Cyclist
Pro Log: Chris Hoy receives terminal diagnosis; Track Worlds highlights; Wout van Aert on The Masked Singer?
Welcome to the latest edition of Pro Log, where we look at the pro cycling news from the past week. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
- UCI Track World Championships, Men’s Madison, Sun 20th Oct: 1st Roger Kluge and Tim Torn Teutenberg, Germany, 76; 2nd Lindsay De Vylder and Fabio van den Bossche, Belgium, 60; 3rd Niklas Larsen and Michael Mørkøv, Denmark, 59.
- UCI Track World Championships, Women’s Keirin, Sun 20th Oct: 1st Mina Sato, Japan; 2nd Hetty van de Wouw, Netherlands; 3rd Katy Marchant, Great Britain.
- UCI Track World Championships, Men’s Elimination Race, Sun 20th Oct: 1st Tobias Aagaard Hansen, Denmark; 2nd Elia Viviani, Italy; 3rd Dylan Bibic, Canada.
- UCI Track World Championships, Women’s Points Race, Sun 20th Oct: 1st Julie Norman Leth, Denmark, 43; 2nd Lotte Kopecky, Belgium, 40; 3rd Lara Gillespie, Ireland, 39.
- UCI Track World Championships, Men’s Sprint, Sun 20th Oct: 1st Harrie Lavreysen, Netherlands; 2nd Jeffrey Hoogland, Netherlands; 3rd Kaiya Ota, Japan.
- UCI Track World Championships, Women’s 3km Pursuit, Sat 19th Oct: 1st Anna Morris, Great Britain, 3min 08.393sec; 2nd Chloe Dygert, United States, 3min 08.755sec; Bryony Botha, New Zealand, 3min 21.086sec.
- UCI Track World Championships, Men’s Omnium, Sat 19th Oct: 1st Lindsay De Vylder, Belgium, 150; 2nd Simone Consonni, Italy, 138; 3rd Yanne Dorenbos, Netherlands, 128.
Chris Hoy reveals terminal diagnosis
British cycling legend Chris Hoy has revealed his cancer diagnosis is terminal and that he has two to four years to live. Speaking to the Sunday Times, the 48-year-old believed he had strained his shoulder before a scan revealed a tumour. A secondary scan found additional tumours in his pelvis, hip, spine and rib.
Hoy said, ‘You remind yourself, aren’t I lucky that there is medicine I can take that will fend this off for as long as possible?’
Great Britain shine at Track World Championships
Great Britain equalled their best result at the 2024 Track World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark, with 13 medals in total, claiming second overall in the table behind the Netherlands.
It was an all-woman affair for gold medals. Anna Morris put in the performance of a lifetime to beat defending champion Chloé Dygert of the United States in the individual pursuit, while Emma Finucane beat the Netherlands’ Hetty van de Wouw 2-0 for rainbow bands in the sprint.
The pair won an additional two gold medals, with Morris winning the team pursuit alongside Jessica Roberts, Katie Archibald and Josie Knight, and Finucane in the team sprint with Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell against the Netherlands.
Elsewhere, it was a double gold for Japan in the keirin, with the rainbow jersey coming home to the place where the discipline originated thanks to Kento Yamasaki, who became the first Japanese rider to win in the discipline since 1987, and Mina Sato for the women.
The Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes had a phenomenal debut Track World Championships as she won the scratch race ahead of defending champion Jennifer Valente. Great Britain’s Josh Charlton broke the world record set by Filippo Ganna in qualifying for the individual pursuit with a time of 3min 59.304sec, but was bested by Italy’s Jonathan Milan in the gold medal ride.
Some big names retired at the end of the five-day event. Danish rider Julie Norman Leth bowed out after winning the points race and the madison, the latter alongside Amalie Dideriksen. Michael Mørkøv, another Dane, raced in his last Track Worlds and won bronze in the madison with Niklas Larsen. Great Britain’s Dan Bigham also retired from pro racing after he won a bronze medal against teammate Charlie Tanfield in the individual pursuit.
Harrie Lavreysen does the triple
Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen came into the Track World Championships as the defending champion in the sprint and team sprint. He would also compete in the keirin, in which he is a three-time World Champion, and make his debut in the men’s 1km time-trial.
He got off to a perfect start, winning gold in the team sprint with Roy van den Berg and Jeffrey Hoogland against Australia, but a surprise exit in the semi-finals of the keirin meant he only managed eighth overall.
His next event was described as a ‘challenge’ in the 1km time-trial, in which he was making his World Championships debut. In typical Lavreysen fashion, the 27-year-old topped the standings with 57.321sec for victory, 0.9sec ahead of defending champion and friend Hoogland.
A couple of days later, he finished the World Championships with another gold medal by once again beating Hoogland in the men’s sprint. With his 16 titles in total, it had been a record-breaking week, Lavreysen now the most accomplished track cyclist in the World Championships after overtaking France’s Arnaud Tournant (14).
Eli Iserbyt handed three-race ban
Belgian cyclocross rider Eli Iserbyt has been fined 2,500 Swiss francs (approx £2,225) and given a three-race ban after he stomped on rival Ryan Kamp’s bike. Iserbyt and Kamp both came down in a crash at Exact Cross Beringen last week and Iserbyt stamped on his opponent’s bike before the pair exchanged words. He was soon pulled from the race.
Iserbyt apologised for his actions on social media and went on to place second in his next race prior to his suspension. Kamp has since revealed Iserbyt apologised to him on the phone.
Is Wout van Aert on The Masked Singer?
Rumours are flying that Wout van Aert will be revealed as the Squirrel on the Belgian version of The Masked Singer this Friday. The show has celebrities disguise themselves in costumes and sing popular songs while panellists try to guess their identity.
Van Aert had previously posted a squirrel emoji on a Strava ride in May around the time of filming, and another with the title ‘lange staart’ which translates to ‘long tail.’
It isn’t the first time a pro cyclist has been on the show. Nairo Quintana famously featured on the Colombian version of the programme in 2021 while dressed as a chameleon.
You can find a clip of Van Aert apparently singing Blur’s ‘Song 2’ here. Do you think it’s him?
See you next week.
The post Pro Log: Chris Hoy receives terminal diagnosis; Track Worlds highlights; Wout van Aert on The Masked Singer? appeared first on Cyclist.