Callum Skinner finished in second place in the kilo at the British Track Cycling Championships in Manchester but the 25 year-old declared himself satisfied with his performance despite narrowly missing out on the title. The kilo was Skinner’s sole event of the weekend but he was pipped to gold by 0.524 seconds by Englishman Joe Truman, with Kian Emadi taking bronze and Skinner’s compatriot Jonathan Wale finishing in fifth place.
“I’m feeling ok about that - I dug a bit of a hole in my training camp in Australia so this was about coming out and seeing what I had left,” he said. “I was a bit down on what I managed at the Manchester World Cup (in November) so I can take confidence in that ride and then can look forward and try to improve.”
Skinner has a huge couple of months ahead with the World Championships at the start of February before the Commonwealth Games kick-off at the start of March. He is keen to peak for both competitions but admits that can be easier said than done. “It’s going to be a bit tricky to get it right because tapering is a bit of a dark art,” he said. “At the last Commonwealth Games, I didn’t get it right and then a month later I went to the Europeans and became European kilo champion so it’s a bit of a balancing act so it’ll be interesting to see how it comes off. But I’m definitely going into both competitions with the aim of being in the very best shape I can.
“We’re going to plan how exactly I’m going to manage my peak after this weekend. We’ve got a lot of good people around us here and so we’ll try to come up with the very best plan possible because the Commonwealth Games means a lot to me and the World is a major target for the season as well. So I’ll get back into some hard work next week before I start to taper off before the World Championships.”
Despite his success on the Olympic stage Skinner has yet to win a Commonwealth games medal but taking into account the strength of Scottish sprinting – there is a raft of young sprinters coming up behind Skinner – he is confident that Gold Coast 2018 could potentially yield some silverware for Scotland. “It was only a couple of years ago when I was the only Scot in the British Cycling squad for sprints,” he said. “We used to be such a powerhouse when guys like Chris Hoy, Craig MacLean and Ross Edgar were around and then in Glasgow four years ago, there were signs that we were on our way back so hopefully by Gold Coast, we’ll be back to the kind of sprinting force that we used to be and then by Birmingham 2022, we should be firing on all cylinders so things are looking good.”
While two Scots in the top five is, on paper, a huge success, Wale admitted to being hugely disappointed with his fifth place. His preparation for this event was far from ideal – his home was burgled earlier in the week, he is still recovering from a broken collarbone, he was suffering from a cold and his start was messed up – but nevertheless, the 26 year-old was left frustrated by his performance. “That was terrible,” he declared. “There was a cock-up getting the bike in the gate and so by the time it was in, there was only five seconds on the clock and I completely lost my head. I should have been cooler but I just didn’t stay composed. I could have won this race but I just didn’t get into the ride. I pride myself on executing on the day but I didn’t do it here.”
However, Wale heads towards the Commonwealth Games with the belief that he can produce a performance that will do himself justice. “I know I can win the Commonwealth Games – I know that might sound silly with the time I rode here but I did that with no kilo training,” he said. “I need to work on my acceleration but I don’t see why me and Callum (Skinner) can’t both be on the podium in Gold Coast. But I’m in the hands of the coaches when it comes to selection so hopefully I’ll be there ok.”
Elsewhere, Olympic champion Katie Archibald won her second national title of the weekend as she successfully defended her scratch race title while her brother, John, won a thrilling gold in the 30k points race. Stirling’s Jenny Holl won her maiden British senior title in the team pursuit with Team Breeze securing a comfortable victory and 20 year-old Jack Carlin highlighted his potential by winning gold in the sprint.
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