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British National Track Championships 2022 – Day 2

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The second day of competition at the British Track Nationals saw six titles awarded – the Men’s Sprint, Kilo and Points Race and the Women’s Team Pursuit, Scratch and Keirin.

Men’s Sprint

British National Track Championships 2022

As is traditional, the day kicked off with the Men’s 200m Time Trial, with the riders taking to the track in – approximate – reverse order of pace. With the top four receiving a bye to the 1/8 finals, the fifth through to 28th fastest qualifiers would progress to the 1/16 finals. Philip Lomas was the first to book his heat in Heat 6 – with a time of 11.252. Four riders would go through without breaking the 11 second barrier. Jack Cruden, the first to do so with a 10.800, would end up 22nd, whilt the first to dip below ten-and-a-half was Daniel Cooper who would qualify 11th with a 10.434.

And only two riders would break the 10 second barrier, in the final two heats – with Joe Truman first hit the mark with a 9.977, followed by Jack Carlin on 9.876. The other two riders to earn a longer rest were Hamish Turnbull with a 10.031 and Anthony Young on 10.234.

The 1/16 Finals – as they often do – largely followed the pattern of qualifying with only Matthew Roper and Benjamin Gill qualify for the 1/8 Finals against quicker opponents. The same was true in the 1/8 Finals where Hayden Norris and James Bunting – both of Team Inspired, the GB development squad – outperformed their Qualifying rank.

That set up four Quarter Final heats containing at least one Team Insprired rider – and one with two. Would we have an all-green line up for the Semi Finals?

The first heat saw Jack Carlin line up against team mate James Bunting, so the first spot was guaranteed. And it was Carlin – eight places and half a second quicker in the Time Trial – who took it.

Heat two pitched Joseph Truman against Harry Ledingham-Horn of Black Line. Another Semi-Final berth booked.

Hamish Turnbull against Luthais Arthur of Glasgow Track RC. There was just three tenths between then, but Turnbull booked the penultimate slot for Team Inspired.

And, almost inevitably, Hayden Thomas made it a clean sweep, despatching Marcus Hiley of SES.

British National Track Championships 2022

That latter stages of the competition went pretty much as you’d expect them to – all matches were completed in two, with Carlin seeing off Norris in the Smies and Truman holding off Turnbull to join him in the final.

British National Track Championships 2022

Turnbull took the Bronze and Carlin the Gold.

Women’s Team Pursuit

British National Track Championships 2022

Only two teams entered the Women’s Team Pursuit, so both were guaranteed a medal. Liv Cycling set the benchmark in the with Katie-Anne Calton, Ella Jamieson, Matilda McKibben and Awen Roberts clocking a time of 4:53.690.

Ellen Bennett, Grace Lister, Holly Ramsey and Isabel Sharp were 12 seconds fast with a 4:41.470, so a catch was almost inevitable in the final and it came just after half distance.

Men’s Kilometre Time Trial

British National Track Championships 2022

The Men’s Kilo competition reached the last two heats with only one rider – Harvey MacNaughton of Wales, having broken through the one minute two seconds barrier, with a time of 1:01.919. Matthew Rotherham of Sport City Velo was the penultimate rider and just missed out one breaking 1:01 – just 8 thousandths of a second short.

Jonathan Wale, who withdrew from the Individual Pursuit finals on Friday, was last up and become the third rider under 1:02 – but 1:01.305 was only good enough for Silver.

Women’s Scratch

British National Track Championships 2022

The Women’s Scratch Race ran pass half distance without a notable attack, albeit at a fairly briak pace. Francesca Hall of Loughborough Lightning tried to slip away with 16 to go, but the move was countered. It was Hall, again, who finally kicked the race into action with five to go and then, after a brief lull, the sprint began in earnest.

On the line there was almost nothing to separate the first three, but it was Ella Barnwell of CAMS-Basso who took the Gold, Anna Morris of Wales the Silver and Neah Evans of Team HUUB in third.

Men’s Points Race

British National Track Championships 2022

The Men’s Points Race, by contrast, was brutally quick from the off. Welsh Junior Joshua Tarling of FlandersColor Galloo dominated – taking points in ten of the twelve sprints – and winning four of them.

His early lead wasn’t enough to keep him on top of the pile when Charlie Tanfield of Ribble Weldtite took a lap, but Tanfield’s lead didn’t last long – two laps later he slowed and was re-lapped – two laps later he was out.

Not that he was alone there – by the end 11 of the 23 starters had retired from the Race and Tarling, who had taken a lap with John Archibald, was out in front.

The only rider with an chance of catching him with after the penultimate sprint was Oscar Nilsson Julien who would have needed to take a lap and win the final gallop. He managed one of the two – snatching the Silver from Archibald – but it was William Roberts of Wales who took the final sprint and his fellow countryman Tarling who took the glory.

Women’s Keirin

British National Track Championships 2022

The Women’s Keirin provided the result that every Championship needs – a remarkable, unexpected win from an outsider who’d apparently struggled in the earlier stages of the competition.

We expected the battle to be between Sprint Gold and Silver medalists Rhian Edmunds of Wales and Sophie Capewell of Team Breeze – with three or four other riders in with a shot.

Our two favourites one their first round races and, drawn in the same Second Round heat, took first and second in that.

That pit them into the final along with Emma Finucane – the Sprint Bronze medalist, Stephani Hall of Wales and two Black Line riders Lauren Bell and Ellie Stone. Bell had won her First Round Heat but Stone had needed to come back through the Repechages.

The draw saw a see of red, with the two Black Line riders at the back of the line and, as the Derny pulled off it was an all red front row. But Stone came through the pack and as they rounded turn four for the bell, she was ahead. Surely she’d be swamped on the final lap? Not a bit of it. Gold to Stone, Silver to Finucane and Bronze to Capewell.

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