Victory for Josie Knight in the individual pursuit rounded out Great Britain’s best ever medal haul at the European Track Championships last week.
The squad took home 14 medals from the competition in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, six of which were gold, six silver and two bronze.
The tally meant GB topped the medal table, ahead of Germany with nine.
For GB performance director Stephen Park, the results showed the squad are “on the right track” in this key Olympic year.
“There were some incredible performances throughout the week, at what was an incredibly high level of competition from all teams,” Park said.
GB’s golden run in Apeldoorn began with victory in the men’s team pursuit on Thursday night. The result meant the squad earned vital Olympics qualifying points, after they fell out of the rankings following a crash in the World Championships last summer.
“The real big one for me was seeing Charlie Tanfield coming back,” Park said. “He’s had six months of wondering whether he’ll be able to make it back into the team having had that terrible fall in Glasgow. He’s come back and delivered a great performance when it mattered.”
Tanfield was also part of an all-British individual pursuit final, won by his teammate Dan Bigham. There were further titles for Emma Finucane in the match sprint, Katy Marchant in the 500m time trial, Ethan Hayter in the Omnium, and finally Knight in the individual pursuit, her winning margin just three thousands of a second.
“The morale as we go into this Olympic year is incredibly high,” Park said. “We’re clearly on the right track as we head towards Paris. We’ve set down a marker for a number of those teams that are looking to challenge us.
“We have a group of riders and staff who are feeling confident that we’re going to be going into Paris in a strong position, and we’re going to be competitive in many, if not all, of the events, when we get to the Olympic Games.
“It’s been a fantastic week,” he concluded.
The squad will now travel to three Nations Cup rounds in the run-up to the Olympics.
The first is in Adelaide, Australia on 2-4 Feb, followed by Hong Kong on 15-17 March, and finally Milton, Canada on 12-14 April, which is likely to serve as a dress rehearsal for the Games.
The full list of GB medal winners from the 2024 European Track Championships is below.
Gold
Ethan Hayter, Dan Bigham, Ethan Vernon, Charlie Tanfield, Ollie Wood - team pursuit
Emma Finucane - sprint
Dan Bigham - individual pursuit
Katy Marchant - 500m time trial
Ethan Hayter - Omnium
Josie Knight - individual pursuit
Silver
Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane, Lowri Thomas - team sprint
Will Tidball - elimination race
Charlie Tanfield - individual pursuit
Neah Evans - Omnium
Josie Knight, Anna Morris, Meg Barker, Jess Roberts, Neah Evans - team pursuit
Emma Finucane - keirin
Bronze
Jess Roberts - elimination race
Anna Morris - individual pursuit
