Katie Archibald
Scottish teenager Katie Archibald has enjoyed a year to remember on the track this year, impressing at the national championships, joining the team pursuit squad to win European Championship gold – in world record time, naturally – and then performing well at the first round of the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester. It was at the latter where the pink-haired 19-year-old truly shone through, earning two medals as the sole representative for Scotland’s Braveheart team.
Buoyed by her performances at the European Championships, Archibald showed incredible power to gain a lap in the women’s points race. She then called on all of her limited experience to latch onto Dani King’s wheel and stay safe in the bunch before launching her final sprint for the line, from which she earned a silver medal. And to cap the weekend, less than 12 hours later Archibald returned to the track to qualify for the bronze medal final of the individual pursuit. Up against Poland’s Eugenia Bujak, the Scot appeared to have given herself too much to do as she started well off the pace, but her stamina and power shone through as she gradually clawed her way back before accelerating to a comfortable victory by more than three seconds.
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