BEAT Cycling Club wins gold at both the team sprint and the keirin at the track cycling World Cup in Minsk, Belarus.

January 20, 2018 – During a very successful second day of the World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, BEAT Cycling Club won gold in both the team sprint and the keirin. After a silver medal in Manchester, England in November, this was BEAT Cycling Club’s first team sprint victory at a World Cup. Matthijs Büchli sealed gold at the Keirin later in the evening. In the final, he outraced Stefan Ritter (GER) and Lewis Oliva (GBR) to take his second gold medal of the day.

BEAT entered the team sprint tournament as Dutch champions. In the red, white and blue, the team was victorious in the final, beating the Polish national team by a difference of 0.719 seconds. Theo Bos was especially satisfied with the win, because it gives him confidence ahead of the world championships in Apeldoorn: „Everything felt very good. We started this morning with a time of 43.5 seconds, which was even faster than yesterday. The final went very well too. After a very quick start from Roy (van den Berg) and Matthijs (Büchli), I was still able to ride a strong last lap. I feel very good, and that applies to the entire team.

„For now it is important to take a step back before the world championships, since we’ve been training and racing hard since the Dutch national championships (at the end of December). We have six more weeks before the world championships start. We can use these results to train and prepare for the Worlds perfectly.“

THIRD KEIRIN GOLD
After keirin victories at the World Cups in England and Poland, and at the Dutch national championships, Büchli started today as a favorite. He made sure to confirm that status by winning both heats and the final. Büchli: „Winning gold twice in one day doesn’t just happen. It was a first for me. It’s very promising, both for tomorrow’s sprint tournament and the upcoming world championships.

„In my current form I could get a good result in the sprint, but I’ve already raced two tournaments, so we’ll have to wait and see. Over the coming weeks, I have to focus on getting out of the races a bit fresher and producing a higher maximum power. Then I can start looking at the world championships.“

Tim Veldt can hardly believe it: „It was a very successful day. We ended up with a 100% score, winning both disciplines we participated in. The way Matthijs raced the keirin was extremely dominant. He is currently in unbeatable form.

„I am particularly pleased with our team victory. We started out with fifth in the team sprint at the World Cup in Poland, we were second in Manchester and now we got the win. This is a great development, especially looking ahead to the world championships.

„Tomorrow we will ride the individual sprint, where Matthijs and Theo will start. Especially for Matthijs, this will be a good test for the world championships, where the sprint will be held on the third day too. This will be a bit of a dress rehearsal for that tournament, and with his current form he could achieve a podium spot again.“

ABOUT BEAT CYCLING CLUB
BEAT Cycling Club, the first professional cycling club in the history of the sport, makes cycling enthusiasts part of professional cycling. BEAT is currently the fastest-growing cycling club in the Benelux, with thousands of involved supporters and members. BEAT launched the first commercial UCI track team in the history of Dutch track cycling last summer, and the team has already been successful, with victories at World Cups and the Dutch national championships. Last fall, BEAT also presented a UCI Continental road team that will make its debut in the peloton this season and has the ambition to be the first club to participate in the Tour de France. More information on BEAT Cycling Club can be found at www.beatcycling.club.

BEAT track team on the podium in Minsk, Belarus. Photo: Guy Swarbrick. Free to use, please credit image source.

Matthijs Büchli racing the keirin. Photo: Guy Swarbrick. Free to use, please credit image source.