When Sophie Capewell won gold at the Paris Olympics last summer, her mother, Debbie, cheered from the stands, dressed in a Union Jack bucket hat. Six months later, the roles reversed, as the Olympic champion turned supporter for her mum at the National Track Championships.
Debbie, who turns 60 later this year, competed in the team sprint on the opening day of the championships on Friday. The event turned out to be a family affair, as she rode in a trio named ‘Sister Act’ alongside her younger sibling – Sophie’s aunt – Julie Cooper, and Cooper’s clubmate Mel Dobbins.
The moment marked more than a decade since the two siblings last rode at the championships, when they made the bronze medal ride-off. “We came fourth,” Julie said of that day. “Obviously,” Debbie added with a smile.
On Friday, the trio placed fifth of six teams, qualifying with a time of 54.759 seconds, and improving by three tenths of a second in the first round. They were ultimately knocked out by a Welsh team, who went on to seal bronze.
“I bet my age is equal to all three of theirs,” Debbie laughed. “We’ve done better than we thought we would. We were late training – I wasn’t out of the gate until Saturday. We wanted to beat at least one team.”
After suffering with a back injury late last year, Debbie, a five-time Masters world champion, returned to training around Christmas, just two months before the National Championships.
“It’s been difficult trying to get fit, being specific [with my training] and knocking off the endurance bit so I can sharpen up and get ready [for sprinting],” she explained. “We’ve been training at Derby, and had three or four sessions together. I didn’t think we’d do a 54.”
A former nurse, Debbie first began riding the track in the 90s, spurred on by her late husband, Nigel, who represented Great Britain twice in cycling at the Paralympics. Her sister came later to the boards, starting for the first time in 2011.
“I was 40 or 41,” Julie explained, “and Debbie said, ‘Come on.’ She bought me a track taster for my 40th. I was like a fish out of water, but it was awesome.” The pair have since won three Masters world titles together.
Despite spectators' hopes, there was no mother-daughter match-up inside the Manchester Velodrome on Friday, as Sophie chose to skip the team sprint, having enjoyed time off the bike at the start of this year.
The 26-year-old currently holds the world and Olympic titles in the three-lap event, as well as the world record, which stands at 45.186 seconds. Did she have any advice for her mum? “She mentioned to the coach that she thought my gear was too big,” Debbie said. “I think she was probably right.”
