Leigh Hoffman takes sprint silver as Lavreysen wins 23rd world title

Leigh Hoffman won silver in the men’s individual sprint at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai on 18 October, losing the final to Harrie Lavreysen, ABC News reported. The result gave Australia its second silver medal of the championships, following the men’s team sprint result on the opening night.

Lavreysen won both races of the gold medal match, according to ABC. His victory extended his record to 23 world titles. Hoffman had won bronze at the previous year’s world championships; the Shanghai final was his first race for gold or silver at a worlds.

How Hoffman reached the sprint final

The final paired him with a rider who had gone unbeaten in the individual sprint at a world championships since Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer won in 2018, according to ABC. Hoffman said he was pleased with the silver but disappointed to have come so close to the world title and lost. Lavreysen’s two race wins settled the final in his favour.

Australia’s two medals in Shanghai

Australia’s earlier silver came in the men’s team sprint on the first night, ABC reported. Hoffman’s individual result made it two medals in Shanghai, both silver and both in sprint events. His bronze at the previous world championships provides a measure of his individual progress, while the defeat in Shanghai shows the gap he still faced against Lavreysen in this final.

The Union Cycliste Internationale scheduled the championships in Shanghai from 14 to 18 October and listed the men’s individual sprint final for 18 October. Its pre-event preview identified Lavreysen as the defending champion and described Shanghai as the first mainland Chinese host of the track world championships. Hoffman’s silver came on the final scheduled day of that event.