Katie Archibald believes beating Kirsten Wild to the Six Day Berlin crown stands her in good stead to steal the world title off her Dutch rival next month.
Archibald landed an early psychological blow on the hybrid Omnium and Madison world champion ahead of the upcoming UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the German capital. Racing with Rio Olympic team pursuit gold-medal winning teammate Elinor Barker, Archibald claimed her sixth Six Day title on Saturday night, clinching dominant victory with a stunning performance in the points race.
“The third day of racing really showed,” said Archibald, who claimed a sixth career Six Day event win “Everyone was struggling and were hesitant to make attacks which played in our favour.
“The more we’ve got to taper off from, the more we’ll be here at the Championships in four weeks, but all these races have been tight. We’ll see who’s got the better plan to bring out on the big day.”
British brilliance was added to with Emily Nelson and Manon Lloyd finishing in third on 149 points.
Six months out from the Tokyo Games and Archibald is looking in impressive form on the track, but the Scot insists that winning another Six Day title goes beyond her own personal success. “When I look at the racing here, I’m really excited for what’s going to come,” added the Olympic champion. “We’re seeing some big changes in track cycling in general with UCI moving the calendar and I think events like Six Day, certainly for women anyway, are going to give more opportunities to professional riders. That’s what I think about when I win races here.” Also competing at Six Day Berlin are British pairs Matt Bostock and Andy Tennant and Stephen Bradbury and Christopher Latham as the men’s competition runs until Tuesday. Sportsbeat 2020