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Chinese sprinter Guo Shuang claimed her maiden world title at senior level by winning the women's keirin gold at the Track Cycling World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland.

Frenchwoman Clara Sanchez (pictured right with Guo) claimed the silver medal with Dutchwoman Willy Kanis taking the bronze.

Briton Victoria Pendleton looked out of sorts during the keirin tournament, which is not an Olympic event, and was pushed into first-round repechages before making the second round.

In her heat the 28-year-old Englishwoman finished last, failing to qualify for the six-woman final.

Guo, who took a sprint bronze at the Olympic Games in Beijing, had previously won both sprint and keirin silver and bronze medals at the World Championships.

However the 24-year-old France-based racer, who hails from Inner Mongolia, made sure of her first world senior crown with an aggressive piece of riding inside the final two laps that effectively downed France's two-pronged attack.

"It's my first world title, so I'm happy and very excited. It also gives me a lot of confidence for the future," Guo, who spent six years at the International Cycling Union's World Cycling Centre in Switzerland trying to hone her skills, told AFP.

"In the race I moved to the front in the second lap, and that gave me my big chance to win. At the end everyone was battling for the gold, which is normal, but I managed to just get myself in front at the end."

With both Sanchez and Sandie Clair making it to the final, the French had good reason to believe they could snatch the gold.

Sanchez had pulled in front of the field, taking a significant gap, which she later said had been a mistake. Clair's apparent bid to slow their rivals behind them at the bell, signalling the final lap, was then upset by Guo.

The Chinese accelerated prior to the final bend, using the banking to pull level with Sanchez. The Frenchwoman's decision to attack early soon proved detrimental, and Guo straightened up in the home straight before winning convincingly at the finish.

Sanchez was gracious in defeat.

"It was between me and Guo but she was the best on the day," said the Frenchwoman.

"At the start I was on her wheel then I found myself at the front. I tried to slow down, but I couldn't... then she came past me to beat me at the line.

"But I did well in getting to the final and I'm happy with the silver."

Kanis, a former BMX rider, won her second medal in as many days after taking a sprint silver behind Britain's four-times champion Pendleton on Saturday.

In the men's Omnium, Howard Leigh outclassed Canada's Zachary Bell in the five-event series to win Australia's fourth gold medal.

Australia's four golds, four silvers and two bronzes put them top of the final medal standings.

France came second with three golds, two silvers and one bronze and favourites Britain took two golds, four silvers and three bronzes.

"I only decided last night that I was definitely riding," Leigh said. "I'd had a very tough program over the last few days, with the team pursuit and then the Madison.

"We got silver in the Madison, so I was extremely determined to go for gold this time round."

In a tense men's sprint final, France's Gregor Bauge saw off Malaysian challenger Azizulhasni Awang in the deciding round of three. Bauge's team mate Kevin Sireau took bronze.

"I was caught out by his (Awang's) tactics in the second round," Bauge said.

"He's clever, very sharp. I had to be careful, but in sprinting you have to react quickly and that's what I did."

In the women's points, consistent placing gave Giorgia Bronzini of Italy victory. Cuba's Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso was second and Britain's Elizabeth Armitstead third.

Results:

Women's keirin 1-6 final

1. Guo Shuang (China)

2. Clara Sanchez (France)

3. Willy Kanis (Netherlands)

4. Elisa Frisoni (Italy)

5. Anna Meares (Australia)

6. Sandie Clair (France)

Women's keirin 7-12 final

7. Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez (Cuba)

8. Miriam Welte (Germany)

9. Kaarle McCulloch (Australia)

10. Kristina Vogel (Germany)

11. Victoria Pendleton (Great Britain)

DNS Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania)

Men's sprint

1. Gregory Bauge (France)

2. Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)

3. Kevin Sireau (France)

4. Shane Perkins (Australia)

Men's Omnium

1. Leigh Howard (Australia) - 19 pts

2. Zachary Bell (Canada) - 21

3. Tim Veldt (Netherlands) - 24

4. Volodymyr Diudia (Ukraine) - 26

5. Robert Bartko (Germany) - 26

6. Taylor Phinney (United States Of America) - 32

7. Hayden Godfrey (New Zealand) - 40

8. Albert Torres Barcelo (Spain) - 46

9. Artur Ershov (Russian Federation) - 47

10. Jan Dostal (Czech Republic) - 54

11. Rafal Ratajczyk (Poland) - 55

12. Daniel Kreutzfeldt (Denmark) - 56

13. Jonathan Bellis (Great Britain) - 58

14. Angel Dario Colla (Argentina) - 60

15. Ho Ting Kwok (Hong Kong, China) - 63

16. Aliaksandr Lisouski (Belarus) - 71

17. Arles Antonio Castro Laverde (Colombia) - 76

DNF Stijn Steels (Belgium)

Women's points race

1. Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) - 18 pts

2. Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso (Cuba) - 15

3. Elizabeth Armitstead (Great Britain) - 13

4. Cui Wang (People's Republic of China) - 12

5. Belinda Goss (Australia) - 10

6. Svetlana Pauliukaite (Lithuania) - 9

7. Olaberria Dorronsoro (Spain) - 8

8. Jarmila Machacova (Czech Republic) - 7

9. Wan Yiu Wong (Hong Kong, China) - 6

10. Elke Gebhardt (Germany) - 3

11. Tara Whitten (Canada) - 3

12. Lauren Ellis (New Zealand) - 3

13. Andrea Wolfer (Switzerland)

14. Maria Luisa Calle Williams (Colombia)

15. Eleonora Van Dijk (Netherlands)

16. Shelley Olds (United States Of America)

17. Jolien D'Hoore (Belgium)

18. Nontasin Chanpeng (Thailand)

DNF Olga Slyusareva (Russian Federation)

DNF Pascale Jeuland (France)

DNF Malgorzata Wojtyra (Poland)

DNF Aksana Papko (Belarus)

Watch the World Track Championship on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe. Or watch the action on British Eurosport, available in the UK on Sky channel 410 and Virgin Media channel 521, or British Eurosport 2, available on Sky 411 and Virgin Media 525.

AFP / Reuters