Harrie Lavreysen has become world champion in the sprint for the seventh consecutive time. The 28-year-old track legend from Luyksgestel defeated his great rival Matthew Richardson in the final. This is not only Lavreysen’s seventh sprint title but the twentieth(!) world title in his extraordinarily successful career.
On the final day of the 2025 Track Cycling World Championships in Santiago, Chile, the best track sprinters – including Lavreysen – competed one last time in the premier event for sprinters: the individual sprint. The Dutchman had already qualified for the semifinals of the individual sprint tournament without any problems. In two sprints, he eliminated Frenchman Rayan Helal from the tournament.
Lavreysen then seemingly had an easy time in the semifinal against Nicholas Paul from Trinidad and Tobago and was set to prepare for a final with and against Matthew Richardson. The (naturalized) Brit convincingly defeated Australian Leigh Hoffman in his semifinal, who was responsible for knocking out Jeffrey Hoogland.
No doubt
The first heat in the final was claimed by Lavreysen. The Dutchman unleashed a powerful acceleration, pulling out all the stops, and Richardson no longer had the strength or speed to come back against the defending champion. Lavreysen dealt the first blow but then had to wait about two hours for the second, possibly decisive, heat.
In this second heat, Richardson hoped to even the score, but Lavreysen had other plans. With another mighty sprint, he firmly answered his British rival and impressively extended his world title.
UCI Cycling World Championships - Track (Sprint)| Rank | Rider | Time |
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