Katie Archibald embracing her Champions League favourite status: 'It marks you out but that’s the intent of the jersey'

ByNick Christian

Published 28/10/2023 at 10:10 GMT

With Paris 2024 now just eight months away, several nations have decided to skip this seasons Track Champions League in favour of specific Olympic preparation. Not Britain's Katie Archibald, who not only sees it as invaluable racing experience, but enjoys the event that she's made her own: "There’s a gamble to it, and I recognise that. It’s also a lot of fun and I didn’t want to turn it down."

Katie Archibald is synonymous with the UCI Track Champions League.

Now in its third edition, the British rider has championed the idea of "a racing league at the top level for track cycling" since before it was born, back in 2021. She has taken it as seriously as any world cup, evinced by her remarkable record of 50% win record in individual events, and one overall victory.

Another win in Mallorca, and a close second to USA's Lily Williams in the scratch took her straight to the top of the standings.

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The leader's skinsuit that comes with it "feels very good," a relaxed Archibald tells Eurosport on the eve of the second round in Berlin. "It feels very clean. Everything is all nicely coordinated. I’m really enjoying it.”

Archibald too strong for Stenberg in elimination race

Archibald doesn't deny that she's the firm favourite to take a second title this season, and knows all eyes in the women's endurance field are on her.

"That’s the intent of the jersey," she says. "You have to wear it with pride and know that it marks you out. And that’s okay because if you want to challenge something different you have to take it on."

The league format presents a different kind of challenge to the riders, unlike any they face on a regular basis. Unlike some riders, who would say they take it race by race, that extra dimension means Archibald plays the long game.

"I treat it like an omnium," she says. "I try to stay focussed on the overall. I find it more thrilling as well, the layers to a race. It’s fun to do a standalone scratch. It’s even more fun to have all these extra battles that are going on on the black line at the same time."

Watch the dramatic moment Archibald drops out of elimination race in Mallorca

Last weekend's elimination saw a completely different Katie to the one that was knocked out first in the same event in 2023. Whereas then she was at the bottom and off the back from the gun, last Saturday she tucked in and the front - the hardest but safest place to be - and didn't relinquish the position for a moment.

“If you’re willing to put the effort in, there’s a result there for you," she explains. "You’d really rather go out with your legs tying up than slapping your handlebars because you’ve been caught in a box. It’s only when you come down to the final three that you start to maybe regret that a bit. ‘Should I have maybe been a bit sneakier so that I can now contend?’"

When, after every other rider had fallen, it was only her and Norway's Anita Stenberg left, Archibald found herself wondering if maybe she ought to have worked slightly less hard in the earlier laps.

She was faced with “the classic uncertainty of whether you’re the hammer or the nail. Me and Anita looked at each other and realised somehow we were both the nail?" She was grateful to find that "I just had that small edge in the end.”

While the target on her back is even bigger (and bluer) than it was before, Archibald expects the overall dynamic will be different this evening, as riders know more about each other than they did prior to opening weekend:

‘I really love testing out new things’ - Archibald working to improve after elimination race win

"We go on history and bias and belief for round one," she says. "Now you should be able to moderate yourself off the TCL app, I suppose, as to who do you shut down straight away and who do you give a bit of space to. Everybody in that top nine doesn’t get a lot of space in Berlin."

Her head is high as the next round of competition nears, which she partly puts down to familiarity with the space:

"Knowing a venue lets you walk in with confidence," she says. "I really felt that today. It’s my mum’s first time and to be able to walk in with your shoulders back and say “we use this door” or 'we go this way'. Knowing everybody here helps with that, I suppose. It really puts you in the right stepping to focus on your racing."

• 'Vital for my Olympics prep' - Archibald and Finucane set for UCI Track Champions League
• 'The pillar of our squad' - women's Pursuit team pay tribute to Archibald after memorable gold
• Kenny and Archibald blow away rivals to claim sensational madison gold
  

With the Paris Olympics only eight months out, some might be surprised that Archibald, like a number of top level riders, hasn't opted to skip this year's Track Champions League.

She, however, sees it "as really valuable to that preparation, being able to fit racing experience when the pressure is lower and your training can allow you to take on more load and still get the exposure of the racing, with the time of year that we’re at.

Ultimately, however, it's less about spreadsheets and biometric calculations than that she simply wants to take part.

"There’s a gamble to it, and I recognise that," she says. "It’s also a lot of fun and I didn’t want to turn it down."

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Stream the Track Champions League live on Eurosport and discovery+

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