Archibald wins fourth medal to cap an encouraging week for Britain
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equals James’s 2013 world championships mark performance ‘fuels enthusiasm’ for Paris 2024
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Katie Archibald capped a hugely successful week on a personal level, and an encouraging one for Britain, by taking silver in the points race on the final day of the Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix yesterday.
Having already claimed bronze in the team pursuit, gold in the omnium and bronze in the Madison, Archibald began the day hoping to become the first British woman to win four medals in a single world championships since Becky James in 2013.
And she did so in trademark fashion, powering to a number of sprint wins and gaining two laps on the field. It was not quite enough, as Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky was able to gain three, making some shrewd decisions about when and with whom to work.
But Archibald said she was delighted with her silver, adding that she had been running on fumes at the end of a year which also saw her claim Olympic Madison gold alongside Laura Kenny.
“I’m really pleased,” Archibald said. “It’s almost like the harder it is, the happier you are. I really struggled there, and I think that was all I had. When you’re fighting for something and you get it – maybe at 20 laps to go, I realised I was fighting for silver – so it felt like a victory. “I’ve had such a good time this week, but it’s so emotionally draining, wanting something so bad. “The most relief I get is during the race, when all you are thinking about is going hard and not about how much it is going to hurt afterwards. But the sweet relief we get for those 100 laps – it’s so worth it!”
If Archibald was the star performer for Britain, fellow Olympian Ethan Hayter was not far behind. The Ineos Grenadiers rider, who won omnium gold earlier in the week, teamed up with Ollie Wood for yesterday’s men’s Madison, the pair missing out on bronze by just four points. There were other encouraging performances on the final day, from Ethan Vernon, who was sixth in the elimination race, and team sprint bronze medallist Sophie Capewell, who went out in the repechages in the keirin.
With a combined total of two gold, one silver and five bronze medals, head coach Jon Norfolk said that he was delighted with the performance of a squad with an average age of 23.
Norfolk said it was “particularly exciting” to see a first women’s team sprint medal since 2014.
“[After] trailblazers like Vicky Pendleton, Shanaze Reade, Becky James, Jess Varnish... I think it’s really good to put it back on the map, to show that we’re not here just to turn up,” he said.
“We’ve got experienced Olympians who have extended their season to come here, and we’ve got younger athletes, some of whom are attending their first world championship, so to have some who have medalled is really encouraging to see.
“It really fuels that enthusiasm and momentum that we want to create for Paris 2024.”