The double Olympic champion stood atop a podium flanked by her Great Britain team-mates. Elinor Barker, riding for Wales, claimed silver, while Scotland’s Katie Archibald took the bronze.
Trott told British Cycling that she had been ill in the lead up to the race and placed her victory in Glasgow alongside those achieved at the London Olympic Games.
“I haven’t eaten properly for the last two days,” she said. “I have been living off porridge and I am not even a porridge fan. This is right up there with the Olympics for me because of the way I have had to come into it after the disappointment of the last two days.”
Barker headed the trio as the final sprint drew near, carrying a one-point advantage over her more decorated Team GB colleague. As the bell sounded, it was another member of Great Britain’s revolving cast of team pursuit queens, Archibald, who powered ahead to claim the sprint and five points – enough for bronze.
But by finishing second, and collecting three vital points, Trott managed to top Barker’s points haul and claim gold and with it a Commonwealth Games title to place alongside the Olympic, world, European, and British titles that decorate her impeccable palmares.
There was further gold medal success for England in the final day’s action in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, courtesy of Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott. The para-cycling duo seized victory in the kilometre time trial in a time good enough for a Commonwealth Games record.
Scott described the event to British Cycling as “painful”, claiming that no athlete looked forward to a kilo time trial. “But we were working so hard for this one,” she explained. “It only hurts really [with] two laps to go, but those go really slowly! It’s horrible.”
“This is the one we train for day in, day out,” Thornhill added. “To get the gold, and post that time, I’m so happy.”
The English pairing overcame the formidable challenge of Team Scotland’s Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston, whose time of 1:09.771 had topped the table until the final ride of the day – that of Thornhill and Scott, which lowered the record to 1:08.187.
Jess Varnish (England) won the minor final for the women’s sprint and claimed the bronze medal. She overcame the challenge of Fatehah Mustapa and was aided in her cause by an infringement from the Malaysian in the first heat, for which she was relegated. Varnish’s bronze medal was her second of the Games. The Bromsgrove rider, 23, won her first in the women’s 500m time trial.
The Isle of Man team placed two riders in the men’s scratch race. Mark Christian, who races on the road for Team Raleigh, finished fourth, one place ahead of team-mate, Joe Kelly. Mark Stewart (Scotland) was sixth – a fine achievement for an eighteen-year-old after 80 laps of racing.
Stewart’s Scotland team-mates, Chris Pritchard and John Paul finished ninth and eleventh respectively in the minor final for the men’s keirin, either side of tenth-placed Matt Crampton (England).
