UCI Track Champions League: Chris Hoy and Adam Blythe explain why Katie Archibald was not at her best
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Updated 03/12/2022 at 15:25 GMT
It looked like Katie Archibald had completed an amazing comeback when she went into the lead of the women’s Endurance League following her second place in the scratch race. But a disappointing performance in the elimination race has left her eight points behind American Jennifer Valente. Eurosport pundits Chris Hoy and Adam Blythe discuss what went wrong.
'It wasn't the normal Archibald' - Hoy and Blythe on what went wrong for British rider
Chris Hoy and Adam Blythe both believe Katie Archibald will need a “massive performance” after she lost ground to Jennifer Valente in the penultimate round of the 2022 UCI Track Champions League.
Archibald had taken the women’s Endurance lead in London on Friday following her second place in the scratch race, but was eliminated with seven riders left in the elimination event while Valente took an impressive victory.
It means the American leads Archibald by eight points going into Saturday’s finale at the Lee Valley Velodrome.
“It wasn’t part of the game plan or her usual dominance,” Hoy told Eurosport.
“It’s hard to pin it down to was it her legs or a momentary lapse of concentration.
“She didn’t look to have that change in pace that she normally has. When the hammer goes down she can gain three or four lengths in the space of half a lap and that wasn’t there tonight.
“I wouldn’t say it’s panic stations but it’s going to take a massive performance [to win the title]."
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‘That's a disaster!’ – Archibald eliminated with seven riders left
Archibald had completed an amazing comeback following a shock exit, also in the elimination race, in the opening round in Mallorca.
However, Valente immediately hit back with her first win at this year’s Track Champions League by beating Norway’s Anita Stenberg in the final sprint in the elimination race.
Hoy still believes Archibald can respond and is backing her to come out flying in front of the home crowd on Saturday night.
“We haven’t had a double-header this season so we don’t know how both riders will recover,” the six-time Olympic gold medallist said.
“So much could be about getting the fuel on board, getting a decent night’s sleep and resetting for tomorrow."
Blythe added: “It showed tonight that Valente is just a little more vigilant and fresher. When you’re fresher, it’s a lot easier.
“When you’re suffering you make these little mistakes and I think that’s what we saw with Katie. For Katie, she might need to not worry about the overall and just go out and have fun.
“There’s a lot of money involved and that can play on your mind. Tomorrow, she could go, ‘Screw this, I’m going to go out, have fun and win some bike races’.”
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After a great debut season, the UCI Track Champions League is back for season two, with Laura Kenny joining the party. You can watch it all live and on demand on discovery+. We will have extensive coverage across eurosport.com.
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