Archibald ‘privileged’ to have the chance to race for second gold
Katie Archibald feels “privileged” to be following in an illustrious line of British Cycling history on Lotus’ “radical” new bike at Tokyo 2020.
And the Scottish ace says the storied manufacturer’s design can propel her to a second consecutive team pursuit gold with Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker in Japan.
Rio 2016 champion Archibald, aged 27, is preparing to defend her title next week on the Japanese boards alongside Kenny, Barker, Neah Evans and Josie Knight.
The Glasgow-raised ace soared to victory with Kenny, Barker and Joanna Rowsell in Brazil five years ago and has gone on to scoop World Championship golds in the omnium and madison since.
British Cycling’s Tokyo tilt is being fuelled by superstar car manufacturer Lotus, with Team GB riders set to take to the track on a cuttingedge, innovative and radical new design.
A Lotus model carried Chris Boardman to individual pursuit victory at Barcelona 1992 and cycling-obsessed Archibald, a 14-time European champion, says following in his “historic” footsteps is intensifying her hunger for gold.
She said: “I love the bike. I love the image of the bike and it puts a swagger in your pedal.
“I love to ride it, it’s fast and it’s fun.
“[Lotus] attaches it to cycling history, which I think inspires a lot of people beyond just those who are obsessing over the latest bike model, which – even in cycling – isn’t everybody.
“The name Lotus is history with Chris Boardman – and the fascination of British Cycling as an innovator in cycling aerodynamics.
“That’s all wrapped into the Lotus brand – it feels like a privilege to be one of the riders on that piece of history and putting it on a new page.
“The package feels radical – and when everything comes together, you suddenly think: this is it.”
British Cycling’s Olympic prestige is long-established and Archibald, Kenny, Barker
and Rowsell cemented that legacy in Rio.
The quartet captured hearts with a thrilling triumph in a world-record time to secure their place in Team GB folklore and rack up one of six track cycling golds in Brazil.
Archibald has soared to team pursuit glory at the last three European Championships and heads to her second Games in red-hot form. She knows she cannot dwell on nostalgia in Tokyo and is calling on her teammates to go even faster to cap a second consecutive gold.
“We’re guilty of always referencing things against Rio, because Rio was such a success,” said Archibald, whose Team GB exploits will be broadcast live on Eurosport and discovery+.
“It can be tempting to look back when you’re nervous and lean back on that and say: this worked, let’s just repeat it.
“But we can’t do that. We don’t just want to repeat Rio – we’re definitely going to have to go a lot faster than Rio.
“What we want to repeat about it is the gold medal, what we want to repeat about it is the world record. And to do that, we need to stretch ourselves in different ways. We have a different team that’s achieving that and I feel good with the set-up we have.” Stream every unmissable moment of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 live on discovery+, The Streaming Home of the Olympics.