For Immediate Release
22nd August
Knight Finishes Ninth as Action Concludes at World Championships
Kerry Teenager Completes Successful Week of Racing at Junior World Track Championships in Astana
Josie Knight has finished ninth in the Women's Omnium at the World Junior Championships in Astana.
The 18-year-old Knight from Dingle, Kerry completed the final day of racing on the Saryarka velodrome with the second half of the Omnium programme ending a busy three days of racing in the Kazakhstan capital.
Having won the Race 2 Individual Pursuit on Saturday, Knight started Sunday's fourth race, the 500m time trial in fifth position. Knight finished 11th in the 500m TT in a time of 37.870s and followed that up with eighth in the fifth race, the Flying Lap time trial in a time of 15.165s.
Going into the sixth and final event, the 20km Points Race, Knight knew that she needed to score at least 20 points for lapping the field in order to force herself back into contention for a medal. Her pursuit performances have marked her as a specialist of the long breakaway and try as she might, she couldn't escape the clutches of the main group for long enough to take the elusive lap.
In her efforts to break clear, Knight took the maximum five points at the third sprint and was fourth in sprint eight at the end of the race but it wasn't enough to vault up the order into medal contention.
It was another important bank of world class experience gained for the relative newcomer who can look back on a fine fourth place finish in Friday's Pursuit as well as the pursuit win in the Omnium.
After three days of world class riding from Knight, High Performance Coach Brian Nugent paid said:
"Josie performed well today. Her times in the 500m and flying lap were all significant personal bests and she held her own. She was super in the points race.
"Josie had a clear plan and it was a lap or nothing to make the podium. She went at the right times and rode a tactically good race but was heavily marked. She had over half a lap at one point but they chased hard.
"This week has marked a big step up for Josie. She is now very competent in all aspects of her racing and is learning fast. She should be very happy with her week's work."
For full results see the the Official UCI Website:
See the Cycling Ireland twitter feed for live updates: @IreCyclingFed
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