Hinze, Marchant survive early scares to reach quarters

Germany's reigning world champion Emma Hinze and British medal hope Katy Marchant overcame difficult starts to reach the women's Olympic keirin quarterfinals at the Izu Velodrome on Wednesday.

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Hinze, who took silver in Monday's team sprint alongside team mate Lea Friedrich, looked well off the pace in her first round heat as she finished in fifth place, 0.31 seconds behind winner Kelsey Mitchell of Canada.

Having been dropped to the repechage heat, Hinze produced a much-improved display to finish second behind Dutchwoman Shanne Braspennincx, with the top two booking their places in Thursday's quarterfinals.

Britain's Marchant, the Rio 2016 bronze medallist in individual sprint, finished fastest in her first round race but was later disqualified for deviating from her racing line.

She made amends on her second attempt with a late burst to claim victory in her repechage heat.

"I think it was good to learn that lesson in the first round than in the semis or the finals," Marchant told reporters.

"I think when we've missed opportunities over the last 18 months to actually ride into form a little bit. My legs are feeling good so yeah I'm confident (for tomorrow)."