2007 European Track Championships

 

July 11-15, 2007; Cottbus, Germany

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Under 23 Men's Sprint (Day 2 of this event)

 

Esteemed company for the Brit Jason Kenny (right). Gregory Bauge (champion), he who did a 9.9 in the qualifying run and Kevin Sireau who did a 10.0 were too good for him but Jason is already showing he can ride at this level despite only just being a first year senior.

 

Jason Kenny rode out of his skin in the finals for this competition to win the Bronze medal after beating the ace German sprinter Maximilian Levy 2:1 in his first year as a senior. In the semi finals, Kenny lost to Frenchman Kevin Sireau (France)  2:0  and after losing the first heat of his final for a Bronze, it was looking like a fourth place.

 

Then, he came back from the dead in the next heat after being out jumped, having his rear wheel skip out on him in the final turn and he still managed to get to the line first! The final heat was so much more straight forward but one thing is for sure – Jason had to work harder for this medal than he did for his medals as a Junior when he was a class above the rest.

 

Jason Kenny: “The highlight for me was beating Levy. After the qualifier I was a bit worried that I had been chucked in the deep end straight away what with Matt and I being a few tenths down but as it turned out, we both got through the first round, and I had a good race in round 2 and suddenly I was in the last four.”

 

“I was a little worried after being beaten in the first heat (final)  but I knew I had made a pretty crucial error to lose it. He (Levy) had ridden two reps as well so I knew he would be getting tired. So it was a case of going out there and not making any mistakes.”

 

On what he learnt from it “To look behind you when you do a track stand is the main one!.” On the second heat of the final when he looked dead and buried when Levy took a flyer, Jason explains “In a panic, I almost through myself off my bike which didn’t help in me chasing him down!”

 

“This racing is a lot longer and a lot faster than the junior races. There is a lot more going on with gears too with some on 100 and some on 94, and you are constantly trying to guess what the other person is doing as well as trying to ride to your own strengths as well. We have raced loads this summer so we are pretty used to it. Matt and I have travelled halfway across the world though and still ended up racing each other.”

 

Jason had to use more than sheer power and speed to beat his wiley opponent from Germany.

 

He loses the first heat but wins the next two.

 

 

Under 23 Mens Sprint (Day 1 of this event)
Kicking off the evening session was a sensational qualifying session when Gregory Bauge blitzed the track record with a 9.903 flying 200 metres shortly after his French teammate Kevin Sireau, France had recorded a 10.037 which also broke the old track record. The Great Britain riders (Matthew Crampton and Jason Kenny) didn’t do too bad either, both doing a 10.34 which was to work against them later however.

 

Round 1
Things continued to go well for the Great Britain riders when both got through their first round heats with victories. In heat 3 Jason Kenny beat Maximilian Levy and Rubio Alvaro whilst in heat 4 Matthew Crampton beat Robert Forstemann and Vasileios Galanis.

 

2nd Round
Having done the same time in the qualifiers, the two Brits were seeded together and met each other in the second round. One of them had to lose and in a nail biting close finish, Jason Kenny beat Matthew Crampton to go through to the semi finals.

 

Matthew Crampton meanwhile went to the Repecharge where German favourite Maximilian Levy beat Adam Ptacnik and Matthew to go through to the semi final while Matthew had to race Adam Ptacnik for 5th and sixth and in yet another tight finish, Crampton lost the dash for the line to end the competition in 6th place.

 

Jason edges out Matthew in the second round.

 

Jason Kenny wins his round 1 heat from a crowd favourite.

 

Matthew Crampton wins the drag race to the line in round 1.

 

A lap of this track is a long way giving it full gas and after leading the sprint out, Matthew Crampton had to give best to his rivals in the closing meteres of the sprint.

 

 

RESULTS

 

Final
1. Grégory Bauge (FRA) 2:1
2. Kevin Sireau (FRA)

 

Bronze
3. Jason Kenny (GBR) 2:1
4. Maximilian Levy (GER).

 

 

Semi Finals

Kevin Sireau (FRA)  beat Jason Kenny 2:0

Grégory Bauge (FRA) beat Maximilian Levy (GER)

 

 

Round 2

Jason Kenny beat Matthew Crampton

 

Round 1

Gregory Bauge beat Schidt and Ptackik
Kevin Sireau beat Yakashevsky and Stumpf
Jason Kenny beat Levy and Alonso
Matthew Crampton beat Forstemann and Galanis

 

 

Qual
1. Gregory Bauge, Fra, 9.903
2. Kevin Sireau, Fra, 10.037
3. Maximilian Levy, Ger, 10.129
4. Robert Forstemann, Ger 10.248
5. Matthew Crampton, GB, 10.342
6. Jason Kenny, GB, 10.349