GB team pursuiters take gold on day two of European Track Championships

Words by Patrick Fletcher

Great Britain claimed three medals on the second day of the UEC Elite Track European Championships in Guadeloupe, including gold in the men’s and women’s team pursuits.

The quartet of Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Ciara Horne and Laura Trott were utterly convincing in their triumph on the outdoor, 333-metre velodrome. They beat Germany by over four seconds in the semi-final, and posted a 4-38.391 to beat Russia by over seven seconds to claim gold.

Britain’s men then followed suit, as Ed Clancy, Jon Dibben, Owain Doull and Andy Tennant stopped the clock on 4-11.545 in the final to beat Germany by almost a second.

It was the fourth time in five years that the both team pursuit squads had triumphed at the Championships.

GB’s medal count for the day was taken to three when Clancy won bronze in the scratch race, behind Belgium’s Otto Vergaerde and Spain’s Eloy Teruelrovira.

In the team sprint, Lewis Oliva, Matt Crampton and Callum Skinner were just two tenths of a second away from a medal-winning ride, but ended up in sixth.

Today’s schedule includes the men’s sprint, omnium and points race, along with the women’s sprint and scratch race.