The Great Britain Cycling team ended their Glasgow World Cup campaign on a double high after Emily Kay and then the men’s team sprint won gold in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
The team won five gold medals over the three-day competition, topping the medal table at the end of the weekend.
Kay showed her tactical nous and physical strength and consistency in the women’s omnium, picking up big-point scores across all four races.
The men’s team pursuit trio of Joe Truman, Ryan Owens and local boy Jack Carlin thrilled the watching crowds as their three sprint rounds got quicker and quicker – eventually taking gold in their final with France.
Team sprint
There was a nervous start for the men in the team sprint as first they and then their French opponents false started, forcing them to re-set twice.
However the British trio were not put off by the disrupted start and set the fastest time so far in the qualifying round, eventually finishing third in the standings.
Wonderful
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 6, 2016
The moment @EmilyKay95 realises she has won omnium GOLD @TrackWorldCup!#TissotUCITrackWC https://t.co/oyF6zmtFMV
In the first round Jack Carlin, Ryan Owens and Joe Truman set the fastest time, winning their heat and setting up a gold medal final with France; the team they had previously beaten in the qualifying round.
The gold medal race was a brilliant repeat of the morning’s head-to-head with France with the British team increasing the margin between themselves and their opponents, setting a time of 43.479 – their fastest ride of the competition.
That's how it's done!
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) November 6, 2016
@JoeTruman97, @jack_carlin97 and @ryanowens0 win team sprint gold @TrackWorldCup!!! https://t.co/VwMuzNNsSm
Emily Kay represented Great Britain in the women’s omnium, starting her day of competition with an excellent fourth place in the scratch race, that came down to a final lap sprint.
Tactics came into play in the tempo race, as Kay, omnium leader Kajihara and Belarussian rider Tatsiana Sharakova broke away from the bunch and took a very slow lap, picking up all but three of the sprint points between them in the intervening laps.
In the elimination race, the third event of the new-look omnium, the field was whittled down until the race came down to a sprint between the last two riders standing, Kay and Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky.
Been so impressed watching the new generation of British track riders come blazing out in Glasgow @TrackWorldCup.
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) November 6, 2016
Kopecky edged in front of the British rider to take the win but second place was another brilliant result for Kay; finishing ahead of the omnium leader Kajihara and leaving her in a strong position going into the final points race.
As the points race began, Kajihara attempted to take a lap but Kay reeled her back in and took the five points from the second sprint in doing so.
Kay and Kopecky continued to pick up sprint points but it was the lap and five sprint points taken by Sharakova that shook the standings, as she joined Kay on 119 points at the top of the table.
Kay snatched three points from the penultimate sprint and, while Kopecky managed four points from the last lap, it was only enough for silver and Kay won her first individual world cup gold.
Kay was delighted with her the result: "It’s the first time I’ve ridden that new format, but I was really happy. I was pretty consistent through the whole day and I just took each race as it came," she said.
"I’m over the moon, I didn’t really expect to win."
Kay added that the crowd in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome had helped her all the way.
"Every time I get on the start line and my name was announced, the crowd backed me all the way and all the way through that race, especially that points race where it was so close.
"Every time I went for a sprint they were shouting the whole way and when I won I can’t explain how it feels to celebrate in front of this home crowd.”
Brilliant British performances
Emily Nelson played a very astute tactic in the women’s scratch race; to watch European champion Kirsten Wild like a hawk and cover any move she made.
However a series of attacks were made and laps were taken by other riders and Nelson emerged as a marked rider; unable to make a move without being chased down.
It was Wild that crossed the line first but Elise Delzenne of France was the victor after being the first of the riders to have taken a lap to cross the line.
Nelson sprinted home to cross the line in fifth but finished down in 10th place.
British duo Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood improved on their performance in the European championships with a seventh place finish in the men's Madison against some tough opposition.
Only European champions Spain managed to take a lap on the rest of the field but surging chases from Australia, Italy and France and gave the race a frenetic pace that Wood and Stewart dealt with adeptly.
Andy Tennant rode in the men’s individual pursuit and set the seventh quickest time in the large field of 21 riders, but was not able to break into the top four to contest the medal positions.
