Harrie Lavreysen: Top facts to know about the Dutch track cycling ...

Harrie Lavreysen is used to standing at the top of the podium.

The Dutch 27-year-old is one of the dominant forces in track cycling and will aim to defend two Olympic titles in the individual and team sprints at Paris 2024.

On top of two golds already, Lavreysen also collected bronze in the keirin at Tokyo 2020, a medal he will look to upgrade this week.

Fighting for gold on three fronts in Paris, you would need a scroll to list Lavreysen’s other achievements.

A 13-time world champion who boasts 12 more titles at the European Championships, we delve a little deeper into the moments that have made Lavreysen a standout name on the track.

Track cycling preview and schedule for Paris 2024 From BMX to the track

As a child BMX racing was the obsession for Lavreysen, winning national and European titles, but after multiple shoulder surgeries he made the switch to the track aged 18.

“My earliest cycling memories are from when I was four years old; I remember flying down a BMX start hill and then crashing on the very first jump which meant I needed stitches on my chin,” he told UCI Track Champions League.

“I began racing BMX two years later and had become European champion by my mid-teens. I picked up a lot of shoulder injuries along the way though, and when I dislocated both of them at the same time, when I was 18, that’s when I started track cycling.”

Lavreysen also practised artistic gymnastics until he was 12, but again the shoulder injuries hampered him in that sport.

The nickname Harrie Hat-trick

Lavreysen proved to be a natural on the track, and he quickly emerged as a world-beater following the change of discipline.

He won his first world title in the team sprint in 2018, and defended that title on top of winning the individual sprint in 2019.

And in 2020? Three titles, earning him the nickname “Harrie Hat-trick” after he added keirin gold to the two sprint titles.

He did the same again in 2021, although that year was even more memorable for his exploits in Tokyo…

Two-time Tokyo 2020 champion

Making his Olympic debut in 2021, a 24-year-old Lavreysen picked up three medals overall.

Together with Roy van den Berg and Jeffrey Hoogland, the Netherlands won team sprint gold with an Olympic record, one second faster than silver medallists Great Britain.

Lavreysen then fought back to win a thrilling sprint final against compatriot Hoogland, and in the keirin it was an impressive bronze behind Jason Kenny and Azizulhasni Awang.

Three golds at Paris 2024?

“Harrie Hat-trick” has won the sprint, team sprint and keirin golds at the past two European Championships, most recently at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands back in January.

That has primed Lavreysen to fight for glory on all three fronts at the National Velodrome in France at these Olympics.

On top of the sprint and keirin events, he teams up with Van den Berg and Hoogland once more as they look to defend their team sprint title.

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