Katie Archibald becomes omnium world champion for second time in utterly dominant display

Britain's Katie Archibald delivered a phenomenal display of strength to win the women's omnium in the 2021 Track World Championships.

On a night of total dominance in Roubaix, France, Archibald topped the leaderboard in all six of the omnium races to become the world title in the discipline for the second time, repeating her 2017 success.

She set the standard in the two qualifying heats, top-scoring with 40 points, and emulated that tally in the opening scratch race.

The Scotswoman then won 14 of the 26 sprints in the tempo race and gained a crucial lap on the field to win that event with 36 points.  

Following a short break, Archibald resumed her control by triumphing in the elimination race and then winning four of the eight sprints in the points race to take ownership of the rainbow jersey.

Belgium's top road sprinter Lotte Kopecky had to settle for second, while road world champion Elisa Balsamo rounded out the podium. 

Archibald's victory follows on from her success in the same discipline at the European Championships earlier this month and is her 24th gold medal at major tournaments. 

In becoming the first Briton to claim a world title at these Worlds, Archibald - who picked up Tokyo Olympic gold in the Madison with Laura Kenny and silver in the team pursuit - said: "I had a nice run at the Euros. The races here have gone quite differently, and in some ways I'm happy I've succeeded in different ways.

"I was just so unbelievably nervous and it feels so much better now. This has been a fantastic year."

Back in August, Ashton Lambie set a new individual pursuit world record at altitude with a blistering time of 3-59.93. The American was unable to get as close to that sub-four minute time in Roubaix, but he still claimed the gold medal in spectacular fashion.

The 30-year-old went one better than the silver medal he claimed at the Berlin-held 2020 edition, posting a time of 4-05.060 in the final against Italian Jonathan Milan who set 4-06.149. Milan's Italian teammate Filippo Ganna took the bronze medal.

In the first of day three's gold medal races, Frenchman Benjamin Thomas won gold in the men's points race, before Netherland's Jeffrey Hoogland added a sixth rainbow jersey to his growing collection with a win in the one kilometre time trial.

Hoogland, who won the equivalent race at the recent European Championships and at the 2018 Worlds, posted the fastest time of 58.418.

Meanwhile, in an all-German final, Emma Hinze narrowly beat her compatriot Lea Friedrich in the women's sprint, the 24-year-old Hinze winning her fifth world title.