Track Cycling

Jason Kenny wins keirin silver in Hong Kong – British Cycling


Jason Kenny won keirin silver and Mark Stewart and Fred Wright Madison bronze at the third round of the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup series in Hong Kong this weekend.

Six-time Olympic champion Kenny had to fight his way through the repechage, but did so impressively to book his semi-final place. There, he was second behind Malaysia’s Aziz Awang, advancing to the final where he was beaten to gold by Callum Saunders of New Zealand.

The medal continues Kenny’s recent impressive keirin form. He produced a strong set of performances at the Glasgow round of the track world cup in November, eventually being edged out of the medals and finishing fourth on that occasion.

On Sunday, Kenny’s involvement in the sprint competition was ended at the 1/8 finals stage by long-time adversary, Gregory Bauge of France.

Mark Stewart and Fred Wright in the men's madison in Hong Kong at the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

Stewart – who took omnium silver in Glasgow – linked up with Wright to add to Britain’s medal tally on the final evening of competition.

The duo scored consistently throughout the event, establishing an early lead before the German pairing of Roger Kluge and Theo Reinhardt took control of the race.

The Britons slipped out of the medal positions during the middle part of the contest, but won the 13th sprint to put themselves back into contention, and scored in five of the remaining seven sprints after that.

They went into the last sprint in a two-way fight for silver, but despite claiming six points, they were forced to settle for bronze after New Zealand’s Tom Sexton and Campbell Stewart crossed the line first to move their score on to 38, five ahead of Great Britain. The Germans were the only team to gain a lap on the field, and took gold with a score of 52.

Sophie Capewell in the women's sprint in Hong Kong at the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

Earlier in the weekend, Stewart had also contested the omnium, and looked in a good position for a medal after a strong opening three rounds – fourth in the scratch race, eighth in the tempo and third in the elimination – saw him go into the points race in third place.

However, the Scot was pushed down the leaderboard and ended in seventh.

Sophie Capewell was also in action in Hong Kong, but was eliminated in the keirin repechage and didn’t progress past the sprint qualification round.

The world cup series now moves on to Cambridge, New Zealand, next weekend.