Storming stuff from Olympic gold medal winner Archibald thrilled Motherwell crowd

Olympic Games gold medallist Katie Archibald, representing Team WMT, managed a third place finish at Tuesday's women's Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series race in Motherwell.
Katie Archibald in full flight during Tuesdays race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)Katie Archibald in full flight during Tuesdays race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)
Katie Archibald in full flight during Tuesdays race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)

Katie (23), from Milngavie, who won the women’s team pursuit with Team GB at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, was narrowly pipped for second place in North Lanarkshire by Drops rider Rebecca Durrell, just over a second behind race winner Eileen Roe of Team WMT.

Archibald was a mammoth 30 seconds down at one point, but produced a fantastic late surge which set up a granstand finish before ultimately being pipped.

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At least Katie had the consolation of recording the fastest race lap time of one minute 42 seconds, with the result in Motherwell putting Team WMT onto 581 points after six rounds in overall second place, but 50 points behind leaders Drops.

Katie Archibald receives her trophy for recording the fastest lap in the women's race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)Katie Archibald receives her trophy for recording the fastest lap in the women's race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)
Katie Archibald receives her trophy for recording the fastest lap in the women's race in Motherwell (Pic by Alan Watson)

In the men’s Tour Series race later in the evening, three-time Olympic Games team pursuit gold medallist Ed Clancy finished down in fifth place, nearly one-and-a-half seconds behind winner Brenton Jones of Australia, a team-mate of his with JLT Condor.

In a thrilling finish for the Motherwell crowd gathered on Hamilton Road, Jones outsprinted Team Raleigh GAC’s Enrique Sanz in the final straight.

A strong performance on the night by JLT Condor – which also saw Graham Briggs finish fourth – moves them top of the overall team standings after six rounds of the series.

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This was the third consecutive year that the Matrix Fitness and Tour Series had been staged in Motherwell, with healthy crows again turning out to watch.

The Tour Series man's race in full flight (Pic by Alan Watson)The Tour Series man's race in full flight (Pic by Alan Watson)
The Tour Series man's race in full flight (Pic by Alan Watson)

Hosted by North Lanarkshire Council, the event also featured kids and amateur races and a corporate relay contest.

Family activities included a climbing wall, smoothie bikes, stunt displays and an activity course.