Five medals at the European Track Championships
Lotte Kopecky won two gold medals, in the elimination race and the online race. Robbe Ghys took silver in the 40 km points race. The duo of Robbe Ghys and Fabio Van den Bossche took bronze in the team race, as did Jules Esters in the elimination race.
The first Belgian medals have been won at the second European Championships in Munich, Germany. As a reminder, this new competition, introduced in 2018, takes place every four years and brings together the 2022 European Championships in athletics, rowing, beach volleyball, BMX freestyle, canoeing, track cycling, road cycling, climbing, artistic gymnastics, table tennis, triathlon and mountain biking.
In track cycling, Lotte Kopecky lived up to her status as favourite in the elimination race (this individual event consists of being the last to cross the finish line after the last rider in each intermediate sprint has been eliminated). The Antwerp-based cyclist came close to being eliminated halfway through the race, before winning ahead of Britain's Pfeiffer Georgi and the Netherlands' Mylène de Zoete. His victory was more assured in the online race.
In the men's race, Robbe Ghys won the second European medal of his career by finishing second in the 40-kilometre points race (the final classification for this event is established by the points won and accumulated by the riders during the intermediate sprints). Jules Esters took the bronze medal in the elimination race, as did the duo of Robbe Ghys and Fabio Van den Bossche in the team race, collecting 58 points after 250 laps and 50km in 25 sprints every ten laps.
Other Belgian medals are still expected in these European championships, which will end on 21 August.