JOHN Archibald won a surprise bronze medal in the men’s 4km pursuit at the British Track Cycling Championships, defeating compatriot Mark Stewart in the third-fourth place ride-off. The 26 year-old sprung a surprise by grabbing a spot on the podium despite having become a trach rider only a matter of months ago. Archibald, who is the older brother of Olympic champion Katie, has established himself on the road in recent years but with an eye on qualifying for Team Scotland for the Commonwealth Games, he decided to try his hand on the track.
It has paid off in spectacular style, with his bronze medal highlighting his improvement over the past few months. “I’m really pleased with that ride - normally it’s hard to back up your time from the heats in the final so I was pleased with that ride,” he said.
“I’m delighted to be on the podium - if someone had suggested to me even a year a go that I’d be on a British podium even a year ago, I’d have said no chance so I’m really pleased with that.
“Coming into this weekend, I knew I was in the hunt for a medal but I’ve had high expectations before and been disappointed so I wasn’t pessimistic but I was realistic. So I’m really delighted with how things are going on the track.”
Olympic champion Callum Skinner is one of the star names in action today, going in the 1km time trial, where he will be one of the favourites to take the win. Amongst others, he will be up fellow Scots Jamie Alexander, Mark Stewart and Lewis Stewart.
John Archibald, Joe Nally and Mark Stewart are in the 30km points race, Alexander, Jack Carlin and Lewis Stewart are in the sprint and Laura Cluxton and Emma Baird go in the para-cycling mixed team pursuit.
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