World Track Championships - CM

Melbourne, Australia, May 26-30, 2004

Event program and results    First round     Repechages    Second round    Finals

Keirin - second round - May 28, 2004

Kelly misses as protest dimsissed

By Mal Sawford

May 28, 2004: With a near capacity crowd cheering him on, Ryan Bayley (Australia) moved into the Keirin final in convincing fashion, flashing past Britain’s Jamie Staff with his customary lightning fast finishing burst.

Asked if the support from the crowd had helped him home, he responded, “usually I can hear the crowd, but tonight I was too busy looking down at the track, just saying ‘I need more space, I need more space, I need a gain, I need a gain’. I got it in turn three and it was then I realised I was coming around them.”

Teun Mulder (Netherlands) crossed the line second, with the big Dutchman delighted to have made the final, along with Staff. Bayley rated his chances for the final as good, saying, “I definitely knew coming into this that my legs were pretty good. It’s just how the head works on the day, and everything seems to be going my way.”

French superstar Laurent Gane led the second heat home, after Shane Kelly (Australia) had looked in a winning position when Gane surged to the lead after the derny left the track. Kelly looked comfortable perched on Gane’s hip, but seemed to be missing the zip he had shown in the heats as Ivan Vrba (Czech Republic) came close on the outside, and José Escuredo (Spain) snuck up on the inside.

The photo showed that Kelly had slipped to fourth in the final metre, but with the replays on the giant scoreboard showing the Spaniard dipping onto the duckboards, most expected Kelly to benefit from Escuredo’s relegation. The result stood, much to Kelly and Bayley’s disappointment.

Bayley explained to the assembled media “the guy that passed him was on the duckboard, and that’s pretty illegal in Keirin racing. As far as I can see he should have been third, the other guy made an illegal move underneath. It’s going to be disappointing not to have Kel’s in the final, but sometimes you just have to run with it."

Kelly was less than impressed. “I reckon I was ripped, but….?” He advised that the Australian team had lodged a protest, but it had been dismissed. “Yeah, they ummed and ahhed, and said there were things done wrong, but not wrong enough to be overturned. Anyway, I was pissed; but what can you do?"

Results

Second round - May 28, 2004

Heat 1 
 
1 Ryan Bayley (Australia)
2 Teun Mulder (Netherlands)
3 Jamie Staff (Great Britain)
4 Jens Fiedler (Germany)
5 José Antonio Villanueva Trinidad (Spain)
6 Jan Van Eijden (Germany)
 
Heat 2 
 
1 Laurent Gane (France)
2 Ivan Vrba (Czech Republic)
3 José Antonio Escuredo Raimondez (Spain)
4 Shane Kelly (Australia)
5 Florian Rousseau (France)
6 Mickaël Bourgain (France)

Second round start list - May 28, 2004

Heat 1
 
8 Ryan Bayley (Australia)
72 José Antonio Villanueva Trinidad (Spain)
97 Jamie Staff (Great Britain)
103 Jens Fiedler (Germany)
112 Jan Van Eijden (Germany)
155 Teun Mulder (Netherlands)
 
Heat 2
 
14 Shane Kelly (Australia)
55 Ivan Vrba (Czech Republic)
66 José Antonio Escuredo Raimondez (Spain)
74 Mickaël Bourgain (France)
75 Laurent Gane (France)
82 Florian Rousseau (France)