Hoy meets Kenny in sprint semi

FOUR-time Olympic gold medal winner Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny, the defending champion, will meet today in the semi-finals of the men’s sprint at the Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne.

France’s Gregory Bauge, the 2009 and 2010 world champion, who was stripped of last year’s title for an anti-doping offence, is set to meet Australia’s Shane Perkins in the second semi-final.

With only one rider or team per nation per event permitted at London 2012, the Hoy-Kenny match could have major significance in Olympic selection.

Hoy claimed a 2-1 win over Robert Forstemann of Germany and Kenny beat France’s Kevin Sireau by the same margin.

Hoy’s win in the decider with Forstemann was by a tiny margin and confirmed after a photo finish. Kenny, meanwhile, proved his strong form by ousting the world record holder. Bauge beat Germany’s Stefan Boetticher 2-0, while Perkins advanced 2-1 at the expense of Mickael Bourgain, after the Frenchman was relegated in the deciding race.

Elsewhere, Laura Trott was joint-overnight leader in the six-discipline omnium. The 19-year-old triumphed in the elimination race to draw level with Australia’s Annette Edmondson.

Ed Clancy finished fourth in the men’s omnium, despite winning the final one-kilometre time-trial. Clancy said: “To get close is good – it still bodes well for the Olympics.”