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2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - CM
Great Britain, March 26-30, 2008
Day 1 - March 26: Men's scratch race
Lisouski wins in heroic solo attack
By Ben Atkins in Manchester
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Aliaksandr Lisouski of Belarus was a deserving winner of the Men's Scratch Race after being the most consistently aggressive rider throughout. As early as the first few laps, Lisouski attacked his rivals in an effort to get a lap up - and the almost assured victory that would come with it. The Belarusian managed to get the back of the bunch in sight, but a surge in speed from riders at the front meant that he was unable to join on and he faded back again.
The mid part of the race was peppered with attacks from various riders, but none as effective as Lisouski's. The major incidents otherwise included a lost chain from Malaysian rider Hariff Salleh and a small crash going into the back straight that brought down young British rider Steven Burke.
As the race entered its closing stages, two pairs of riders escaped including Japanese rider Kazuhiro Mori and World Cup champion Roger Kluge. As the attack's impetus was lost, Mori set off alone and looked for all the world like he might hang on for the victory, but Lisouski was having none of it.
Attacking alone once more, Lisouski gradually reeled in the Japanese rider to catch him just before the bell. Once caught by the Belarusian rider, Mori visibly deflated and was quickly caught by the head of the bunch, but still managed to finish in an creditable sixth. Despite fading considerably, Lisouski managed to cross the line just ahead of the charging pack led by Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands) and Kluge.
Results
1 Aliaksandr Lisouski (Belarus) 2 Wim Stroetinga (Netherlands) 3 Roger Kluge (Germany) 4 Rafal Ratajczyk (Poland) 5 Angel Dario Colla (Argentina) 6 Kazuhiro Mori (Japan) 7 Andreas Mueller (Austria) 8 Juan Pablo Forero Carreno (Colombia) 9 Hayden Godfrey (New Zealand) 10 Luis Mansilla (Chile) 11 Martin Blaha (Czech Republic) 12 Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Denmark) 13 Jérôme Neuville (France) 14 Tim Mertens (Belgium) 15 Ho Ting Kwok (Hong Kong, China) 16 Vadim Shaekhov (Uzbekistan) 17 Martino Marcotto (Italy) 18 Michael Friedman (United States Of America) 19 Ivan Kovalev (Russian Federation) 20 Leigh Howard (Australia) DNF Martin Gilbert (Canada) DNF Steven Burke (Great Britain) DNF Hariff Salleh (Malaysia) DNF Oleksandr Martynenko (Ukraine)
