Victoria Pendleton of Britain boosted her bid for a first Olympic gold by easing into the semi-finals of the women’s sprint tournament on Monday.
Pendleton dominated Simona Krupeckaite of Lithania over two legs of their quarter-final to book a semi-final clash on Tuesday with Willy Kanis of the Netherlands.
In another quarter-final Anna Meares dominated Frenchwoman Clara Sanchez over two legs to book a place in the last four only seven months after escaping permanent paralysis following a racing crash which left her in a wheelchair.
Australian ace Meares, who won 500metre time trial gold and sprint bronze in Athens, will now meet China’s Guo Shuang in her semi-final on Tuesday.
Guo disposed of veteran Natallia Tsylinskaya over two legs. Kanis qualified for the semi-final after a comfortable two-leg win over world keirin champion Jennie Reed of the United States.
Krupeckaite, Tsylinskaya, Sanchez and Reed will now race for the little regarded fifth to eighth places. Pendleton, a three-time world sprint champion, is on the form of her life and Kanis will have to produce something big if she is to beat the Englishwoman.