GOLD PEDAL
Scot Katie leads fab four to cycle glory
KATIE Archibald last night spoke of her pride at being back on top spot in Europe after Great Britain’s emphatic win over Italy in the team pursuit final. Archibald, Laura Kenny, Elinor Barker and Neah Evans picked up the nation’s first gold of these European Championships after beating their rivals by more than eight seconds at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. It’s the second time this year GB have finished a place higher than Italy on the podium after claiming silver at the World Championships in February. ‘I guess it’s like any competitive sport, you don’t come back with a grudge, but you come back wanting to win,’ said the 24-year-old Scot. ‘I’m proud to be back on the top step in the Europeans.’ The teams battled it out in the early stages of the race, with the leader changing every lap around the 2km mark. But GB showed their quality to retake the lead at the 2,500m mark. The Italians fell apart and the home nation comfortably saw out the race to the roar of the Glasgow crowd.
These championships mark the beginning of the road to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, with the first stage of qualification points up for grabs.
‘Our strategy is to qualify strongly in this first part of the season,’ said Archibald. ‘It gives you that buffer throughout the next year and a half. Historically, the Europeans has been a strong opener for us.’
However, there was disappointment for Archibald’s fellow Scot Jack Carlin, part of the British team eliminated in the first round of the men’s sprint.
Paisley-born Carlin will now focus on securing a medal in front of a home crowd in the individual sprint and keirin.
Team-mate Jason Kenny said: ‘We got it wrong a little bit. Generally I’m happy with where we’re at and obviously we’ve got a strong team — just a little bit unlucky.’