Hetty van de Wouw goes into Sunday’s European continental championships keirin competition as a world record holder, after winning Saturday’s 1km time trial in Heusden-Zolder.
The UCI announced in May 2023 that it would be changing its rules from 1 January 2025 to equalise the distances for men and women in track competition. That meant the sprinters’ time trial would double in distance from 500m to 1km, and the individual pursuit would increase from 3000 to 4000m.
The first record to be recognised by the UCI was Taky Marie-Divine Kouamé‘s 1:08.399 at France’s national championships in Loudéac, Britanny.
That time stood until 26 January, when it was beaten by Belgium’s Marith Vanhove at Heusden-Zolder, with 1:07.287.
Just a few days later, on 29 January, individual neutral athlete Alina Lysenko posted a 1:05.622, competing at Russia’s national championships in Saint Petersburg. However, UCI measures currently in force against Russia state that no events taking place in Russia, including Russian national championships, can be registered on the UCI calendar – and the record was not homologated.
Oceania’s continental championships took place earlier this week: and New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews smashed Vanhove’s record in kilo qualifying on Friday, with 1:04.697. Her fellow Kiwi Shaane Fulton was on track at the same time, and also beat Vanhove’s time. The pair had a second chance that evening in the final: Andrews was faster, but couldn’t quite dip under 1:05.
The record was to stand for a little more than 24 hours. Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands was fastest in qualifying at the European Championships, but after a blistering 750m, she faded (or eased off?) a little in the final lap, posting a time of 1:04.729, just a few hundredths off Andrews’s record. Lysenko, expected to threaten the record herself, failed to even make the final.
Given how much it takes out of the legs, times in finals are typically slower than earlier in the day, when riders are fresh. But that wasn’t the case this time: van de Wouw found the extra fractions of a second she needed, posting a time of 1:04.497 to claim the new world record.
How long will that one stand? We have Asia’s continental championships next week in Malaysia, as well as several countries’ national championships – notably, New Zealand’s in Invercargill at the end of the month. It’s British nationals next week in Manchester, but there’s no kilo (for men or women) in the programme.