No gold for track duo on day of drama
THE usually irresistible forces of two Scots met shuddering moveable objects last night, sending hopes of triumph crashing in the European Championships but emerging with one silver and a determination to strike gold today.
Katie Archibald and Jack Carlin encountered formidable speed bumps in the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome.
Kirstin Wild, 35, the Dutchwoman who has been winning at the top level for more than a decade, proved to be Archibald’s nemesis in the omnium, but not until a furious battle had been fought. The 24-yearold Glaswegian had to settle for silver but took the struggle to the last of the four races that form this exacting challenge.
Carlin, the 21-year-old from Paisley, was battered, butted and ultimately beaten in the sprint, squeezed out of a bronze medal in the last race of an extraordinary day in the east end of Glasgow. It was a draining experience for both.
Archibald was subjected to the peculiar torture of the omnium, an event that consists of four varieties of lung-bursting races. The Scot stuck to her task, finishing second in the scratch race, and fifth in the tempo but unfortunately for her, Wild bettered her in both events.
The elimination race saw a change of fortune for Archibald as the riders were whittled down to her and Wild. The Scot produced a breathtaking finish to deny her Dutch rival.
And so to the points race, with Archibald just two behind. The gold on the line, it was the Dutch rider who prevailed.
Archibald and Wild were so close throughout the race that they could have been on a tandem. It was Wild, though, who picked up the crucial sprint points to take the gold with 156 to Archibald’s 144. Italy’s Letizia Paternoster was third on 111.
It was an almost merciful end to a day that was brutally intense with the first stage a 7.5km scratch race, followed by a 7.5km tempo race, an elimination race and finally the decisive 20km points race. Wild and Archibald thrilled the crowd with a duel that was compelling. The Dutchwoman prevailed after an epic struggle but Archibald displayed a doggedness that was admirable.
‘There wasn’t much I could do,’ said Archibald of the final race. ‘I realised early on that I didn’t have the speed on Kirsten. I wasn’t fast enough there.’
In typically unforgiving fashion, she added: ‘Maybe I let it get in my head and I didn’t fight as much as I should have.’
This was a harsh judgment that testifies more to her disappointment rather than an accurate summary of a determined fight to the finish.
For Carlin, it was a day of toil, controversy and, finally, anguish.
It started smoothly when he only needed two races to defeat reigning champion Sebastien Visgier of France in the quarter-finals. The semi-final match-up with Stefan Botticher of Germany, however, was worthy — in terms of a desperate shootout — of the spaghetti Western soundtrack that accompanied it. It was finally good for Botticher. It was bad and downright ugly for Carlin.
Carlin won the first race and was relegated. Botticher took the second and was relegated. It fell to a third and so did the German. The tension was ramped up as Botticher’s bike slid from under him and the decisive race had to be stopped then restarted. Carlin allowed Botticher a crucial first run and his aim was lowered gold to bronze.
‘There was a bit of argy bargy in the second one, a few headbutts here and there,’ said Carlin, reflecting on that physical battle.
In the run-off for bronze, he faced Harrie Lavreysen. The Dutchman had lost in the semi-final to his colleague Jeffrey Hoogland, who went on to win gold. Carlin lost the first race but fought back to set up a final showdown. The Dutchman, however, took the bronze.
Both Carlin and Archibald now bid to strike gold today with the Paisley rider going in the keirin and Archibald in the Madison with Laura Kenny. Golden dreams withered in the heat of battle last night. Hope survives for another day.