Archibald and Kenny firm up Madison partnership with win
Battle for Tokyo selection hots up as Britain claims 13 medals, reports Vern Pitt
Olympic gold medallists Katie Archibald and Laura Kenny headed a British squad that claimed 13 medals at the Belgian International Track Meeting in Ghent at the weekend, one of only two appointments for the team ahead of the Olympics in August.
The winter track season has been all but wiped out by Covid-19, which saw last month’s World Cup in Newport cancelled, leaving last weekend’s Belgian UCI event one of the only opportunities to race.
Archibald said:
“This was like a totally stacked field, because everybody’s turned up as this might be our pre-games hit-out… It’s the fiercest UCI meet I’ve ever done, nobody is taking this lightly.”
The 27-year-old was one of the squad’s most successful riders at the meet, winning the Madison alongside Laura Kenny and picking up third in the omnium, won by Kirsten Wild with Kenny second and second in the elimination.
She said racing against a high-level international Madison field was key preparation for Tokyo. “Now that we’re at the pointy end, and we’ve really got our sights on the Games, it’s so important for Laura and I to solidify our partnership. The benefit we had four years ago was that we had maybe six riders that could potentially contend at the Olympic Games whereas the Dutch and the Belgians and the Danish, for example, were working with two or three riders. When all the races got taken away, we knew we had to find out exactly what works and we had to find out now.”
She said only herself, Kenny and Elinor Barker were now in the running to contest the Madison, and selection would probably come well ahead of the Games.
“It isn’t a case of turning up with legs, you have to turn up with a commitment to one another with an understanding of one another,” said Archibald.
She added: “I think I’ve got the ability to be Olympic champion, but you need somebody else to believe that and hopefully you need a few people to believe that.”
The race itself was dominated by the British and Belgian teams trying to chase down a lap after the Dutch gained one early on. Once they managed it, second place in the final sprint ensured Archibald and Kenny of victory.
The Scot said the higher level of competition made for a different dynamic compared to less formidable fields, with a smaller gap in effort between the sprints and the lulls; she added that success in that environment was heartening.
It was also the women’s endurance squad’s first time at a competition with new coach Monica Greenwood, who took over from long-standing coach Paul Manning in January. Archibald said the fresh start had been good for her.
“Paul and I had spent a very long time working together. He’d seen my lowest of lows, and it can sometimes be a bit disconcerting knowing that somebody knows that part of you.
“These days I feel like I am a lot more competent, a lot more in control of my entire career and a lot more consistent with my training and day-to-day life. Now I have a coach that knows that version of myself.”
When asked how she felt about the impending Olympic Games, Archibald said: “Terrified. But that’s how you’re meant to feel.”