Beth Shriever set her sights on defending her Olympic crown in Paris after reclaiming the women’s BMX racing world title at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Londoner bossed every round of the competition to take back the title she won just weeks after enjoying Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021, but there was disappointment for Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte as he crashed out of the men’s competition in the semi-finals.
Shriever lined up in Gate 1 for the final and had opened up a bike length on the rest of field by the opening corner to leave no doubt as to where the rainbow stripes were going.
Shriever started the day as favourite on home soil, and said the way she had handled that pressure bodes well for next summer’s Games in Paris.
“Everything went well, it was pretty much the perfect lap,” she said. “I didn’t know who was behind me or how close they were so I knew to just kept pushing and I’m over the moon.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff with my psychologist practicing things and this is the perfect practice leading into Paris. I’ve trained hard, trained well, I was in the perfect position for this race and just trusted myself, I can’t believe it.
“All my processes, I’ve stuck to it, and it all worked, so it’s unreal.”
Shriever was also fully able to enjoy the celebrations this time, having won her previous titles during the pandemic in deserted venues.
“I’ve always dreamt of being able to go to my parents after the race, I’ve literally dreamt of it all week so to actually do it was next level,” she said. “I’ll have this memory for the rest of my life so I’m very grateful.”
Whyte’s hopes of a medal on a track where he has previously enjoyed success ended in the semi-final when a shot of pain through the left shoulder he has previously dislocated sent him off the track.
“I didn’t have a good start,” Whyte said. “I didn’t mind not having a good start because I knew what the plan was if I didn’t have a good start and the plan stuck, but someone came on the inside and I went slightly off track, lost a bit of speed.
“I tried to gain it back on the jump but I eased up on the jump and nearly went over the bars, took myself out of the race. I made a big mistake, it happens.
“I’ve dislocated this left shoulder before and when I hit the jump it just kind of sent a bit of pain through my shoulder and as I’ve landed, I’ve landed awkwardly and it hurt again. It felt like it came out but it was in when I felt it now. We’ll see what the doctor says when I get home.”
Ross Cullen advanced to the final, his first at this level, and finished sixth as Romain Mahieu claimed gold.
Emily Hutt won silver for Great Britain in the women’s under-23 race, narrowly beaten by France’s Tessa Martinez.
On this day 2013: Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announces retirement
Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling 11 years ago, admitting: “I know it is the right decision.”
The 37-year-old Scot had been contemplating continuing until the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but revealed he was quitting the sport at a press conference in Edinburgh on April 18, 2013.
Hoy was Britain’s most decorated Olympian after his haul of two gold medals at London 2012 saw him surpass rower Sir Steve Redgrave’s record of five, although he was overtaken by former team-mate Sir Jason Kenny in 2021.
In explaining his decision, Hoy said: “I think in sport at the highest level you’re dealing in such small margins and you can tell when you’re good but not good enough.
“It was very emotional coming in there (to the press conference) and I was trying not to watch the video montage with the sad music.
“I don’t want it to be a sad moment.
“I want to celebrate it and be happy because I know it is the right decision.
“It’s a decision that I didn’t take lightly and I thought about it very hard.”
As well as six Olympic titles, Hoy’s 13-year career featured 11 world titles and two Commonwealth crowns.
Hoy’s final race was the Olympic Keirin final on August 7, 2012 – on the final day of the London 2012 track programme.
Following retirement, Hoy pursued his passion for motorsport, including competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while he has also written children’s books.
In February 2024, the 48-year-old announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Paul extends rich form with double gold; Browne, Campbell also among T&T's medals at PanAm Track Cycling Champs
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace cyclist Nicholas Paul continued his rich early season form as he wrapped up another double gold medal-winning outing at the just-concluded Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, California.
Paul’s medals were won in his customary events, the men's Keirin and Sprint, and followed his fairly successful outing at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong where he recovered from a two-cycle collision in the Keirin to win the Sprint.
The 23-year-old again expressed gratitude for the continued support as he represents the twin island republic with much gusto.
“It is always an honour to represent my country and the Pan American region. Thank you to everyone for all the love and continued support. The Journey continues and the next stop will be the Nations Cup in Milton, Canada. So, I just want to continue putting in the hard work and let it show in my performances,” Paul said.
In the Keirin, Paul topped Colombia’s Kevin Quintero, while another Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Kwesi Browne copped bronze.
However, it took a photo-finish to separate Paul and another Colombian Cristian Ortega for the Sprint crown. Paul bettered his South American rival in the first ride before edging ahead in the second ride on the line by millimeters to retain his title.
Meanwhile, Akil Campbell was also among the medals, as he won a bronze medal in the men's scratch race.
In other results at the meet, Alexi Ramirez finished eighth in the women's elimination race and in the women's scratch race, while Makaira Wallace and Phoebe Sandy placed 13th and 17th in the women's sprint qualification, respectively.
On this day in 2018: Scotland’s Katie Archibald wins Commonwealth Games gold
Scotland’s Katie Archibald added Commonwealth champion to her long list of accolades on this day in 2018.
Archibald, an Olympic, world and European champion in various disciplines, took gold in the women’s individual pursuit in Brisbane, having broken the Games record in a blistering qualifying session.
Her only previous Commonwealth medal was the bronze she won on home soil in the points race in Glasgow four years earlier.
Archibald, then aged 24, said before racing began gold was the only colour she wanted and swiftly delivered, covering the 3,000m distance in three minutes 26.088 seconds to beat Australian Rebecca Wiasak.
She had set the record at 3:24.119 in a qualifying session which saw three riders go under the previous record set by England’s Joanna Rowsell Shand in Glasgow.
“It means a lot, especially in the individual pursuit because it’s not an Olympic event,” said Archibald. “2014 always stands out as a big year for Joanna Rowsell to kind of echo, because she had the title and the Games record.
“You look at the success she carried from that point in her career. I’d be very proud.”
Fired up by his sister’s performance, Archibald’s brother John then added another medal to Scotland’s tally with silver in the men’s 4,000m individual pursuit as England’s Charlie Tanfield clinched gold.
“I watched her heat run and the pressure was on her,” said John Archibald.
“The Commonwealth Games record went and they all went better than her personal best so she had her back against the wall but she pulled out and delivered on the day and that got me going.”
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