Stewart digs deep for points race bronze

Dundee cyclist Mark Stewart won bronze for Great Britain in the men’s points race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn last night.

The 22-year-old twice took a lap on the field as he piled up 49 points, edging out Hong Kong’s King Lok Cheung by a single point for the final medal.

Australian Cameron Meyer comfortably defended his title with a total of 70 points while Jan Willem van Schip delighted the home crowd in Apeldoorn by crossing the line first to take the silver medal.

Stewart was delighted to get on the podium after a rough start to the year in which he has spent almost as much time in dentists’ waiting rooms as at the velodrome.

“I went in thinking I’d love a medal here but I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t get one,” he said.

“I’ve had a tough month. I’ve had a lot of dental work with abscesses. I’ve been to the dentist six times already this year so up until about a week ago I hadn’t had a good day.

“Then I started to feel like myself again and thought if I can get a medal I’ll be super happy.”

There was disappointment for Charlie Tanfield in the bronze medal race of the men’s individual pursuit as he lost to Russia’s Alexander Evtushenko.

Tanfield, part of the men’s team pursuit squad that took gold on Thursday night, had opened up a big early advantage and led by over a second and a half at one point.

But he faded badly in the second half, finishing in a time of four minutes 15.930 seconds, almost two seconds slower than his time in qualifying and over two seconds behind Evtushenko.

Elinor Barker had to settle for sixth place in the women’s omnium after carrying medal hopes into the last of the four races.

Barker, riding in place of her madison partner Katie Archibald who was not feeling good enough to defend her title, won the tempo race at the end of the afternoon session to move up to second in the standings.

She shook off bumps and bruises from a crash early in the elimination race to finish seventh, leaving her third overall at the start of the final points race.

But the 23-year-old struggled to make an impact in the final event, and slipped down the standings as Holland’s Kirsten Wild took gold.

Mark Stewart on his way to bronze.