In freezing conditions which created additional challenges on an already technical course, Great Britain’s three junior women put on an impressive show of grit and determination in their debut world championships. Arabella Blackburn finished 17th overall, with Zoe Roche right behind in 18th and Ellie Mitchinson in 23rd place.

The incredibly animated race saw the riders out of the saddle from the start of the five-lap competition, with two French riders taking a four second lead early on before Lise Revol rode off solo with a six second lead.

Having won her first world title as part of the team relay yesterday, Zoe Roche crossed the line in 12th place after the first lap in a tight group of nine. Going into the second lap, Revol had a 24 second lead with a group of six following closely behind, while Roche crossed in 11th, 41 seconds behind the leader. Two laps in, Blackburn was in 19th place with Mitchinson slightly further back in pack in 30th.

Heading into the third lap, the testing conditions of the course which had begun to thaw out resulted in the race being split into small groups. At the head of the race, Czech rider Barbora Bukovská was on Revol’s tail, putting pressure on her to bring the gap down to 16 seconds. Meanwhile, Roche had made ground in the standings and at around a minute behind the leader sat in 10th place, neck and neck with Alyssa Sarkisov (USA), as the field battled through the steep ramps and technical descents.

With two laps to go, Roche began to slow, dropping down to 12th place while Blackburn and Mitchinson’s hard work was rewarded as they moved into 16th and 24th place respectively.

At the head of the race, Bukovská had closed the gap to get on Revel’s wheel, making the French rider’s lead much more vulnerable. With a hard push, Bukovská whipped past Revel and put the power down to create a five second lead with Revel looking slightly defeated behind her.

Further back in the race, the Brits flip flopped in positioning as Roche dropped down to 16th, Blackburn dropped to 19th while Mitchinson pushed a place forward to 23rd.

Crossing the line into the penultimate lap, the Brits moved closer together, with a minute gap between Roche in 16th and Mitchinson who had moved up again to 22nd, with Blackburn steady in the middle in 19th place.

At the front was a dramatic cat and mouse chase for gold and silver, as the Czech and French riders battled it out with the gap increasing and decreasing between sections. A slip up from Bukovská who thought she had won with one lap to go gave Revol an opportunity to capitalise, which she took with gusto, hounding the leader through the final lap before managing to finally sneak past her with just a few hundred metres to go. With pure determination, Revol never let up and crossed the finish line to take the world title an impressive 11 seconds ahead of her rival.

The British riders performed well in a tough field under challenging conditions and on the first time of asking, Blackburn finished 17th overall, Zoe Roche finished 18th and Ellie Mitchinson placed 23rd.

Tomorrow’s final day of competition will kick off with Oscar Amey and Milo Wills in the junior men’s race at 10am GMT. 

Zoe Backstedt will be competing to retain her under-23 title alongside Cat Ferguson, Ella Maclean-Howell and Imogen Wolff from 12pm, and the elite men’s race will round off the day from 2pm with Cam Mason and Thomas Mein representing Great Britain.