Hong Kong riders bite the dust as Diao Xiaojuan finishes eighth in women’s scratch at Worlds

Hong Kong riders found the going tough on the opening of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships with Diao Xiaojuan finishing eighth in the women’s scratch on a day the Australian men’s team pursuit came close to breaking the world record.

Diao won the same event in a World Cup series race in 2014, but received a reality check with the standard at the Worlds much higher, managing eighth out of 22 riders at the Tseung Kwan O Velodrome. It was still her best finish at the Worlds after launching two lively but unsuccessful attacks in the 40-lap, 10km race.

“My first attack was a bit early and I couldn’t last very long. Maybe I was getting a bit over excited in front of the home crowd,” she said of the championships, which are being held in Hong Kong for the first time.

“I was hoping for a podium finish. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t do it, although an eighth position is a creditable finish.”

The race was won by Rachele Barbieri of Italy, with Elinor Barker of Great Britain and Belgium’s Jolien D’Hoore taking silver and bronze respectively.

Australia set the pace at the championships with the quartet of Sam Welsford, Cameron Meyer, Kelland O’Brien and Alexander Porter finishing less than a second outside the world record set by Great Britain at the Rio Games last summer.