Laura Trott wins gold in omnium at World Championships in London
Monday 7 March 2016 06:28, UK
Laura Trott claimed her second gold medal of this year’s UCI Track Cycling World Championships by winning the omnium on Sunday.
The 23-year-old was second overnight but moved into a 12-point lead in the fourth and fifth events and then sealed an 18-point victory in the concluding points race.
It was her seventh world title and her third medal of the week, following a gold in the scratch race and a bronze in the team pursuit.
France's Laurie Berthon took the silver, while the United States' Sarah Hammer claimed the bronze.
Trott, who also won the omnium title in 2012, said: "I'm just so happy. It's taken me four years to get a gold medal back in the omnium. It was just incredible.
"I had a 12-point lead, but that's still less than a lap [overtaking the field, worth 20 points]. My coach, Paul [Manning], said I should win the first sprint, so once I had, I was comfortable and settled. It paid off and it worked. I'm so, so happy.
"I hope I can win it [the omnium] in Rio. I'm going to go there to win and I'm really looking forward to it now."
Trott went into the final day second to Hammer, albeit levels on points, but moved into a 12-point lead by finishing third in both the 500m time trial and flying lap.
She then won the first and fifth sprints in the points race to leave Hammer and Berthon needing to lap the field, but with Trott looking fresh and comfortable, they gave up on gold and instead focused on battling each other for silver.
Trott added: "Last night I went to bed and I didn't really know what was going to happen. I was a little disappointed that I didn't win the elimination race. I felt like the wind had been blown out of my sails a little bit.
"Today it was a new day, I woke up feeling really positive."
Trott's victory means she will go into her Olympic title defence in Rio this summer as favourite.
Later in the day, Jason Kenny finished sixth in the final of the keirin after a losing momentum in a slight collision with another rider in the final. Germany's Joachim Eilers won the gold.
Kenny said: "I did everything I could. I tried to stay out of the air as much as possible and follow wheels but I got caught a little bit on the hip alongside [Ed] Dawkins and just got hung out to dry. I ran out of legs."
