Australia's two track cycling sprint maestros, Matt Glaetzer and Matt Richardson, are set for a semi-final battle royal to earn the right to race for world championship gold in France.
It's been a disappointing, medal-free global championship for the Australian challenge in the Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome since Glaetzer and Richardson were part of the quartet that struck gold in the team sprint on the opening day.
But after the young gun, Commonwealth champion Richardson, and the old master, former world champion Glaetzer, both roared into the semi-finals of the match sprint in Saturday's penultimate session, it guaranteed the championships will end with at least one more Australian medal.
The 30-year-old time trial winner Glaetzer and 23-year-old match sprint victor Richardson will duel in a fascinating battle of the generations - and of two individual Commonwealth champions.
The winner will be guaranteed at least a silver when they meet the victor of the other semi-final which pits Dutch Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen, the quickest and most formidable qualifier, against Poland's Mateusz Rudyk.
That final will be held later on Sunday (Monday morning AEDT) as the five-day championships conclude at the venue just outside Paris which will stage the track cycling program at the 2024 Olympics.
Both Australians will be confident after enjoying a match-race program in which they didn't lose one of their duels in either the last-16 or quarters on Saturday, Richardson beating Britain's Jack Carlin 2-0 and Glaetzer sweeping local French favourite Rayan Helal.
A medal to cap the championships will be the perfect tonic for an Australian team that suffered another agonising near-miss in the madison on Saturday as Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly were pipped for bronze only in the final sprint.
The Danish duo of Amalie Dideriksen and Julie Leth attacked to rack up 10 points in the final sprint of the 120-lap event to finish on 23 points, leapfrogging the Aussie duo on 19.
Belgium took the gold through Shari Bossuyt and Lotte Kopecky, the elimination race champion who lifted her second gold of the world titles.
The Sunshine Coast's Commonwealth champion Kristina Clonan qualified for her specialist 500m time trial final as third fastest but slipped to fifth in the evening showdown, with 20-year-old Marie-Divine Kouame going on to delight the crowd by claiming gold on her home track.
Briton Ethan Hayter successfully defended his men's omnium title with New Zealander Aaron Gate taking the bronze in the four-discipline event and Australia's Kelland O'Brien finishing 13th.
Maeve Plouffe, one of the brightest hopes in Australian women's cycling, was sixth fastest in the individual pursuit, missing out on the top-four place that would have earned her a medal shot.
New Zealand's Commonwealth champion Bryony Botha ended up being beaten in the gold-medal ride by Germany's Franziska Brausse.
