PALMA, Spain (Reuters) – Flying Dutchman Harrie Layreysen made a winning start to the UCI Track Champions League on Saturday with another dominant display in the sprint discipline in which he is virtually unbeatable.
The 26-year-old Olympic and world champion outclassed the field in the Palma velodrome in the first of five rounds of the Champions League which culminates with a double-header in London next month.
Lavreysen bagged the 20 points on offer for the winner and added another 20 when he won the keirin.
Britain’s Emma Finucane, wearing the rainbow jersey after winning the world title in Glasgow in August, was beaten to first place in the women’s sprint by Germany’s Alessa-Catriona Propster.
The Track Champions League features 36 of the world’s best endurance riders and 36 of the top sprinters. Endurance riders compete in scratch and elimination races with the sprinters contesting sprint and keirin.
Britain’s twice Olympic chamopion Katie Archibald, winner of the inaugural Champions League in 2021, enjoyed a productive first night, winning the elimination race and finishing second in the scratch race behind Lily Williams.
Japan’s Eiya Hashimoto topped the charts after the first two events in the men’s endurance series.
Points are awarded throughout the five rounds to decide the winners in the men’s and women’s sprint and endurance categories. The next round is in Berlin.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
