Thomas ends wait for gold

‘It’s a new generation’

HONG KONG, April 15, (AFP): Benjamin Thomas said France had their sights firmly fixed on the next Olympics after he broke his country’s gold medal drought and claimed his first major title at the Track Cycling World Championships on Saturday.

The 21-year-old won his first rainbow jersey in thrilling style, with a charge on the last lap of the final race of the four-event omnium to snatch victory by two points.

It came on a busy penultimate night in Hong Kong when Russia won two gold medals and the women’s madison, which cycling chiefs want included in the Olympics, made its world championships debut.

Thomas’s victory gave France only their second medal of the competition, but he said a youthful French team was starting to gel ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“It’s a new generation. We are all young. We are focused on Tokyo 2020,” he said. “In two or three years we will be one strong team.”

Thomas was second in the standings after the scratch, tempo and elimination races, and he was level on points with New Zealand’s Aaron Gate before the final sprint in the 100-lap points race.

“I never panicked. I was confident. During the last sprint, I knew if I beat Aaron Gate I would be world champion,” he said, calling his victory “a bit special.

“The world championships did not start well for France. We only got one medal New Zealand cyclist Ethan Mitchell (top), wins the bronze medal from Britain’s Ryan Owens in the Men’s Sprint Finals at the 2017 Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong on April

15. (AFP)