Elinor Barker, already a gold medallist in the women’s team pursuit at the UCI world championships in Glasgow, took a cliff-hanging win in the women’s Madison in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Britain’s pair of Barker and Neah Evans were seemingly poised to take gold in the 120-lap race, when a high-speed crash prior to the penultimate lap, forced a dramatic restart. Barker and Evans then had to fight hard in the final nine laps to hold off closest challengers Australia by just three points.
“I remember thinking: ‘I’ve got one split to go, El’s off the front, I literally have to do two laps and we have won,’” Evans said. “Then the gun went, and it’s: ‘Oh crap, what’s going to happen now? I don’t know if I’ve got nine laps left in me.’”
Ironically it was Britain’s coach, Cameron Meyer, a former world champion in the Madison for Australia, who refocused the pair prior to the restart. “He was giving us scenarios,” Evans said. “We just had to be in the mix – which is easier said than done in a nine-lap race.”
Barker said: “We had to come third at worst. It’s nice to have that reset: Cam’s been really good for that, for having so much logic. He knows what he’s talking about, he’s been so successful in this race himself, and I don’t think either of us would be here if he hadn’t come in as our coach in the last year.”
Barker, who won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and silver at Tokyo 2020, before taking maternity leave in 2022, was overjoyed. “I’ve won double gold in the same events in the European championships, but, oh my God, it’s different to do it at a world champs, with a home crowd. It feels really, really special.”
Earlier, Britain’s Ethan Vernon took the world title in the men’s elimination race despite being taken down by Matthijs Büchli of the Netherlands. Vernon bounced back to overpower first Elia Viviani of Italy and finally Dylan Bibic of Canada to win the gold medal.
Vernon was one of the team pursuit lineup, also including Dan Bigham, Ollie Wood and Charlie Tanfield, that crashed out on the opening night of the track events.
“We worked really hard for the team pursuit and we have all dedicated the last few weeks to that. So for that to go wrong in the qualification was really disappointing for everyone,” he said. “It’s a setback but it meant Dan did his best ever ride yesterday [in the individual pursuit where he won silver] and me winning this elimination today. We have salvaged something.”
Newcastle’s Kieran Reilly claimed gold in the BMX freestyle on Glasgow Green after a spectacular second run in which he pulled off a string of tricks. Reilly had to endure a long wait, compounded by a rain delay, before his world title was confirmed.
“It’s been a stressful half-hour,” he said. “It got to the point where it’s guaranteed I’ve got a medal before it rained, but the difference between getting a medal and a jersey is huge.”
On Tuesday, the fourth edition of the mixed relay race, run over a 40.3km route around Glasgow, will be raced by six-rider national teams. Britain will be among the likely challengers fielding a strong team of Bigham, Ben Turner and Vernon, who will then hand over to Elynor Bäckstedt, Pfeiffer Georgi and Anna Shackley.
Georgi is also expected to be the protected rider in the elite women’s road race on Sunday, but there are concerns that further disruption may be planned by environmental protesters later in the week.
Mick Bennett, the longstanding race director of the Tour of Britain and also race director at the world championships, knows that such protests increasingly threaten road racing, particularly as controversial sponsors invest in supporting teams and high-profile athletes. “It’s on the open road, not in a stadium and it’s unticketed, so road racing is more vulnerable than other sports to carefully planned protests,” Bennett said.
The event organisers are working with the local authorities to gather intelligence. “Race organisers have to now factor in how they will manage the situation if it arises and what contingency, in terms of policing and logistics, they need to make,” Bennett said.
Assistant chief constable Mark Williams, Police Scotland lead for the UCI world championships, said: “A policing plan is in place to maintain public safety, enable peaceful protests and minimise disruption.”
“Campaigning and demonstration is a legitimate, necessary and vital part of life. Abusive, threatening behaviour or activity intended to disrupt the event that risks public safety is not legitimate protest.”
