Video: Irish begin Worlds; Canada pursuiters take huge tumble
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Lydia Gurley was the first ride in action at the World Track Champs in Hong Kong.
The Irish campaign has begun at the World Track Championships in Honk Kong. Lydia Gurley the only member of the team in action on the opening day.
She placed 15th in the scratch race, perhaps a disappointing result considering she won bronze at the UCI World Cup in Cali in February.
However, the 32-year-old still has two races remaining at these championships. She goes in the madison with Lydia Boylan and will also compete in the points race.
In other news from the track, the Canadian team pursuiters suffered a horror crash. One of their riders rubbed a wheel and all four of the line-up came down very hard, see below.
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In her 40km race yesterday, Gurley was unfortunate to miss a key breakaway. It went on to lap the field.
And while the Irish woman gave chase with Ukraine’s Tetyana Klimchenko it was not to be for her this time around.
The world title was won by Italy’s Rachele Barbieri, with Elinor Barker (Great Britain) and Jolien d’Hoore (Belgium) taking silver and bronze.
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A really bad day for CDN men's TP squad. Crash at #twc2017 Reports of injury for @Aidancaves https://t.co/zoV6rWFcUA pic.twitter.com/sQ1fZ8dybJ
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) April 12, 2017
“I was a bit disappointed, as I was strong and comfortable in the race,” Gurley said after her event.
“I missed the main group after slightly hesitating, so the chase with the Ukraine rider was a key moment for me.
“Usually with two riders chasing you work well together, but she kept forcing me up the track, pulling up at bad points, so we eventually lost the gap we formed.
“It’s just one of those things; I gave it a go, it didn’t work out, I’ll accept it and move on.”
Gurley said the pressure of riding her first Worlds was different to riding World Cups. However, with her first outing completed she will perhaps feel more comfortable for her remaining races.
“It was my first World Champs, and I had to settle my own nerves before the race, which I managed to do.
“I’m glad to have this one in the bag and now I can move on and look forward to the next races.
“World Championships are like World Cups, but with more pressure.
“Every time you race there is an opportunity to win the rainbow jersey, so the competition is harder and the racing is harder.
“There’s more at stake, but you expect that. I have two more races in the Championships, and I’m feeling confident after today.
“We have all worked really hard, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of them racing too, we have a great team.”
Today, Thursday, Felix English will be the sole rider flying the flag for Ireland. He competes in the scratch race and can definitely medal.
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