DEADLY DUO DESTROY THE FIELD
KENNY AND ARCHIBALD BOSS THE MADISON TO SEAL GLORIOUS GOLD
LAURA Kenny’s bright blue eyes nearly jumped out of her face. Like the rest of us in the quaking Izu Velodrome, she could not believe what had just happened.
Some gold medals are won in high drama with inches or fractions of seconds separating the champion from the next person. Others are annexed so imperiously that those who might laughably be called fellow competitors needn’t have bothered getting up in the morning.
This was the latter case as Kenny and Katie Archibald turned the first women’s madison ever staged at an Olympics into a fiefdom of their own. Think of Usain Bolt and his 34-stride demolition job of the best of the rest in Beijing in 2008. This was a cycling equivalent of sorts — a case of us and them.
Unlike the great Jamaican, Kenny waited until the line had been crossed before punching the air in celebration, having just secured her and Archibald’s 10th sprint victory of 12 in this chaotic discipline, where one member of the team slings the other into battle at tactically opportune moments.
It calls for cerebral and physical powers, and this pair delivered both in overflowing measure. Naturally, they also bagged the bonus points on offer for lapping the field.
To put this pulverisation into context, the average winning score for the women’s madison in world championships is 40 points; the highest recorded is 50. They scored 78 here, with the Danes, in silver spot, on 35. Russian Olympic Committee, in third, managed 26.
Sir Chris Hoy led the applause for this quite bewildering display, saying: ‘The madison is unpredictable but this was the most assured and confident race I’ve ever seen at this level. It was outstanding.
‘They went out and dominated from the word go to win the first sprint. They won by three or four bike lengths every sprint. All their rivals were fighting for silver or bronze early on. They took that race by the scruff of the neck.’
The victory signified a serious landmark for Kenny, who became the only British woman to win titles at three different Olympics. She now owns five golds, and a silver from the team pursuit. Between her and husband Jason, with his six golds and two silvers, the Kennys have more Olympic medals at home in Knutsford, Cheshire, than 100-plus nations.
Kenny’s talents are obvious. The 29-year-old mines from her petite frame Rolls-Royce power and pushes herself to the utter limits of physical exertion, often throwing up in the pits post-race.
She goes again tomorrow in the omnium, and the momentum at her back means she will start that as slight favourite for a further coating of glory.
All this a year on from the two terrible injuries she suffered in breaking an arm and shoulder just prior to when these Games were originally due to be staged. ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’ she asked herself at the time.
But it was not all about Kenny here yesterday, and nor did the more famous of the pair try to monopolise the limelight. Archibald, 27, who had been so outstanding in the team pursuit effort that fell short on Tuesday, has crushing engine capacity and her contribution was equally valid. She now has two golds and one silver, which isn’t to be sniffed at.
The victors were given a helping hand they did not need when the Dutch world champions, Kirsten Wild and Amy Pieters, were shocked by Australian Georgia Baker charging through the middle of them as they prepared for a big sling. Wild ended up on the floor, a massive clatter of bike on track turning every head.
Kenny and Archibald rode on so serenely that the team member responsible for supplying the Union flag for the celebrations was willing to tempt fate by taking it out of the bag in readiness for the inevitable.
For British Cycling, what looked as if it might be a painful Olympics has blossomed. Taking results outside the velodrome into account, they have 10 medals to their credit, including the bronze Jack Carlin won in the men’s sprint yesterday. Matt Walls’ gold in the omnium on Thursday was the spark that lit a bonfire.
How far and for how long can Kenny go on? First comes tomorrow’s race and the chance for gold No6. But such a fierce competitor seems unlikely to walk away after that, not with Paris only three years away. As her husband has said, he expects her to go on to beat his mighty statistics.
There was a happy vibe among the Brits, and it spread to 24-year-old Carlin and his bronze. The Paisley-born rider, a world silver medallist in Apeldoorn in 2018, was emotional afterwards.
‘I’m pretty proud,’ he said after losing, as Jason had, to the eventual champion Harrie Lavreysen of Holland. ‘It’s been a long year but having the extra 12 months has benefited me. I’ve just had so much belief put into me by family, friends, staff, it feels good to have something to show for it.
‘It’s been a long five years. It’s not always easy, but I’m so happy to be here. It’s back home tonight, get the legs up, and give the keirin a good crack.’
That starts today with the final tomorrow. The medal chances are stacking up, with Walls and his housemate Ethan Hayter going in the madison this afternoon local time.
It may be that the 12 medals cycling won in Rio and London could be eclipsed before the Olympics close. And trust Laura Kenny to help them there.