Dylan Bibic extended his lead in the men’s endurance category of the 2024 UCI Track Champions League with a win in the elimination race on the first of two rounds in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands on Friday and second place in the same competition in Apeldoorn on Saturday. He was the scratch victor in last week’s Paris opening round. The only other Canadian in this year’s League, Sarah van Dam, was tops in Friday’s scratch race and moved up to second place in endurance with next week’s two London rounds left.
Friday
Bibic’s elimination race was early on Friday, but subsequently delayed after a massive crash that saw Danish world champion Tobias Aagaard Hansen among the victims. When the race continued later in the schedule, Hansen and Bibic were the last two chaps standing, the Canadian prevailing. Hansen reversed the order in the men’s scratch race.
Bibic went into Friday with an 8-point lead over a French fellow, and finished with a 16-point gap on Hansen.
Van Dam beat better known Brit Katie Archibald in Friday’s women’s scratch race with an epic solo raid and she came 12th in the elimination to move into second over behind Archibald, albeit 29 points back.
Saturday
On Day 2’s women’s scratch race, Archibald attacked with some Irish riders with 15 laps to go, but couldn’t make it stick. In the final sprint, van Dam placed third behind Czechia’s Petra Sevickova.
The men’s scratch race wasn’t quite as successful for Bibic, as he came ninth, with Hansen seventh.
Again, van Dam kept her hand in the endurance category with fifth in the women’s elimination race. Both Archibald and Sevickova finished ahead of the Canadian. Van Dam has 27 points to make up on Archibald in London.
For the second consecutive day, the men’s elimination race came down to the Canadian and the Dane. This time Hansen was the fastest in the final push. Nine points separate Bibic and Hansen before London.
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