[ad_1]
Italy’s streak of sporting success continued in the Tokyo 2020 track cycling on Wednesday, while British Olympic legend Jason Kenny failed to keep pace in the opening rounds of the men’s individual sprint.
In the only final of the day at the Izu velodrome, Italy broke the world record for the men’s team pursuit to beat a stunned Denmark. The Danes had been heavily favored after winning the world title in 2020 and breaking the Olympic record in qualifying this week. But led by world road time trial champion Filippo Ganna – the son of a former Italian Olympic canoeist – the Italians held their ground against Denmark before defeating them on the last lap.
The teams were three tenths of a second apart after 1,000m and two tenths of a second at the halfway point. The Italians then lost nearly a second on the penultimate kilometer, before rushing home to beat the Danes by the smallest of margins. The Italians’ world record of 3min 42.032sec is more than eight seconds faster than the pace that won Britain’s gold in Rio five years ago (at the time a world record).
After Italy’s triumph at Euro 2020 and its double gold medals on Sunday in the 100m sprint and the men’s high jump, the success of the team pursuit continued into a golden summer for the country. In a scene eerily reminiscent of the pre-pandemic competition, one of the Italian riders lifted his bike into the air in front of a small Japanese crowd at the velodrome and triumphantly pumped it. The applause that rang out was a reminder of what could have been for those unorthodox Games.
“We are so happy with this gold medal,” said Francesco Lamon. “It’s a big, big gift for the whole group because it’s been five years since we started working for it, so we’re so happy. We have a great, great team like a family. So for me and for us, it’s an honor to be part of this group.
Australia beat New Zealand in the bronze medal race – a remarkable recovery after the Australians’ campaign in the team pursuit derailed on Monday with a broken handlebars sending Alex Porter flying to the ground.
In another day three action, Kenny admitted he might not have the speed to step onto the podium in the men’s individual sprint. Britain’s most successful Olympian after his silver medal in the team sprint on Tuesday lost pace 24 hours later. He placed eighth overall in the qualifying phase of the 200m flying, before narrowly beating Malaysia’s Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and local prospect Yuta Wakimoto in the opening laps.
“I struggled a bit – really struggled to recover from yesterday,” said Kenny. “Of course, eighth place also puts you at the heart of the battle. I just felt like every outing was a final and I did it like the last.
Kenny said teammate Jack Carlin is most likely to advance to the final. “Jack is really strong, he’s in a really good position,” Kenny said. “He’s definitely our best chance. Obviously the Dutch are quick – a little faster – but I think Jack may have the advantage in the race.
“From my perspective, I keep crunching, playing a bit of a supporting role, I guess. Each person I eliminate brings us closer to a place on the podium.
Carlin qualified third behind Dutch pair Jeffrey Hoogland and Harrie Lavreysen. But the Scotsman was not troubled in the opening rounds and will be a serious contender if he can continue his progress to the medal rounds on Thursday.
“So far, everything is fine,” Carlin said. “It was good to put a time on the board. I kind of showed signs in training that my flying stuff and individual stuff has improved a bit. It was nice to finally be able to show it – blow off the cobwebs today. “
The fallout from a fierce second day of track action on Tuesday, which involved official complaints and a nasty crash, continued. In the team pursuit series, Danish rider Frederik Madsen defeated Britain’s Charlie Tanfield in the race that would determine which team would qualify for the gold medal against Italy. In the end, Denmark took the win – and Britain was relegated to the seventh versus eighth round, which they won.
On Wednesday, Tanfield said Madsen apologized for the crash and his subsequent reaction (Madsen appeared to be yelling curses at Tanfield, who was lying on the track, though the Dane later said he was expressing his frustration with to the situation rather than its rival).
“He apologized to me,” Tanfield said. “At the start I didn’t really realize what he said or did – because I got right back on the bike, because we still had a chance to win – we didn’t really know.” Tanfield objected when asked if Denmark should have made it to the final, but criticized Madsen’s behavior. “I don’t know what the rules say, but I think it was not very sporty. He apologized. I wasn’t too impressed with his behavior, but he apologized – we’ve moved on.
Source link
