UCI Track Cycling World Championships: Great Britain's Ethan Hayter wins gold in omnium

British rider Ethan Hayter claimed gold in the Omnium at the 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships at Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the site of the 2024 Paris Olympics track cycling events. Hayter was untouchable, finishing with a 20 point bonus. French rider Benjamin Thomas stormed home to claim silver, while New Zealander Aaron Gate took the bronze.

Thomas, twice world champion himself, was chasing a third crown, but Hayter could not be topped. Ad With 11 laps to go, Hayter took off. Thomas tried to match him, and nearly did.

Gate, who finished second in the event last year, held on to take third. Tour de France'It could be my last year' — Thomas hints at retirement, may skip Tour de France12/10/2022 AT 11:43 Hayter won his first world title in 2018 as part of the British team pursuit squad. Hayter is the first rider to successfully defend the Omnium title since Fernando Gaviria in 2015 and 2016.

After an impressive year on the road, Hayter returned to the track in Paris. The British rider suffered a rare setback in September at the World Championships, when his chain came off late in the time trial during the event in Wollongong, Australia. That disappointment aside, Hayter won the British National Time Trial, the Tour of Poland as well as stages of the Tours of Romandie, Norway, Algarve and impressing in the Vuelta.