Despite a fall in the 500 metres time trial, Noah Vandenbranden and Gianluca Pollefliet are extending their lead on Thursday after the third night of the AVS Cup/Toekomstzesdaagse. They have already racked up 60 points. The Italian duo Mattia Pinazzi/Davide Boscaro has climbed to second place with 44 points. Brits Noah Hobbs/Joshua Tarling (36 points) are still third in the ranking. France’s Clément Petit/Nicolas Hamon have to make do with 35 points, three more than The Netherlands’ Yanne Drogenbos/Noël Luijten.
British rider Joshua Tarling showed his mettle in the first points race, leaving his compatriot Dylan Hicks and Frenchman Nicolas Hamon far behind him. Victory in the second points race went to Dutchman Yanne Dorenbos, who was better than Italian Davide Boscaro and Gianluca Pollefliet. Then again, Italians Mattia Pinazzi/Davide Boscaro were the strongest in the 500 metres time trial. Pollefliet suffered a bad fall in that event.
“We wanted to set a top time. I do not know what went wrong during our handover. Did my tube explode because of the fall or was that the cause of ending up on the track? I do seem to be missing three out of five spokes in my front wheel. As a result, it was impossible for Noah Vandenbranden to set a really good time. He did manage to get to fourth place”, stated Gianluca Pollefliet.
