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Katy Archibal boss all four rounds of the omnium to claim her 19th European title; Ollie Wood took gold in the scratch race; Dan Bigham claimed silver in the individual pursuit; Sophie Capewell sealed bronze in the individual sprint
Last updated: 10/02/23 21:27
Katie Archibald celebrates a record 19th European title
Katie Archibald added a 19th European title to her record tally with a display of pure dominance in the omnium as Britain celebrated two golds amid four medals on day three of the Championships in Switzerland.
A day after helping England win team gold, Archibald dominated all four rounds of the omnium, winning the scratch, tempo and elimination races before securing victory as one of three riders to get a lap of the field at the deciding point. race.
Archibald started the final race knowing that to ensure gold, he only had to mark a few rivals, the most obvious being Daria Pikulik of Poland. But the Briton did more than that, combining with an attack from Danish rider Amalie Dideriksen midway through to take an additional 20 points to earn the lap.
The 28-year-old finished with a 31-point winning margin over Pikulik – an impressive result in an event considered his first in qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
“I’ve got five massive goals between now and the Games – that’s one way of looking at it, but the other is the European title and that’s what I’m really looking forward to,” said Archibald.
“I’m quite nervous. The scratch race doesn’t finish me like it usually does, especially when you win, you feel confident, but I think it’s going to be very difficult for me. It turns out that other people are also very difficult. .”
Ollie Wood, part of the chasing squad of the British team who took silver on Thursday, had previously claimed his 10th European medal but his first gold with a superbly timed attack in the scratch race.
Wood stormed the outside of the pack as he passed the bell to signal the final lap and didn’t look like he was caught as the 27-year-old sat down to celebrate before the line.
Wood’s team-mate Dan Bigham should take silver in the individual pursuit which has dominated qualifying.
Bigham, racing in the velodrome where he set the UCI Hour record last August, set a new track record – and sixth fastest – to top the table in qualifying and lead for the first three of the four kilometers at the end.
But Jonathan Milan of Italy ate the advantage in the end and nosed in front with a little over 500 meters to take the gold.
There was also a very encouraging bronze for Sophie Capewell in the women’s individual sprint, one of the best results of her 24-year career as she beat world champion Mathilde Gros in the medal round.
Capewell, part of the squad that took team sprint silver on Wednesday, crashed out in the semi-final against Lea Friedrich but comfortably beat Gros 2-0 in the battle for bronze.
That day lifted Britain to the top of the medal table with eight, just ahead of Germany’s seven, going into the weekend.
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