Report: UCI Track Champions League

A thrilling third round of the UCI Track Champions League in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines saw British riders win three of the four Endurance races with a 1-2 in the Women’s Scratch race.

Report: UCI Track Champions League

A thrilling third round of the UCI Track Champions League in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines saw British riders win three of the four Endurance races with a 1-2 in the Women’s Scratch race.

Women’s Elimination winner Katie Archibald said: “I never feel too stressed with Elimination races because you just get to ride hard. I tried to go with a bigger gear for this round because there are so many nice points on this track, but I was 100% over-geared. I had to stomp on my pedals, so I’ve learnt something for next week.

“I’m not elated that I don’t have the jersey and I’m pretty motivated heading into London next week. I’ve taken this whole series very seriously and to go into the finale still in contention, after not thinking that would be the case after Round 1, is nice. I’m going to try and do everything perfectly to give myself the best chance of winning the series.”

Women’s Scratch winner Sophie Lewis said: “That was not how I normally race a Scratch, I decided to go with a bigger gear than I normally do. When I saw I had a gap, I thought to myself ‘why did I hesitate a little bit before I went?’ but then I just went into time trial mode and saw my lead getting bigger, so I started pushing on and counting down the laps until the end. I’m pretty happy with that victory and I feel like I’m getting better with every race. It’s been a good night.”

Men’s Elimination winner Oliver Wood said: “The race was pretty hot from the start. There was a few key sections where it was just a steady pace at the front; it wasn’t too hard and I wasn’t too concerned to be honest – maybe I should have been a bit more aware – by the time I knew it, there were only six guys left. Claudio [Imhof] was really strong riding at the front and I got lucky a few times, people riding pretty hard when I was near the front, managed to not get caught out around the back sprinting. Before I knew it, it was one-versus-one at the end and I thought ‘I’ve come this far, I may as well dig even deeper and get the win’.

“It feels pretty good, I have two wins this season and I didn’t think I was really going to be capable of that after the Scratch race but I pulled it out of the bag and I guess that’s what matters.”

Men’s Scratch winner was Sebastián Mora who rode for the Raleigh team in Britain for a few years: “It was a very hard race. The Canadian guys went on the attack in the very first lap, which made it a bit more selective, and then in the last four or five laps it was really fast. I tried a late attack and it turned out to be successful, so that was fantastic for me. I love riding this track and it holds a lot of good memories for me. I’m definitely tired after three weeks of tough racing, but there’s only one week to go now so I will continue to give it my all.”

RESULTS

WOMEN’S ELIMINATION
1. Katie Archibald (Great Britain)
2. Jennifer Valente (United States)
3. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada)

9. Sophie Lewis (Great Britain)
14. Emily Kay (Ireland)

WOMEN’S SCRATCH
1. Sophie Lewis (Great Britain)
2. Katie Archibald (Great Britain)
3. Jennifer Valente (United States)

11. Emily Kay (Ireland)
18. Laura Kenny (Great Britain)

MEN’S ELIMINATION
1. Oliver Wood (Great Britain)
2. Mathias Guillemette (Canada)
3. Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)

5. Mark Stewart (Great Britain)
17. Will Perrett (Great Britain)

MEN’S SCRATCH
1. Sebastián Mora (Spain)
2. Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)
3. Matteo Donegà (Italy)

9. Mark Stewart
12. Ollie Wood
13. Will Perrett