Jack aims for a win in Berlin

Race ace has his eye on a medal

Paisley-born track cyclist Jack Carlin is hoping success at next week’s European Track Championships in Berlin can set him on the path to glory in 2018.

In what was his breakthrough season at senior level, the highly rated 20-year-old won silver in theteam sprint at last year’s European Track Championships and followed it up with two World Cup wins in Glasgow and the Netherlands.

With next year’s European Track Championships taking place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome as part of the new multi-sport Glasgow 2018 European Championships, Carlin is eager to continue his blistering form – starting with success in Berlin.

The Scot – who will once again line up in the team sprint alongside Ryan Owens and Joe Truman – said: “I’m super excited. It’s an honour to be picked at any level to represent your country but to represent the senior level is a very nice thing to do.

“We’ve had a good hard training block so we just need to go over to Germany and see how we perform.

“Last year’s European Track Championships was our first senior event so to come away with the silver, we were quite pleaseS. Obviously you don’t go there to become a runner-up, you go there to win but we were happy with the performance.

“To get so close to gold, Great Britain finished just 0.187 seconds behind winners Poland. It makes us determined to strive to go one better, and this time around hopefully we can top it.”

While the focus remains on this year’s Europeans, it’s less than 300 days to the 2018 European Track Championships in Glasgow.

Track is one of four cycling disciplines and six separate sports taking place as part of the new European Championships, which will take place at venues across Glasgow and Scotland.

After clinching gold during his last competitive visit to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – at the Track World Cup in November – Jack is determined to taste victory in front of the home fans once again at Glasgow 2018.

He said: “I remember going to watch a couple of races at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and thinking, ‘I want to be out on that track one day’. So to win at last year’s World Cup was a surreal experience.

“I think as a nation, to be hosting this new multi-sport event is a huge step forward for the sport, especially after the Commonwealths which had so much success in bringing people into cycling.

“It’s something that I’d suggest everyone should take part in, especially to bring the kids along and get them inspired.

“Cycling is an up-and-coming sport and one of the leading ones in terms of growth.

“The more people we can get it into it the better, especially in the West of Scotland region where football is so dominant. Experiencing different sporting cultures is something we should be encouraging.”

The 2017 European Track Championships in Berlin begin tomorrow and run until Sunday, with live coverage and highlights on British Cycling social media channels and Eurosport.

Tickets are also available to the 2018 European Track Championships in Glasgow, starting at just £15 for adults and £7.50 for children and concessions (plus booking fees).