The 24-year-old defending champion secured gold in the sprint on Friday evening in Roubaix, her fifth title in total - she has only competed in five disciplines in Berlin 2020 and Roubaix 2021. Team-mate and friend Lea Sophie Friedrich made it to the final in the impressive sprint show, but was beaten in the eagerly awaited German duel after two thrilling runs.
"That was historic"
"This is madness. That was historic, an amazing result. The girls have refocussed. Now you could see what potential they have," said national coach Detlef Uibel, who is stepping down after the season. Looking at the duo, he added: "The journey can go very far."
Hinze had previously clearly defeated Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell from Canada twice, proving her current top form. "It's just fun," said Hinze, who made a more relaxed impression in Roubaix than she did in Tokyo, when the media pressure and expectations were simply too much for her. On Sunday, Hinze also wants to defend her third title in the keirin and complete the next spectacular World Championship triple. As defending champion in the 500-metre time trial on Saturday, Friedrich is one of the favourites.
Eilers takes bronze in the time trial
Before the showdown between the two sprint women, the German Cycling Federation (BDR) was able to celebrate another medal. Joachim Eilers took bronze in the 1000 metre time trial in a time of 1:00.008 minutes, beaten only by Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) and Nicholas Paul (Trinidad and Tobago). "We did a lot of work. My form has improved from time to time and we want to build on that. It motivates me that it was rewarded with another medal," said Eilers.
After three of five days at the World Championships, the German tally looks strong. In addition to three World Championship titles, the BDR also has one silver and two bronze medals to its name. Even beating the haul from the home World Championships (four gold, one silver, three bronze) seems possible, as there are further medal opportunities this weekend.
Former world champion Theo Reinhardt was left without a precious metal, failing to finish higher than ninth in the points race. In the men's single pursuit, American Ashton Lambie prevailed against strong Italian competition from Jonathan Milan (silver) and road cycling pro Filippo Ganna (bronze).
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