiarskaia (Rus) 1:21.3 2:38.6 45.411
16 Lenka Valova (Cze) 1:20.2 2:38.9 45.325
17 Georgina Romero (Mex) 1:22.0 2:39.1 45.252
18 Ellen Gevers (Bel) 1:22.3 2:40.7 44.808
19 Maria Carla Alvarez (Arg) 1:20.8 2:40.9 44.747
20 Alessauda Borchi (Ita) 1:22.0 2:42.7 44.264
21 Laura Bissel (GBr) 1:22.1 2:43.4 44.051
22 Elena Andreeva (Rus) 1:21.5 2:43.8 43.948
23 Cristina Sandoval Castillo (Spa) 1:21.6 2:46.5 43.231
|