The golden quartet shone once again as Great Britain defended their European women's team pursuit title with a stunning ride in the Netherlands.
Olympic champions Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald continued their exemplary form in the discipline with Neah Evans and Ellie Dickinson rounding off a four that shows no signs of letting up.
Their gold-medal battle with Germany looked like going to the wire but a powerful turn from Archibald made all the difference, with the Scot riding to her fifth European team pursuit title in seven years.
The last of those had come on the home boards of Glasgow in 2018 – the event in which Kenny, Team GB’s most successful female Olympian, had a made a triumphant return to familiar tracks.
The title continued what proved to be a successful night on the bike for the British Cycling team, winning three medals from the four finals contested on the second day in Apeldoorn.
Among those on the podium was Emily Nelson, taking elimination silver just a day on from becoming European champion in the scratch race.
The 22-year-old was narrowly edged out by home favourite and cycling supremo Kirsten Wild, with the two in touching distance of one another in the last throes of their head-to-head.
But a second medal of the Championships was more than a silver lining for Nelson – with this her first Europeans in three years having suffered with injuries at the start of previous seasons.
“The race was fast right from the gun – everyone was fighting for positions and riding into gaps that weren’t there, making it very technical, so you couldn’t switch off for a second,” said Nelson.
“I’m super happy with my second medal of the championships – a bit gutted to have been so close to bringing home two jerseys but to lose to someone as decorated as Kirsten isn’t too bad!”
Finally there was also success for the men’s team pursuit quartet, taking bronze after easing to a comfortable victory over Switzerland.
The team of Ollie Wood, Charlie Tanfield, Ed Clancy and Ethan Hayter had lost shape coming into the closing stages but pace and performance far from dipped, easing home a couple of seconds ahead of their opponents.
Kenny and Archibald, meanwhile, will both boast the opportunity to add to their titles on Friday as they compete in the omnium and individual pursuit respectively. Pic: SWpix.com
Sportsbeat 2019