Ollie Wood and Mark Stewart survived Madison madness as the Team GB sprinters shone in the women’s individual sprint and men’s keirin races at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on the penultimate night of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Men’s Madison
Ollie Wood and Mark Stewart rode a controlled men’s Madison to finish in 10th position after a chaotic finish.
Austria kicked off the 200 lap race to gain a lap from the gun, while the British pair took two points in the second sprint. The duo continued to stay near the front, but just outside the next few sprints. Denmark, Belgium and New Zealand continued to dominate and make moves off the front, with the British duo still well in the mix near the front of the race.
Gaining another two points in the ninth sprint, Britain were in ninth place, joint with Denmark. As the pace increased and more attacks went off the front, the peloton began to splinter, with Britain in 10th position at the halfway mark. The pair picked up four more points in the next three sprints to move into eighth position, and then claimed two points in the 15th sprint to go joint with the Australians in 10th place.
A frantic last quarter of the race saw a flurry of attacks and crashes, with Wood being knocked off by the Dutch, but he managed to recover and get back on quickly. Unfortunately, it meant the Brits lost a lap and had to settle for 10th place at the finish, joint with Belgium.
Having been Ethan Hayter’s replacement, Stewart said:
“It’s really special. I think four years ago I didn’t think it was possible – I thought that dream was sort of gone and I made my peace with that. To be standing here 24 hours ago, I still thought it wasn't the case, so it's really special. How many people even get one shot at being on the British Cycling programme let alone two? I think that's testament to me in that I've worked hard, but also in the opportunities I've been given and people that have opened the door. Scottish Cycling have supported me in many ways to get me back to where I am. I wouldn't be stood here without them.
“It was really special [to race with Ollie]. Before Ollie crashed, he said to me 'it's not done yet mate, let's dig in'. That was special to share that small bit of communication and to fight to the end together. I've loved the whole week. I've loved being a reserve, I've loved being an Olympian. In LA, I'll love being a medallist.”
Women’s individual sprint
After successful qualifying rides yesterday, Emma Finucane beat Kristina Clonan (Australia) with ease, before Sophie Capewell just edged past Shaane Fulton (New Zealand) in a photo finish to see both Brits fly through to the quarter-finals.
Finucane next faced Martha Bayona (Colombia), with the Colombian rider giving it a good go, but was unable to touch the world champion, who led the entire race from the front to take the win. The second race saw Finucane watch Bayona with care, before powering round the her with ease to make the semi-final in two rides. She will next face keirin gold medallist Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand).
Capewell was just edged out on both occasions by Dutch rider Hetty van der Wouw in her quarter-final match sprint, seeing her out of contention for a medal. The Brit will ride in the fifth to eighth place final tomorrow.
Men’s keirin
Jack Carlin kicked off his keirin racing in style, sailing into the quarter-finals in second position behind Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands).
Hamish Turnbull had to go into the repechages, finishing in fourth in his heat. The North East rider showed his strength to attack from last place to second in the final lap of the repechage and enter the quarter-finals tomorrow.
The final day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will see the conclusion of the women’s individual sprint and men’s keirin, while Neah Evans will race in the women’s omnium.
You can watch on Discovery+ or BBC from 9:45 BST and follow the results on the British Cycling social media channels.
