With 20 rainbow jerseys already to his name, and the unprecedented feat of winning all four gold medals at a single World Championship, Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen was the star of the event held this week and concluding today in Santiago, Chile, leading the Netherlands to the top of the medal table.
In contrast, Hetty van de Wouw was unable to emulate her compatriot, failing to qualify for the keirin final, which was won again by Mina Sato, who successfully defended her 2024 title. And while Matthew Richardson may claim to be the fastest in the world thanks to the 8.847 he set in mid-August in Konya, the truth is that Lavreysen is not only the best, but I would even venture to say he is already a legend, the best in history, as the numbers confirm.
Briton and Dutchman reached the sprint final undefeated, having easily defeated their former compatriot Leigh Hoffman and Trinidadian Nicholas Paul in the semifinals, respectively. The final was a one-sided affair, with Lavreysen easily defeating his rival in two heats, just as the Australian did in the bronze medal match.
And although it’s not entirely relevant to this report, I can’t resist mentioning the Dutchman’s twenty titles, a number that, given his 28 years, will surely increase in the coming years, though I’m not sure if at the same pace he’s shown in this historic 2025 World Championship, where his only defeat was… at the hands of Elia Viviani in the UCI Athletes’ Commission election.
Seven golds in team sprint (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025) and two silvers (2017 and 2022).
Seven golds in individual sprint (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025) and one silver (2017).
Four golds in keirin (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025).
Two golds in the kilometer time trial (2024 and 2025).
Van de Wouw fails to complete a clean sweep; Sato repeats.
Conversely, there was no clean sweep in the women’s event, where Sato successfully defended the title she won last year in Ballerup, her fourth medal in five years in this discipline. Emma Finucane and the promising Stefany Cuadrado completed the podium.
After the first two heats, which didn’t produce many surprises, except perhaps for the elimination of the promising Malaysian Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, who has been largely unnoticed throughout the Championships, the third quarter-final match brought a scare for Van de Wouw, who finished fifth due to a tactical error. However, she ultimately qualified thanks to Haruka Nakazawa’s relegation. Alina Lysenko, however, failed to qualify, as had Mathilde Gros in her heat.
But in the semi-final, it became clear that the Dutchwoman lacked the same energy as in previous days and was unable to qualify, as was the case for Ellesse Andrews, far from her Olympic form, and her compatriot Steffi Van der Peet. Therefore, the Dutch team would not be a major player in the Championships for the first time in terms of medal contention.
However, the Dutchwoman got her revenge in the B final, which she won comfortably, but that wasn’t the script. The elite final showcased the courage of Mirian Vece, who went all out, but was overtaken and finished fifth, just ahead of Lea-Sophie Friedrich, who will want to forget this World Championship as soon as possible. Sato finished ahead of Fincucane, and the promising Cuadrado completed the podium in her first year as an elite rider.
Source: https://www.trackpiste.com/