IZU, Japan (Reuters) – Germany’s reigning world champion Emma Hinze fired a warning to her rivals when she overpowered China’s Zhong Tianshi to reach the women’s Olympic sprint quarter-finals on Saturday.
Hinze had failed to light up the Izu Velodrome so far this week, despite having taken world titles in individual sprint, team sprint and keirin events last year.
Along with compatriot Lea Friedrich, Hinze took silver behind China’s Zhong and Bao Shanju in Monday’s team sprint final before failing to qualify for the medal rounds in the keirin discipline on Thursday.
After showing signs of returning to her best in Friday’s sprint qualifying session, Hinze stepped up her title bid with a blistering ride to finish 0.359 seconds clear of Zhong.
She was joined by Friedrich, British medal hope Katy Marchant and newly-crowned Olympic keirin champion Shanne Braspennincx of the Netherlands in the quarter-final heats scheduled for later on Saturday.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)