Maria Martins won the bronze medal in the Olympic Track Cycling World Cup Omnium Competition, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. The Portuguese cyclist secured the second podium for Portugal and the second for her personal curriculum this edition.
The Portuguese scored a total of 99 points, took a new bronze in the elite World Cups, after finishing third in the scratch race of the 2020 World Championship, and received a new medal for Portugal, less than an hour after third place in Ivo Oliveira in the individual pursuit.
The world title went to American Jennifer Valente, Olympic champion of the omnium in Tokyo 2020, in which Maria Martins finished seventh with 118 points, with Dutch Maike van der Duin in second place with 109.
Previously, Portuguese cyclist Ivo Oliveira collected bronze in the individual pursuit to silver he had already added in 2018, at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Track World Championships, which saw Italian Filippo Ganna soar to gold and world record. The 26-year-old Portuguese finished the race with 4.08.738 minutes, better than Briton Dan Bigham, opponent for the last place on the podium.
The world title, fought in a final for 100% Italian gold, went to Hora record holder Filippo Ganna, who broke the world record by surpassing Jonathan Milan and set the new record at 3.59.636. Four years after his first medal in the elite World Championships, Ivo Oliveira once again made history for Portuguese cycling and once again proved to be one of the best in the world in this discipline.
After improving his personal best, now set at 4,06,704 minutes, also the best time ever, the effort in the final allowed him to beat Bigham, who started faster, but from 2,000 meters, half of the four kilometers from the discipline, began to yield ground.
Faced with the former record holder of the hour, the cyclist from Vila Nova de Gaia pressed the authority and returns to the track in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, where the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place. Together with his twin brother Rui Oliveira , Ivo will compete on Sunday in the Olympic discipline madison, made for doubles, where he also aims for the first places.
Portugal will be represented in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines by Ivo Oliveira, Rui Oliveira, João Matias, Maria Martins and Daniela Campos, in a World Championship that runs until Sunday at the same track where the specialty will take place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris . .
Source: DN
