Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Elinor Barker, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell were on winning form once again in the Team Pursuit in the 2014/15 UCI Track World Cup at the Lea Valley VeloPark in London. Riding in the colours of World Cup leaders, along with Katie Archibald and Ciara Horne, as part of the Great Britain team, Barker and Trott posted a winning time of four minutes, 22.194 seconds, to defeat Australian in the final round.
“It was really nice,” Barker said”. It was a pretty massive reception when we got on the track. I’ve raced with a home crowd a couple of times before, but it’s been in Manchester and Glasgow, and not a velodrome as big as London, so it was huge.”
With Rowsell part of the qualification team, along with Barker, Trott and Archibald, and managed to overcome a faster start from Australia to qualify fastest in a time of four minutes, 23.406 seconds.
“We ride together so often that we’re so comfortable on each other’s wheels now,” said Barker. “We can throw each other in on anybody’s wheel and just get on with it! It’s nice to get to a race day and be that flexible.”
Having sat out the qualification ride, Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Rebecca Wiasak stepped into the Australian team for the “First Round” match with Canada – along with Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure and Melissa Hoskins. The Australians posted a time of 4:24.504 to win by more than two seconds and progress to the final.
Horne then stepped in for Trott, as the Great Britain team looked to save the double Olympic champion legs ahead of the weekend’s Omnium competition. A flying start saw them look set to catch the USA team after little more than two kilometres. The British quartet then slowed down, however, to save their legs for the final, and contented themselves with riding the rest of the race around two bike lengths behind. The time of four minutes, 24.715 seconds was more than a second outside their qualification time – and marginally slower than Australia – but was more than good enough to put them in the final.
“The rule is that you have to keep carrying on, so it’s actually quite dangerous to overtake, as well as being really tiring,” Barker explained. “So once we’d caught we just sat behind them, and there was nothing else we could do really.”
Rowsell then made way for Trott in the final, where Australia started slightly faster, but Great Britain soon edged in front and began to steadily open the lead. A massive turn from Trott in the closing laps threatened to split the British team, but Barker and Archibald were able to rejoin their teammate; the lead over Australia was almost two seconds by this point, and stayed that way all the way to the line.
“We’re into Olympic qualification now, so everyone’s bringing their best teams for every event, whereas previously a lot of teams have brought development riders,” Barker said. “Before Olympic qualification I guess it doesn’t matter so much, but now everybody’s bringing their best teams the margins are always going to get closer and closer.
“We’ve qualified for Worlds now, and we’re on track for Olympic qualification as far as this year goes, so that’s what matters at this point in time really.”
The Germany team, including Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Charlotte Becker, narrowly missed out on the chance to compete for the bronze medal, finishing in sixth place.
Result Team Pursuit
1. Great Britain
2. Australia
3. Canada
Photo Credit: SWPix.com
