COPENHAGEN, March 25, 2010 (AFP) – New Zealand’s Jesse Sergent will meet American Taylor Phinney in the men’s individual pursuit gold final after qualifying fastest at the world track championships later Thursday.

Sergent produced a blistering performance in his qualifying heat with reigning world champion Phinney, pipping the 20-year-old American in the final two laps with a winning time of 4min 15.988.

Phinney was second fastest in 4:16.102.

Jack Bobridge of Australia, last year’s silver medalist, had timed 4:17.169sec, and in the end that time proved only good enough for the bronze medal match against Russian Alexander Serov, who clocked 4:18.356.