AUSTRALIA’S Shane Perkins failed to get past Frenchman Gregory Bauge in the men’s sprint at the UCI Track World Championships where Bauge claimed gold.

The 25-year-old Frenchman took two confident wins over Perkins in the final, and said afterwards that he was both elated and relieved.

“I’m very happy. This year, all the main riders were here. I was nervous, but I didn’t think that it was finished when I won the first sprint [against Perkins]. I had a taste for the jersey from last year, I had to get it again,” he told cyclingnews.com.

In both of their sprints, Perkins and Bauge followed essentially the same pattern.

It was a gut wrenching finish for the Australian.

They have been around a bit longer, they have been racing a bit longer and they handle the nerves better,” he said. “They know what to expect, whereas I am just starting to learn that now. Hopefully everything keeps going forward and I keep progressing,” he told cyclingnews.com