GIRL PEDAL POWER JOY
Katie up for first women’s Madison Olympic race
SCOTLAND’S world and Olympic champion Katie Archibald has defended the inclusion of a much-criticised women’s Madison race at the next Olympics.
The IOC recently reintroduced the race into their men’s track cycling schedule for Tokyo 2020, with a women’s event also being included for the first time.
Madison, dropped from the Olympics for both London and Rio but now back, said: “The women’s Madison often gets criticism for not being at the same level as the men’s. But we’re sat there in a chicken and egg situation – give us the races so we can prove we can do it.
“To be on the world stage on television, to be out there to show other women and other girls this is how we race can get people more involved in the sport.”
The Scot won the first global women’s gold medal in the Madison when she and Manon Lloyd raced to victory in the Glasgow World Cup last year.
Archibald, Olympic champ in the team pursuit, is a big advocate of the event – which will also be contested by women for the first time at Six Day London in October – and is pleased to see more parity being achieved between men’s and women’s racing.
She said: “I like the conversations where young girls can see they can do this too and are wanting to get involved.
“If you compare to the 2008 Olympics there was disparity with the medals available to the men and women. But now we’re seeing that change and more opportunities, such as the Madison, are coming back and we’re all hitting towards the highest common denominator.
“I’m hugely privileged and elated to be part of that rise.”
Archibald will return to Six Day London to defend the women’s omnium title she won on debut in 2016. Alongside the new women’s Madison race, the event will also see female riders able to score the UCI points that enable them to qualify for World Cup races – a development Archibald welcomed.
She said: “To have UCI points is really important. We wanted it because it helps us qualify for the World Cup and makes it easier for the event to entice the bigger riders because they can come and get the race experience, while also having everything linking in.
“Some of the Australian or Italian riders, teams we’ve not seen at London before, can come because they know there are points available. It’s what you turn up on the start line to do, they want to beat you and you want to beat them.”