Archibald heads to London leading Champions League

Scot proves unstoppable in Lithuania, reports Vern Pitt

- Vern Pitt

Two-time Olympic champion Katie Archibald heads to this weekend’s Track Champions League double-header in London with the leader’s jersey firmly on her back.

The Track Champions League is a new event on the UCI calendar for 2021. There are five rounds, two of which take place at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark on Friday and Saturday this week.

At each one the endurance athletes race a scratch and an elimination, while the sprinters do a sprint and keirin competition (for more details see box).

Following a victory in the elimination race at the series’s opening meeting in Majorca Archibald was leading the women’s endurance competition as racing got under way in Lithuania.

She then proceeded to attack the scratch race from lap two, only to be reeled in and then win the eventual bunch kick. Then in the elimination she played a tactical game trying to eliminate her main rival, Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster, which she managed once the race was down to four riders. She then went long in the final two-up sprint to claim a clear and emphatic victory.

KEY INFO TRACK CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

How does the league scoring work?