The 21-year-old won the keirin in commanding style on Sunday, giving the German Cycling Federation (BDR) its sixth World Championship title of the competitions in northern France. Friedrich herself, who was ill in bed for a week between the European Championships and the World Championships, has an excellent record: she won gold in the team sprint, 500 metre time trial and keirin as well as silver in the sprint behind team-mate Emma Hinze.
Hinze and Pauline Grabosch had withdrawn from the final sprint race on Sunday in the Vélodrome. Behind Friedrich, Mina Sato from Japan and the Russian Jana Tyschtschenko completed the medal ranks. As in Berlin last year, the German women's sprint team won all four possible gold medals.
Keirin is also known in specialist circles as the combat sprint and is a discipline variant originating in Japan. Usually, six riders compete over a distance of six laps, with a pacemaker leading the first half of the race and gradually increasing the pace during this period. The race then opens up on the last three laps.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:211024-99-718730/2
