Harrie Lavreysen reaches sprint semi-finals, chasing eighth world title

Harrie Lavreysen has reached the semi-finals of the men’s sprint at the World Track Cycling Championships in Shanghai, putting him in contention for an eighth world title in the event and a 23rd overall. He beat Australia’s Daniel Barber in the quarter-finals on Saturday. The semi-finals and final are scheduled for Sunday. [1]

Lavreysen will face Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicholas Paul in the semi-finals. He qualified with the second-fastest time, then beat Japan’s Shinji Nakano in the round of 16 before taking both quarter-final heats against Barber. [1]

The Dutch rider has already won the keirin title in Shanghai and, with Jeffrey Hoogland and Roy van den Berg, the team sprint. He has two world titles in the kilometre time trial, an event he did not contest at these championships. [1]

After qualifying, Lavreysen told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “I hope to ride better tomorrow and show how it should be done.” He said he was disappointed that Australia’s Leigh Hoffman had recorded a faster time: “I had really set out to be the fastest there, but I was way off and I was really annoyed about that.” [1]

In the women’s madison, Dutch riders Lisa van Belle and Nienke Veenhoven finished eighth. Veenhoven replaced Lorena Wiebes, who did not start because she had not sufficiently recovered from a heavy crash on Friday. Great Britain won gold, France silver and Japan bronze. [1]