Ireland’s Robyn Stewart has finished 24th in the Women’s Sprint at the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, after qualifying out of the heats to the match sprint rounds.
Stewart is the first Irish woman to qualify for the World Championships in the Sprint, and her time of 11.360 seconds for 200m was enough to progress to the next round. In the match sprint round Stewart was outsprinted by Ukraine’s Olena Starikova, with the winner only progressing.
The World Championships take place in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, from the 28th February – 4th March.
Robyn Stewart warming up for the Sprint event at the Track Worlds - photo Nerea Alonso - Irish Team Physio
Speaking after the event 27-year-old Stewart was happy with her debut at the World Championships – “Overall I was happy with my flying 200m, and I was pleasantly surprised with where I sat in relation to the other girls, and I was within hundredths of seconds of being quite a few places higher.”
Stewart was the 7th rider of 33 on the track, and after finishing her time of 11.360 seconds was the second fastest to that point. With 28 riders moving to the next round, it was a short wait for the Belfast rider before getting confirmation that she had qualified to the next round.
“I had a good start, and I knew after my race that I only needed one or two to go slower than me in order for me to qualify to the next round.”
The velodrome in Apeldoorn saw riders producing slower than normal times – “It wasn’t a PB, but this isn’t a fast track, so I’m happy. The track is slippy and flat, so I had to make sure that I was applying enough pressure on the front and back of the bike to stay solid on the track, so coming down the home straight you don’t get very much from the track – so I’m happy with how I went.”
In the next round for the match sprint, Stewart competed against Ukraine’s Olena Starikova – “I’m a bit disappointed with my performance in the match sprint – I didn’t get enough height and speed to really use my strength so it wasn’t my best race. I have a lot of take homes from it – but it certainly has given me fire in my belly for next year. This is where I’d like to shine next year.”
This was Stewart’s first World Championship event – “Putting on the jersey this morning felt extra special, it was a special moment. I’m now going to try to take in as much racing as I can – I get very inspired by watching, that’s how it all started for me.” Next up for Stewart is the Commonwealth Games in Australia next month.
This evening will see Marc Potts competing in the Men’s Scratch Race, an event in which he has come close to a medal on several occasions during the World Cup season. The 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships take place in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, from the 28th February – 4th March.
RESULTS:
Women’s Sprint
Final podium TBC
Qualifying Rounds:
1st Stephanie Morton AUS 10.645
2nd Pauline Sophie Grabosch GER 10.713
3rd Kristina Vogel GER 10.810
24th Robyn Stewart IRL 11.360
Match Sprint
1st Olena Starikova UKR
2nd Robyn Stewart IRL
SCHEDULE:
Thursday 1st March
Men’s Scratch
Marc Potts
Friday 2nd March
Women’s Omnium
Lydia Boylan
Men’s Points
Mark Downey
Saturday 3rd March
Men’s Omnium
Felix English
Women’s Madison
Lydia Boylan
Lydia Gurley
Sunday 4th March
Women’s Points
Lydia Gurley
Men’s Madison
Mark Downey
Felix English