Harrie Lavreysen flirts with danger in qualifying, then takes down Richardson to claim yet another world title
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Follow us on GoogleHarrie Lavreysen became the world champion in the Keirin event at the Track Cycling World Championships. The 28-year-old Dutchman was almost eliminated in the run-up to the decisive final, but was on target when the medals were handed out. Jeffrey Hoogland took the bronze.
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Lavreysen and Hoogland had already made a good start to the World Championships on day 1, winning the world title in the Team Sprint together with Roy van den Berg. Was Lavreysen feeling a little tired on day 2? In Santiago, Chile, the multiple world, Olympic, and European champion got off to a slow start. He was forced into the repechage in the Keirin.
In the final, however, his legs were back in top form. Lavreysen once again had perfect timing in the final five and ultimately won by a bike length. Twenty-five-year-old Leifg Hoffman from Australia came second, Hoogland third. “I am extremely proud and very happy with bronze,” the latter told NOS. “I had a plan and was in the final to win. It felt good, but this was the maximum I could achieve.”
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Lavreysen narrowly escaped elimination in the Keirin preliminaries
Lavreysen was understandably delighted with his performance, talking to Dutch television, even though he narrowly escaped elimination in the preliminaries. He still reached the quarterfinals after a repechage. “I feel excellent and am very happy with it. However, it was a tough day because I lost the qualifying race.”
“I tried something in that race by starting from the back a little later. I was drawn to the back and wanted to get to know the track. Unfortunately, that didn't work out,” said Lavreysen. “After that, I was able to regroup, and in the quarterfinals, I was even able to ride in such a way that Matthew Richardson (Lavreysen's big rival, ed.) was eliminated. Tactically, that was very nice.”
According to Lavreysen, the final was “the perfect execution.” And so there was gold again. “You don't just win the Keirin title, and I didn't win it in the last two World Championships. For this tournament, I wanted to go for four world titles, but I waited to say that until I had won the Keirin. Now that's done, four titles is a nice goal, and that's what we're going for.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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