Vogel keeps alive sprint repeat hopes

World champion Kristina Vogel remained on course Friday to defend her women's sprint title at the World Track Cycling Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris.
The Kazakhstan-born 24-year-old qualified for the quarter-finals by eliminating Luz Gaxiola of Mexico and then beating three-time runner-up Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania.
Last year's runner-up Zhong Tianshi of China was also safely through but her three-time medallist compatriot Guo Shuang fell foul of the laws and was disqualified from her eighth-final against new 500m time-trial champion Anastasia Voynova of Russia for encroaching on her opponent's lane in the finish.
But Guo easily made it through the repechage to keep her medal dreams alive.
Australian Anna Meares, the 2011 champion, was knocked down into the repechage by Britain's Jessica Varnish, who was fourth last year, before then being eliminated by Krupeckaite.
Young Colombian sprint sensation Fernando Gaviria was leading the men's omnium following the first two disciplines.
Gaviria exploded onto the cycling scene last month by twice beating 2012 world road race champion Mark Cavendish in sprint finishes at the Tour of San Juan.
And he put in two great rides to finish third in the scratch race before taking second place in the individual pursuit of the six-discipline event.
He leads on 74 points ahead of Belgium's Jasper De Buyst on 66 and professional Italian sprinter Elia Viviani, who won the scratch race, on 62.
Australia's Glenn O'Shea, the 2012 world champion, was down in ninth overall after a poor scratch race before winning the pursuit.
The 2013 champion, Aaron Gate of New Zealand cracked in the final 500m of the 4km pursuit to finish that in 11th and was eighth overall.
Reigning champion Thomas Boudat of France was seventh on 56 points with the elimination race, time-trial, flying lap and points race still to come.
Reigning champion Joanna Rowsell of Britain could only manage the fourth fastest women's individual pursuit time in qualifying and will therefore challenge Australian Amy Cure in Friday evening's bronze medal match.
Australian Rebecca Wiasak posted the fastest time in qualifying and will challenge Jennifer Valente of the United States in the evening's final.
Source: AFP