Yesterday, the third day of the Games, saw the Japanese Cycling Center in Shizuoka host road cycling events in men's and women's sprint disciplines.

Fifty men and 24 women battled for the title of the world's fastest on 500-meter tracks. The competition was grueling, spanning qualifying rounds, playoffs, and elimination stages.

The finalists faced off in intense, often multiple races for medals. Emotions ran high, and crashes involving favorites, like Poland's representative in the semifinals against Alisa Bondareva, added to the drama.

Our quartet—Alisa Bondareva, Elizaveta Bavyikina, Egor Gavrilov, and Dmitry Rozanov, coached by Valery Kobzarenko—displayed exceptional skill and competitiveness.

Egor reached the 1/16 finals, while Elizaveta was eliminated in the 1/8 by Ukraine's Deaflympic champion, Elizaveta Topchanyuk, who finished third. Topchanyuk is equally strong in mountain biking.

Dmitry Rozanov advanced to the quarterfinals but was narrowly beaten by Japanese rider Gohara Teruhisa.

Alisa Bondareva, our most experienced cyclist, steadily progressed through each round, overtaking her opponents. The final was dramatic: she lost the first race to a Chinese rider but rallied in the second to win. In the decisive third race, Alisa secured victory, earning a gold medal—her fourth career medal and our team's second.

Congratulations to Alisa Bondareva and coaches Grigory Melnikov and Alexander Filippov!

RESULTS:

Cycling-Road. Sprint

Women

1st place — Alisa Bondareva

2nd place — Wang Qigi (People's Republic of China)

3rd place — Elizaveta Topchanyuk (Ukraine)

13th place — Elizaveta Bavyikina

Men

7th place — Dmitry Rozanov

25th place — Egor Gavrilov

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov, Olga Troynikova

Photos: Valerii Kobzarenko

Translation: Daria Kudelina