Cycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands celebrates after winning. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Dutchwoman Kirsten Wild claimed the opening gold medal at the world track championships as she edged the women's scratch race at the Berlin velodrome on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old timed her attack to perfection on the last of the 40 laps to beat American Jennifer Valente.
It is the third time Wild has won the bunch race at the world championships and takes her overall haul to seven.
Cycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands wins the race ahead of Jennifer Valente of the U.S. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Maria Martins of Portugal was third.
Britain's four-time Olympic champion Laura Kenny, riding the scratch race just weeks after breaking her shoulder in a crash at a World Cup event in Canada, looked set for a medal but faded on the line as Valente and Martins squeezed by.
It was a great start to the week for the Netherlands who were joint top of the medals table last year with six golds, the same number as Australia.
Cycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Cyclists in action. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
Cycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands celebrates after winning. REUTERS/Kacper PempelCycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Italy's Martina Fidanza leads the peloton. REUTERS/Kacper PempelCycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands reacts after winning. REUTERS/Kacper PempelCycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Cyclists in action. REUTERS/Kacper PempelCycling - 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Women's Scratch Race Final - Berlin, Germany - February 26, 2020. Great Britain's Laura Kenny in action. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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