PARIS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The main favorites in the men's keirin race all came through their heats on Saturday ahead of Sunday's races to decide the medals.
Herrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands kept his hopes for a trio of sprint gold medals after taking gold in team sprint and men's sprint events, as he cruised into the quarterfinals in commanding style.
Lavreysen's heat also contained Jack Carlin of Britain, who was defeated by the Dutch in the semifinal of the men's sprint.
Beaten sprint finalist Matthew Richardson of Australia, who was the runner-up in keirin in the 2023 world championships, held off a strong challenge from Shinji Nakano of Japan to win his heat, with China's Liu Qi third.
In the opening heat, Matthew Glazier of Australia and Jeffrey Hoogland of the Netherlands, who was fourth in the men's sprint, came through a bad-tempered race which saw Mohd Azizulhasni Awang of Malaysia disqualified.
The keirin race is held over six laps of the track, with the first three behind a pacing motorbike, which brings the riders up to speed before pulling aside for the frantic race over the last three circuits.
