The Great Britain Cycling Team struck gold twice in the space of a glorious half-hour spell on the second evening of the TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester.
The men’s team pursuit quartet led the way – Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Ollie Wood and Kian Emadi put together a faultless ride in the final to record a time of 3:55:487, comfortably beating their Danish opponents.
Back in a jersey - and back on the top step of the podium.
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 11, 2017
Pretty good weekend for @Ed_Clancy at #TrackWorldCup in Manchester. pic.twitter.com/HjkKlsgjCM
British national champions Team KGF finished fourth in the event, narrowly missing out on a medal as European champions France overhauled them in the final stages of the bronze medal ride-off.
The men’s team pursuit was swiftly followed by the women’s Madison, and the home crowd were on their feet again as Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker combined to seal Great Britain’s second gold medal of the night.
The duo were up against Belgian world champions Lotte Kopecky and Jolien D’Hoore, but the Britons quickly set their stall out by winning three of the first four sprints. The Belgians showed their class though, coming back into the race to give themselves a chance of winning due to the double points on offer in the final sprint.
"Pretty happy with that!"
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 11, 2017
So are we @_katiearchibald and @elinorbarker!
A sensational Cycling Team gold in the Madison.#TrackWorldCup pic.twitter.com/PMf0lI9XYL
They crossed the line first, but Archibald was hot on the heels of D’Hoore to ensure that she and Barker took gold by a two-point margin.
The duo had more to celebrate earlier in the day, as along with Emily Nelson and Neah Evans, they were in dominant form in the women’s team pursuit qualifying round.
The British quartet recorded the fastest time of the day – 4:18:471 - to delight the home crowd by beating the Italian quartet and keeping hopes of another gold medal alive.
Also still in medal contention in the team pursuit are Team Breeze, after Becky Raybould, Ellie Dickinson, Jenny Holl and Abbie Dentus crossed the line as a four in 4:28:895. That was the sixth fastest time of the qualifying stage, and means that they remain in the hunt for the bronze medal.
They ride against Russia tomorrow, while Great Britain will take on Belgium for a place in the final.
Men’s omnium
Mark Stewart put in a fantastic performance to recover from an unfortunate crash in the opening event to finish fifth overall in the men’s omnium. Stewart was involved in a collision in the closing stages of the scratch race, ultimately being awarded 17th place.
He fought back admirably though, taking fifth in the tempo race and third in a thrilling elimination race. Midway through the concluding points race, Stewart launched a brilliant solo attack to take the lap he needed to haul himself back into medal contention, however further lap gains elsewhere in the field kept the Scot off the podium. France’s world champion Benjamin Thomas took gold.
Men’s sprint
Three British riders made it through to the men’s sprint quarter-finals, but that’s where home medal interest ended, as Jack Carlin and Phil Hindes lost 2-0 to the Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen and Beat Cycling Club’s Matthijs Buchli respectively, while, after being relegated for an infringement during his second race, Wales’ Lewis Oliva lost by the same scoreline against Mateusz Rudyk of Poland.
Callum Skinner, riding for 100% me, saw his event ended in the 1/16 finals by Germany’s Max Levy.
Women’s keirin
Katy Marchant finished eighth in the keirin, whilst Wales’ Rachel James went out in the repechage. The event was eventually won by Germany’s Kristina Vogel, who managed to avoid a crash which took out half of the field in the closing stages of the final.
Women’s 500m time trial
Marchant was back in action in the 500m time trial later in the evening, recording a time of 34:501 to finish in seventh.