Cycling news - Katie Archibald keen to add London World Cup honours to stellar 2018

BySportsbeat

Updated 29/11/2018 at 22:00 GMT

In her own words, Katie Archibald has enjoyed the best year of her glittering career to date – and says capping it off with a Tissot UCI Track World Cup triumph on home boards would be the icing on the cake.

Katie Archibald

Image credit: Getty Images

Archibald's trophy cabinet is already full to the brim after another superb year on the track – and she has also enjoyed success away from the velodrome this year as well having been nominated for the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year.

In the last 12 months, the Scot picked up gold at the 2018 World Championships in the Madison event alongside Emily Nelson and added another at the Commonwealth Games in the individual pursuit, as well as points race silver.

She also bagged a sensational 11th European crown as part of the GB team pursuit squad which brushed all aside in Glasgow.

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All this added up means the Edinburgh rider has had quite the 2018 and has fixed her attentions on topping it off in style.

"In terms of my career I suppose it has been my best year," said the 24-year-old Scot. "It sounds stupid because the Olympics is everything but equally I missed the World Championships that year.

"Everything I am doing now was all realised in Rio but this year the Commonwealth individual pursuit medal was very important and so was the British record.

"Victory in London would be just before Christmas and would top it all off in front of a home crowd."

She admitted her third place in the Sportswoman of the Year was all a bit surreal.

"I was third placed and we had been there all evening – and for all the other awards it had only been the winner who stood up.

"When it got to my award they started calling op third place and I was just dumbstruck, so I had to go up and accept the award – that was a strange one.

"It was a very fun evening and I had been a bit nervous about going but I love a good montage and it was inspiring story after inspiring story."

Before Archibald can have a crack at London, however, there comes the small matter of Berlin this weekend.

Her first Track World Cup track cycling event of the season in Milton, Canada – the second in the series – delivered further success for Archibald who claimed gold in the Madison with Elinor Barker.

Now she is hoping that she and her teammates can replicate her from in Berlin.

"I spent so much time throughout the summer talking about how excited I was for the track season and getting that under my belt", she added.

"I went to Canada, I am going to be a in Berlin and then London will be the final World Cup event I compete in before the World Championships next year.

"I have been so wrapped up in Madison racing lately that I think sometimes it is easy to overlook basic physiology that is going to allow you to win races.

"We tick a lot of those boxes just by racing as a team – so as long as the rest of girls are going well – it seems to keep me in good stead."

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