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“It’s not like an Olympics, it’s so much more” UCI Track Champions League wins for Brits in London

 The final two rounds of this year’s UCI Track Champions League saw four British endurance riders storm to victory in front of a home Lee Valley crowd. 

Scratch race victories for William Perrett and Mark Stewart and elimination wins for Katie Archibald and Oliver Wood across the two days ignited the velodrome for a final time this year.

The wins were not enough for any of the British riders to secure the coveted blue champions skinsuit, but a race win at Lee Valley was memorable for all.

The UCI Track Champions League sprint champions were Australian Matthew Richardson and French rider Mathilde Gros. The endurance categories were won by Switzerland’s Claudio Imhof and American Jennifer Valente.

In round four, William Perrett jubilantly celebrated with the crowd two laps before he crossed the line for his scratch race victory.

“It was absolutely amazing. The home crowd gives you an extra few watts and that extra boost. My family is in the crowd so it’s so nice for them to come and see me do well,” he said.

“You’d say we definitely have an advantage [racing at home]. It’s so nice being here. I raced here at the Commonwealth Games and that was an amazing experience. The crowd is always so good here. People really come out and enjoy their cycling and I hope I just put on a good show for them.”

The following day, Mark Stewart opened the winning proceedings for the British riders with a scratch race win.

“That’s the best feeling I’ve ever had on a bike. It wasn’t the win, the win induced the crowd. That [crowd] is unbelievable. It’s such a small sport and you grow up with people not really knowing track cycling but you know it and your peers know it.

“It’s so cool to see this packed out and you can showcase our passion. To see however many thousand people share that [win] with you is pretty special,” Stewart said.

“We just want to race. We race honest. Take that how you want, some people race with a bit of collusion. But we race honest and we want to see each other do well. We’re racing to win,

“I know I can sprint well but not if everyone is fresh. A race like that suited me down to a tee, it was just relentless. I don’t care about the overall, I just wanted to get a win in London. Wow.”

Stewart downplayed his win, putting it down to luck.

“I knew there were two on their own but I just knew from the pace we were going they weren’t going to get away. I thought right, four to go, three to go, I just want to be at the front. I saw the two Dutch together, and when I say you need a bit of luck in races, that’s what I mean,” he said.

“I happened to be rolling up as the Dutch started the lead out, and lucky old me found myself in the middle of it. That wasn’t my doing that was a bit of luck! When [Matthijs] Büchli came over me I thought dammit I’ve ballsed it, but when I came round him, wow, that was fantastic!”

Katie Archibald won the overall endurance title last year and was second this year.

Following a difficult year as injuries and setbacks throughout the year ultimately resulted in her withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games, alongside an incompressible tragedy in her personal life, seeing her back winning pulled on the heartstrings of many.

After being disappointed with her performance in round four, a round five elimination race victory was incredibly well deserved. The win from Stewart before her race and the reaction of the crowd spurred her on.

“I was saying to Laura [Kenny] beforehand if in doubt go fast and go forwards. I was just tuned in on winning. I thought last effort, big shot. To be honest, I’m still holding my chest from Mark’s big win, that really hit home here,” she said.

“I kind of wish that Jennifer [Valente] had contested at the end there. It’s a habit of mine if I think I’ve got people I like to keep it going hard and rolling fast. I would have liked to play a bit more,” Archibald added.

“I’ve described that feeling, I’ve had it with Laura racing Madisons. It’s not like an Olympics, it’s so much more being in London,”

“I can’t imagine what they experienced with a home Olympic games in this velodrome. It’s really an experience you can’t describe. I’m so grateful that I’m one of the handful of people that have felt something like that in their bones.”

Oliver Wood went on to end a night of triumph for British riders with a spectacular elimination win.

“That was very hard. I literally almost gave up. My main aim going into it was to keep fourth, and then Büchli was just holding me all the way,” he said with a chuckle.

“He ended up coming out third so I thought well I’ve got this far. When Claudio [Imhof] went, I could hear the crowd and thought let’s give it some. I put my head down and honestly didn’t look where he was, and went full gas.’

“It’s pretty special. I’ve won two others in Paris and Berlin but nothing compares to that. I guess the crowd are just happy to see a British person do well which is nice because it’s me!” he said with a smile.

 

 

 

 

 

Author

  • Imogen Ainsworth

    Imogen is a sports journalist with a keen interest in rugby union, cycling, and hockey. She has bylines in The Times, The Rugby Paper, and The Hockey Paper alongside writing for Sports Gazette. She has a degree in sport science from St Mary’s University and is an avid Gloucester Rugby supporter.

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