“The stands applauded me until I got off the bike.” Burlakova wins historic gold at World Track Championships

Before Yana Burlakova, Anastasia Voinova and Daria Shmeleva won the 500m event at the world championships. At the Danish Ballerup on October 19, medals in this type of program were played for the last time in history and Burlakov won this historic gold medal. This is his first victory at the world championships and the first rainbow jersey of his career. We spoke to him about the journey to the World Championships.

“There was a lot to do for this World Cup,” says Yana in an interview with . — The Federation contacted the UCI to find out if there would be a quota, and when we were waiting for the quota, we bought tickets. The first flight was delayed; there was no time for correspondence. As a result, the transfer is one day in Belgrade.

— Have you walked around the city?

“I didn’t sleep all night because of the flight, and another sleepless night awaited me, so I slept. But these were not all our adventures, our mechanic did not have a visa, we were alone with the bus. Kazakh coaches and mechanics helped us in every possible way. My road bike broke, they tried to fix it, they were looking for a hex to fix it. So many people helped me, it was very pleasant and unexpected for me. I want to say thank you to everyone.

— Did you gain height by participating in the World Championships?

– Yes. From the first day I received a lot of emotions. I was sitting in the stands and people came up to me to take a photo – that doesn’t happen in Russia either. It was very nice! The atmosphere in the stands is unreal! Then I started to get nervous because my fitness wasn’t good enough, and that blew me away in front of the coach. Finally, I decided: I’ll show you what I’m ready for. She left calmly. Even from the broadcast, it was clear that I was smiling as I walked to the start line.

— Is it important for you to be the last 500m champion, where your teammates have won so often?

– That’s very good. I’m happy to finish what the girls started like this.

“Many people say that during confinement they are no longer used to full stands. Are you confused?

– No. I heard everything that was happening. There was total silence from the first round. As I made good time on the second lap, people started clapping and shouting louder and louder. And in the finale, there were already incredible emotions. Before the start, one of my friends shouted in the stands and two other men shouted: “Yana, we are for you, come on!” It was very nice. The stands applauded me until I got off the bike.

— Do you know what music was playing on the pedestal?

“I didn’t understand, to be honest I was a little confused.”

– “Hymn to Joy”, Beethoven.

“I sang everything I needed to for myself.”

— You haven’t been invited to the Champions League yet?

— Not yet, but I would be happy. I visited once, would return.

— You said that in Russia no attention is paid to cycling. Are you hoping your win will garner attention at least until the end of the week?

– Honestly, I don’t know. I just know that a lot of people have written to me, I didn’t expect that and I don’t even have time to respond. I want to thank everyone for their support. Now I really want to go home to my husband, to my beloved dog, I want to spend a pleasant evening at home.

— Was it hard this summer, when there were the Olympics and the crazy seconds? Or was it already so sick that there was no particular emotion?

– Second. It has become familiar and commonplace. We had our own races. I tried not to think about it at all.

— Were there a lot of tears? Was there a moment of despair?

– There is no despair. I shed a lot of tears, mostly because of my own unjustified hopes. But now there are tears of joy. I called my husband and cried together. It was an emotional moment.

More sports news in our telegram channel .