JOHN and Katie Archibald’s European Championships journey will culminate in a cross examination in a curry house. It might not fit neatly within British Cycling’s marginal gains culture but whatever Scotland’s favourite track cycling siblings go on to achieve in the next fortnight will be chewed over afterwards in a debrief with their parents in one of their favourite Indian restaurants in the city.
“During competition Katie will be in the hotel, so we will see each other very little in competition,” John said about this time-honoured family ritual. “But after the event we will have a family curry and that is when we will all get the lowdown on everything that has happened. Once all the races are out the way. That is one of the few chances our mum and dad get to sit down and talk to us in the one place.”
If Katie turns up at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome this week as a seasoned performer on this stage – she already has 10 European Championship gold medals, in four different events – for once her big brother John is in pursuit. Indeed, the 27-year-old, who only converted to track cycling last year as he sought a place for Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, has perhaps even more at stake this fortnight than his illustrious sister.
Still working in the family bedding firm up until the eve of the Gold Coast, John highlighted his track cycling potential by racking up a silver for Scotland in the individual pursuit within minutes of Katie taking gold.
Upon his return, while he first needed his shoulder patched up by a physio after suffering a nasty crash in the time trial at Currumbin Beachfront, he decided it was now or never. The family business was put on the back burner, as he moved to Derby to join forces with Team KGF, an ambitious team of young team of riders who became national team pursuit champions in 2017 and have upset the British Cycling applecart by mixing it with national teams on the World Cup circuit.
Throw in a fourth-place finish in the British time-trial championships – he finished behind just Alex Dowsett, Harry Tanfield and a certain Geraint Thomas – and John received an invite to participate in the individual pursuit for Great Britain at these home European Championships as a guest rider. For now, it is only a short-term deal; a return to the day job could well come when he reassesses his plans in the spring. Alternatively, should he impress the British Cycling fraternity sufficiently with his performances this fortnight - and perhaps even a medal - a trip to the Olympics in Tokyo isn’t entirely out of the question.
“Fourth place [in the time trial] was pretty good, considering who was above me,” John said. “Then it was back to the track, three or four weeks to try to get some sharpness in the legs for the pursuit. I hope I am in a good place but at the moment it is still a bit of an unknown. At least I will be able to find out where I am at.
“They [British Cycling] are calling me a guest rider. They appreciate that I can turn up and do the event, but I am not staying in hotels and training with them all the time. I am doing my own thing. They are giving me the opportunity to race in a way that if it had been in another country the logistics might not have allowed me to do it. It is just the opportunity of it all.
“Back in Glasgow 2014 I was there purely as a spectator. Cycling was just a hobby for me, I was cycling to and from work here and there. I was going in during the evening to watch Katie race. I remember coming in to see her win bronze in the points race, being there for that session. I remember what the crowd is like. So it shouldn’t be too unfamiliar to me. It will be quite nice to come back there as part of a multi-sport event.
"When we used to do swimming or whatever, Katie was usually following in my footsteps, she got into it after me. When I was watching her cycle I wasn’t really imagining anything or seeing it as inspiration for myself. It has all kind of happened by accident, that we are both now at this level.
"But the more I think about it the more I realise that I’ve come to it late and I need to make every attempt. It makes you appreciate every race is important, not to mess about or make unforced errors in that way.
"I just thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I will find out if I have the potential to go somewhere, if not I will go back and get on with normal life. I think the Olympics is a long shot but I am open to it. This year is the year to do it, if you are going to make your name known. Whether or not it happens would be up to GB and how well I perform."
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