Sprint Rounds

The early rounds in the sprint tournament were this morning. Suffice to say, it's amazing. You needed to ride an 11.1 sec 200 m to qualify, and they took the top 18. It was strange to see Teun Mulder winning his ride. A consolation ride. For 22nd. These guys are fast. I'll let the pictures say the rest.

There were no lack of tight finishes. Here Jason Kenny (UK) beats Adam Duvendeck (Momentum) with a picture prefect bike throw.


Ben Barczewski (T-Town Express) staged the only upset in the first round, eliminating Josiah Ng (Malaysia) in what was probably the closest finish of the morning.


A Mavic 5-spoke rear wheel? You can't buy that...


...but if your bike has a sticker saying "A. Meares" you're not buying wheels. You're getting paid to use them.

(aside: my fastest flying 200 at T-Town was an 11.7 before junior nats a few years ago. Anna Meares qualified with an 11.6 this morning.)


Here's a tactical question for you, (dis): If you're Kasper Jessens (Denmark) and a guy wearing an Australian skinsuit with world champion stripes named Shane Kelly is winding it up a full half-track above you, are you screwed in the sprint?


Answer: Yes


Roberto Chiappa (Italy) has been making it look easy, qualifying first with a 10.41, and here easily dispatching Matt Crampton (UK).


Ryan Nelman (T-Town Express) put on a good show. Here he winds up the sprint, leading out ahead of Matt Crampton (UK), who took an awesome run at him...


...but it wasn't quite enough, and Nelman moved on.


In fact, by beating Jason Kenny here, Nelman eliminated both of the British riders. He has no lack of speed this year.

Stay tuned for more pictures and a full report from the final tonight. I'm predicting an epic showdown between Bailey and Chiappa!