Victory for Thomas - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Victory for Thomas

Geraint Thomas backed up a stunning qualifying ride to win the men's individual pursuit at the Track World Cup in Manchester.

Thomas clocked four minutes 15.015 seconds in qualification - a time bettered only by world record-holder Chris Boardman - before winning the final by catching Belgium's Dominique Cornu with two laps remaining.

Britain can now lay claim to having the three fastest four-kilometre pursuit riders in history in Boardman - world record-holder after setting 4mins 11.114secs against the clock in Manchester in August 1996 - Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.

Many believe Boardman's record is unsurpassable, because he was riding in the 'Superman' position - which has since been outlawed.

Thomas, Olympic champion in the team pursuit, certainly made a good attempt - with three-time world and double Olympic champion Wiggins watching on.

The 23-year-old from Cardiff earlier beat Wiggins' personal best of 4:15.031, set when he won gold in Beijing - and he then hunted down Cornu in a second strong ride a few hours later to deliver Britain's first gold of the World Cup season.

Britain can now lay claim to having the three fastest four-kilometre pursuit riders in history in Boardman - world record holder after setting 4mins 11.114secs against the clock in Manchester in August 1996 - Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.

Thomas, Olympic champion in the team pursuit, expressed surprise at his ride as he has little experience in the individual event.

"It's shocking really," he said. "That (the qualifying ride) is only the third race I've ever done. I knew I was going well, I just didn't know how well until now."

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