Ethan Hayter strikes world omnium gold as Katie Archibald adds bronze
Ethan Hayter completed a golden omnium double for Great Britain at the UCI track cycling world championships, winning the men’s event in Roubaix on Saturday.
Katie Archibald, who took the women’s omnium gold on Friday, had to settle for bronze in the women’s madison alongside Reah Evans – but brought her total for the event to three medals. The Dutch duo Amy Pieters and Kirsten Wild won gold.
Hayter continued his excellent form in 2021, beating New Zealand’s Aaron Gate by 56 points with Elia Viviani of Italy in third. The 23-year-old came second in the Tour of Britain in September and won the British national road time trial last week, having won silver alongside Matt Walls in the madison at the Tokyo Olympics.
The British rider dominated his qualifying heat before winning the first two main events on Saturday afternoon, keeping clear of a crash in the latter stages of the scratch race. In the elimination race, Hayter stayed at the front and eventually came in fourth, which saw him lead the standings heading into the final event.
Hayter continued his domination in the points race to take his first individual rainbow jersey and become the first British cyclist to win men’s world omnium gold since Ed Clancy in 2010. He adds gold to a bronze medal won in the men’s team pursuit earlier this week in France.“The way that last race went, it was quite tight at the start, but I knew if I scored well in the first few sprints and had a little gap it would make life a lot easier for me,” Hayter said. “The race was going really hard and people were tired, but I just kept the pressure on.”
Hayter added: “I’ll feel it tonight, but I kind of felt better throughout the day to be honest, so I’m feeling good for tomorrow.” He will compete in the madison on Sunday, the final day of this year’s world championships.
Earlier, Archibald teamed up with Neah Evans in the women’s madison to win her third medal of the week. The British duo claimed two points in the final sprint to edge out Italy’s Letizia Paternoster and Rachele Barbieri, with France’s Clara Copponi and Marie Le
Net in second.
“A worlds bronze medal is very special,” Evans said. “It was a really hard race from the gun, a really good race, obviously we’re slightly disappointed. But I think there’s a lot to be proud of today and some points we’re looking to improve on, and I think the future is going to be really bright for us.”
There was also drama outside the velodrome as 20 bicycles – 15 of them track cycling bikes – were stolen from the Italian team’s hotel car park overnight. “It was the work of well-organised professionals,” said the head of the Italian delegation, Roberto Amadio.