CYCLING - BALLANGER KEEPS SPRINT TITLE IN STYLE .
Martin Ayres
MANCHESTER , England 1996-08-30
Felicia Ballanger of France confirmed her status as the world 's number one woman sprinter when she retained her title at the world cycling championships on Friday .
Ballanger beat Germany 's Annett Neumann 2-0 in the best-of-three matches final to add the world title to the Olympic gold medal she won in July .
France also took third place in the sprint , Magali Faure defeating ex-world champion Tanya Dubnicoff of Canada 2-0 .
Ballanger , 25 , will be aiming to complete a track double when she defends her 500 metres time trial title on Saturday .
The other final of the night , the women 's 24-kms points race , also ended in success for the reigning champion .
Russia 's Svetlana Samokhalova fought off a spirited challenge from American Jane Quigley to take the title for a second year .
Russia , the only nation to have two riders in the field , made full use of their numerical superiority .
Goulnara Fatkoullina helped Samokhalova to build an unbeatable points lead before snatching the bronze medal .
Quigley , a former medallist in the points event , led the race at half distance . "
I went so close this time , but having two riders certainly gave the Russians an advantage , " she said .
The first six riders lapped the field , which left former world champion Ingrid Haringa of the Netherlands down in seventh place despite having the second highest points score .
Olympic champion Nathalie Lancien of France also missed the winning attack and finished a disappointing 10th .