The French stayed away from the podiums on Thursday during the second day of the world track cycling championships in Berlin.
After the relative disappointment of fourth place in team speed on Wednesday, the French speed leader Sebastien Vigier handed over the blue jacket for the keirin.
But like Rayan Helal, he failed in the semi-final of this event on the program of the Tokyo Olympic Games (July 24 / August 9).
In the women’s, Mathilde Gros, bronze medalist in speed at the 2019 Worlds, remained at the stage of the 8th finals.
Vigier, beaten on a tactical error, however, ensures that his feelings are good and impatiently awaits the individual speed tournament on Saturday and Sunday. “I feel very good, I feel really strong, on the keirin that I did today I was really very good, it’s a shame that I made a little tactical error, I was in good shape to play a podium I think, “he said after the race.
In the second semi-final, Helal was trapped from the start and finished last.
“As they say in the jargon, I had a series of + butchers,” commented the young Grenoblois (21 years old), “guys who take all risks, even if it can be very dangerous. I was behind, not in an ideal position, I suffered the whole race and I tried more to avoid the fall than anything else … “
But Helal also wants to retain the positive of his participation in the Worlds: “It’s a great experience, I’m really happy to have been able to do this test, it teaches me for the future,” he said.
– The feat of the Danes –
For Mathilde Gros, the only representative of the French women’s sprint, the event came to an end.
La Provencale, 20, however, beat her personal best over 200 meters (10.533 seconds), which earned her only 9th place in the qualifications and a roster.
If she placed in the 16th finals of the Colombian Bayona Pineda, beaten by a wheel, she lost in the next round against the Dutch Laurine van Riessen, also for a few centimeters (49 / 1000th of a second).
Her main goal in Berlin, however, remains the keirin on Sunday, an event in which she has held the European title since 2018
The feat of the day was achieved by Denmark, who took the gold medal in the team pursuit by breaking their world record again, in 3 minutes 44.672 seconds, in the final against New Zealand.
The Lasse quartet Norman Hansen, Julius Johansen, Frederik Rodenberg Madsen, and Rasmus Pedersen had improved the best world brand twice already on Wednesday and brought it to 3 min 46.203 seconds.
The Berlin track, where other records were broken, including that of team speed by the Dutch on Wednesday, is particularly fast, and the temperature and pressure conditions are ideal for achieving exceptional times.
In addition to the men’s team pursuit, three other titles were awarded on Thursday: in Keirin, the gold finally went to the Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen, already won the previous day in team speed.
Belarus Yauheni Karaliok won the non-Olympic scratch race (15 km on the model of a line race) before the ladies, the United States, led by Chloe Dygert, dominated Great Britain in the team pursuit.
