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Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Jolien D’hoore has won the Bronze Medal in the Scratch Race at the UCI World Track Championships, in Hong Kong, in a close sprint for the line. Riding in the pale blue colours of Belgium, the Olympic Bronze Medalist was just unable to come around Italian Rachele Barbieri as she passed the long, early move from former black and orange rider Elinor Barker of Great Britain. Barbieri took the Gold, while Barker held on to take the Silver. 
“I tool the wheel of Sarah Hammer [United States] in the sprint because I know she's strong and always starts her sprint quite early but she didn't go this time,” D’hoore explained afterwards. “So I was a bit too far back for gold. “It’s too bad because I felt there was more possible.” D’hoore was part of a six-rider group that managed to lap the field in the second half of the 40 lap - 10km - race. The first 20 laps had not seen any successful breakaways but, an attack from the Hammer, just after the halfway point, pulled the group clear. With D’hoore, Hammer Barbieri and Barker were Kirsten Wild (Netherlands), Jasmin Duehring (Canada) and, with most of the best riders in the race there, they were able to work their way around to the back of the peloton. Having caught the bunch, the six riders quickly made their way to the front. Wild led into the final three laps, but Barker managed to come around the Dutch sprinter. The British rider had also gone too early, however, and was overtaken by Barbieri on the line, but just managed to hold off D’hoore. “I knew when Wild and Hammer attacked, it was the moment to be there. It was the right move,” D’hoore explained. “I'm happy with the feeling I had in the race, and I get another chance in the Madison.” Result |
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