Josh Tarling and Josh Charlton won Great Britain’s first gold medals on day three of the Track Cycling World Championships in Santiago.
Tarling delivered a points race masterclass to land gold before Charlton picked up his first rainbow jersey in the individual pursuit. Meanwhile, Joe Truman claimed bronze in the men’s kilo.
Tarling picked up maximum points in the third sprint of the points race before launching a bold solo move to gain a lap. From there the 21-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider, who won a stage at the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, regularly collected points in the sprints, finishing second in the final dash to seal the title by eight points over American Peter Moore.
Tarling said: “It felt pretty good. I think it was good that I got those early points in just so I knew the legs were there.”
Charlton, who took silver in the same event last year, produced a dominant display to qualify for the final 2.248 seconds faster than opponent Rasmus Pederson of Denmark.
The Brit established a two-second lead within the opening kilometre and eventually crossed the finish line more than three seconds ahead.
Dutch riders Hetty van de Wouw and Lorena Wiebes each claimed their second world title, capping another dominant day for the Netherlands in the Chilean capital.
In the women’s sprint, Van de Wouw beat Japan’s Mina Sato in two heats to become only the second Dutch woman to win the event after Ingrid Haringa in 1991.
The 24-year-old added to the team sprint gold she won on Wednesday with Steffie van der Peet and Kimberly Kalee and said afterwards: “I can’t quite believe it yet. It’s super cool.
“I was confident because I already felt very strong yesterday. When I beat Ellesse Andrews, Olympic champion, in the quarterfinals, I thought: okay, I’m good. But to become world champion is really bizarre.”
Wiebes won the women’s omnium, regaining control in the final sprint after France’s Marion Borras had briefly taken the lead by lapping the field. The victory marked her third world title in two weeks, following triumphs in the scratch race and Gravel World Championships.
“So much can happen in an omnium. This is of course what you hope for, but I didn’t quite expect it,” Wiebes said.
“When I still felt strong in the elimination race, I got confident. Winning three titles in two weeks is the icing on the cake of a great season.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
