San Francisco Frontiers - Dutch rider Lavreysen targets record at world track championships

After his hat-trick of gold medals in the speed events at the Paris Olympics, the 27-year-old is bidding to become the most titled athlete at worlds.

A former BMX rider nicknamed 'The Beast', Lavreysen needs just one more gold to equal France's Arnaud Tournant's 14 world titles, and two would give him the overall record.

His first chance to equal the record will come in the team sprint on Wednesday evening.

Lavreysen is the five-time reigning sprint champion and favourite in that event after winning team and individual gold - as well as keirin gold - at the Paris Olympics.

A former three-time keirin gold medallist he slumped to fourth in that race last year in Glasgow but claimed the Olympic crown in Paris.

He also helped the Netherlands to gold in the world team sprint last year and on the Olympic track at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, outside Paris.

Just two months after the Olympics several stars including Italian Filippo Ganna are skipping the worlds which take place over five days at Ballerup, a suburb of Copenhagen.

But the lineup remains impressive with Belgian star Lotte Kopecky, a six-time world champion, and triple Olympic and seven-time world champion Jennifer Valente of the United States.

- A chance to rebuild -

Young British rider Josh Tarling, 20, will also be looking to impress, as will 22-year-old Oscar Nilsson-Julien, an English-born rider who now competes for France.

"It seemed to be the perfect opportunity to give the youngsters a chance," said Steven Henry, head coach of the French national endurance team.

France are looking to recover from their collective disaster at their home Olympics.

Sebastien Vigier and Rayan Helal will be accompanied by Melvin Landerneau for the team sprint on Wednesday, a discipline where France failed to medal for the first time at the Olympics.

However, in a sign of their decline as a world force, France have no one in the men's individual speed and keirin.

Mathilde Gros, the 2022 world sprint champion, may make up for it in the women's events, even if she who failed to impress at the Olympics.

"A part of me died," in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the 25-year-old told AFP.

Her goal remains Los Angeles 2028 but first she needs to "rebuild" her shattered confidence.

"It's like when you fall badly off horseback," she said. "You have to quickly get back in the saddle because otherwise you might never get back on again."

T.Martin--SFF