Track rider Lauriane Genest’s career in the individual sprint ended in the quarter-finals of the World Cycling Sports Championships. The Quebecer was eliminated by Britain’s Emma Finucane on Tuesday in the United Kingdom.
It was Finucane who started this duel in the inner corridor. Genest attacked quite early in this clash, before the last lap, but the Briton was watching her closely. The one who won silver in the team sprint with the British team quickly fought back to keep the lead. She sped up too and got away with the first run by 0.174 seconds.
Trailing 1-0, Lauriane Genest started the next round quickly, then slowed down to let her opponent take the lead with two laps to go. The strategy did not have the desired effect. Finucane protected the lead that had been offered to him and was the first to cross the finish line, 0.115 seconds ahead of Genest.
The Canadian was ranked 8th in qualifying and defeated Poland’s Nikola Sibiak in the round of 16 (0.512 seconds). In her duel of the round of 16, the runner from Lévis narrowly won (0.017 seconds) after resisting the rise of the Chinese Guo Yufang in the last meters.
The semi-finals of this event will take place on Wednesday. The reigning world champion, Frenchwoman Mathilde Gros, was also stopped in the quarter-finals. She eliminated Canadian Kelsey Mitchell in the round of 16.
For her part, Ariane Bonhomme was in action in the points race in Glasgow, where she had taken part in her first Junior World Championships, ten years earlier. The Gatineau resident scored her only two points of the race in the fourth sprint and finished 12th.
Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky defended her world championship title with 39 points. Australia’s Georgia Baker followed with 31 points, while Japan’s Tsuyaka Uchino finished third at 14 points.
Mathias Guillemette from Trifluvien raced the Madison at the end of the day with Dylan Bibic, decorated with a silver medal the day before in the elimination race. The Canadian duo scored a point in the ninth sprint. Meanwhile, the Belgians were temporarily in the lead with 18 points, closely followed by the British (15 points) and the Dutch (13 points).
The latter came back strong and claimed the victory with their 37 points. The British (35 points) and Australians (34 points) completed the podium.
Guillemette and Bibic were passed twice, which put them in 13th place. They decided to retire from the race with 32 laps to go.
In para-cycling, Tarek Dahab (C2) competed in the mixed team sprint event with Kate O’Brien and Mel Pemble. The Canadians posted the 10th time in qualifying, 7.510 seconds behind the representatives of China, first in 48.507 s.
Dahab, who is in her first World Championships, will be racing on the road later this week.