Lavreysen is world keirin champion for the fifth time

Harrie Lavreysen defended the rainbow jersey he reclaimed in Santiago last year, with a series of strong performances in Shanghai.

With big names like Nicholas Paul, Leigh Hoffman and Azizulhasni Awang eliminated earlier in the day, the Dutchman’s main threat in the final seemed to be Kaiya Ota, whose recent focus has been on match sprint.

Ota moved to the front as soon as the pacer left the track, but it was only a matter of time until Lavreysen would appear in his peripheral vision.

Lavreysen got his nose in front as the bell rang for the last lap, but Ota fought hard to defend his position on the black line, forcing the Dutchman up the track. Lavreysen found the extra momentum he needed out of the final corner, and finally moved clear of Ota’s front wheel as the line approached.

Maximilian Dörnbach had been on Harrie’s wheel from the start, and held on to claim silver – his first medal at world level since juniors. Shinji Nakano had followed the German towards the front, and tried to come around him in the home straight – but he ran out of track, and he had to settle for a second world bronze of his career.

Nikita Kiriltsev finished in fifth, but was relegated to sixth behind Mateusz Rudyk, having been judged to have ‘enter(ed) the sprinter’s lane when the opponent was already there.’

With such a strong field, early exits for some of the sport’s biggest names had been inevitable. One first-round repechage had three of the world’s current top 7 sprinters, with only two places up for grabs: Hoffman and Cristian Ortega claimed them, sending world number one Paul back to his hotel, along with Lowie Nulens and Mikhail Yakovlev.

Other reps saw the end of Kevin Quintero, Lucas Oscar Vilar, Bohdan Danylchuk, all of whom came to Shanghai in the world top 20.

The drama continued into the quarter finals. Hoffman could only manage fifth, not enough to make the semis. It was one fairytale too many this year for Azizulhasni Awang, last in the last heat – not the farewell he was hoping to give long-time national team boss, John Beasley. Zhiwei Li and Tom Derache were given the exact same time in the second heat: the judges gave it to the French rider.

In the first semi final, Nikita Kiriltsev was drawn behind the pacer, and found himself with an unexpected gap, as Dominik Topinka dropped back. With two laps left, he decided this was his chance, and climbed out of the saddle, looking to accelerate away. Lavreysen began his move with a lap and a half left, steadily eating into Kiriltsev’s lead, and easing past him as the finish approached. Rudyk stayed on Lavreysen’s wheel from start to finish, claiming the third place he needed to progress.

The second semi final featured the last remaining Chinese rider in the competition, Han Xie. He moved to the front with two laps left, but the Japanese pair of Ota and Nakano showed patience in the middle of the line, waiting until the final lap to make their move. Ota overtook Han in the back straight, with Nakano jumping on his wheel for second, and Dörnbach claiming third as the Chinese rider tired.

The minor final was won by Daniel Barber, ahead of Han.