The British team had a lot to celebrate in the Track World Cup on home soil in Manchester. Chris Hoy won the Keirin, while Geraint Thomas confirmed his pursuit form by catching Dominique Cornu in the final. Chris Newton took the points race and Victoria Pendleton the sprint.
Hoy’s toughest moments did not come in the final. “The semi was a bit hairy,” said Hoy to the Guardian. “I didn’t want to be in that position in the final. People presume this race is just a formality but it shows how unpredictable it can be.” He easily beat Christos Volikakis (Greece) and Maximilian Levy (Germany) in the final, after his tough run in the semis.
Hoy was stuck behind the leaders in the semis with one lap to go. He had to go around the others, up the embankment and take his momentum from there.
Thomas had produced an extraordinary ride in the qualification and continued it in the final. He was on track for an even faster time, but slowed down when he passed Belgian Cornu with 300m to go.
Newton took the points race by a small margin of four points. Ho Ting Kwok of Hong Kong Pro Cycling gave Newton the run for his money all the way to the line. Newton prevailed with 37 points over Kwok’s 33.
Pendleton needed three runs both in the semis (against Belarusian Olga Panarina) and in the final (against Chinese rider Shuang Guo to win the sprints competition.
The two events where foreigners won were the men’s 1000m time trial (Stefan Nimke, Germany) and the women’s scratch race (Belinda Goss, Australia).
The track world cup ends tomorrow.