Lavreysen wins fourth straight men’s sprint gold at cycling worlds

FRANCE: Dutch rider Harrie Lavreysen extended his sprint supremacy with a fourth straight gold in the men’s event on the final day of the world track championships in France on Sunday.

Olympic champion Lavreysen, winner of the keirin race on Thursday, got the better of Australian Matthew Richardson over two runs to claim his 11th world title at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome outside Paris.

The 25-year-old, who started his cycling career on mountain bikes, follows in the footsteps of Japanese legend Koichi Nakano, the last rider to win four consecutive sprint titles in the 1980s.

Frenchman Gregory Bauge won four times in a row between 2009 and 2012 but lost his 2011 gold medal for breaches of anti-doping rules.

Italy’s Elia Viviani successfully defended his men’s elimination title ahead of New Zealander Corbin Strong and Britain’s Ethan Vernon.

Earlier Sunday, Benjamin Thomas and Donavan Grondin gave hosts France their third gold of the competition in the madison.

Britain’s Ethan Hayter and Oliver Wood were second in the 200-lap event, covering 50km including 20 sprints.

In the women’s events, Britain’s Neah Evans won her first major individual title with gold in the points race.

The 32-year-old Scot, an Olympic team pursuit silver medallist in Tokyo, finished ahead of Denmark’s Julie Leth with American Jennifer Valente finishing third, meaning she missed out on a second title after winning the omnium on Friday.

Defending champion Lotte Kopecky of Belgium, winner of the madison and elimination race during the week, finished fourth at the velodrome which will host the cycling events at the 2024 Olympics.