Golden double as Britain finish on a high
Gold medals for Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald in the Madison, and for Matthew Walls in the omnium, rounded off a successful UCI Track World Cup meeting for Britain at London’s Olympic velodrome.
Archibald and Kenny scored in all but one of the Madison sprints – a chaotic event in which teams of two riders hand-sling each other around the track for 20 kilometres (80 laps) – before a storming final lap from Kenny made the British pair’s victory certain.
It was their second gold medal of the weekend after their team pursuit triumph on Friday evening. And it was particularly significant with the Madison returning to the Olympic programme in 2020.
“We rode well as a pair,” Kenny said afterwards. “I felt very aware of where we needed to be throughout the race, and we were coming in for the sprints at the right time.
“We bring something very different – I couldn’t have led out for six laps like Katie did, and we planned for me to be in for the final sprint – and it worked.
“I knew we didn’t actually need to win that final sprint because Australia had already gone backwards, but you want to please the home crowd. I went absolutely full gas, and absolutely loved it.”
Australia – represented by Amy Cure and Annette Edmondson – took silver, and Lotte Kopecky and Jolien D’hoore, of Belgium, completed the podium.
Twenty-year-old Walls then gave the home crowd more to celebrate, as he completed his full set of weekend medals with a stunning victory in the men’s omnium.
Consistent finishes of third (scratch race), second (tempo race) and second (elimination race) gave Walls a lead going into the final event of the day, the points race.
Mexico’s Ignacio Prado Juarez threatened that lead by drawing level with Walls’ overall points tally as he gained a lap on the field.
However, the Briton – who won team pursuit bronze and Madison silver earlier in the weekend – was not to be denied and proved too strong for Prado in the closing stages. Olympic champion Elia Viviani won bronze.
Elsewhere, Team Inspired’s Jack Carlin was edged out of the medal positions in the men’s sprint, losing a deciding race for bronze to Dutchman Jeffrey Hoogland.
Hoogland’s compatriot, Harrie Lavreysen, claimed gold ahead of Australia’s world champion, Matthew Glaetzer.
Katy Marchant also came up just short in the women’s keirin, finishing fourth in the final after she had battled through the rounds via the repechage. Australia’s Stephanie Morton took gold.