2 February 2020

Storey's triple success crowns perfect day for the Brits

Dame Sarah Storey was in dreamland as she added three more world titles to her collection at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Milton, Canada on Saturday.

Britain’s most successful female Paralympian claimed gold medals in the WC5 individual pursuit, the omnium and the WC5 scratch race to take her overall collection of world championship medals to a staggering 60.

And there were further victories elsewhere on a glittering day for Britain in the form of tandem sprint duos Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott and Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham.

“When I realised earlier in the week that this was my 20th world championships, I couldn’t believe it, then when we talked about the medals it was a bit ‘wow’,” Storey said.

“It feels amazing – to win three in one day is just a bit of a dream to be honest. I never thought it would happen.

“I’m really pleased with my form and the work I’ve been doing in the chamber and on the road – I’m delighted.”

Storey successfully defended her WC5 individual pursuit title, beating team-mate Crystal Lane-Wright in the final, after the British duo had recorded the two fastest qualifying times.

Storey clocked 3m43.007s and Lane-Wright 3m49.776s to set up the all-British gold medal ride, and it was the former who claimed gold, catching her team-mate with six laps remaining.

The two also contested the scratch race, which Storey led following her victories in the pursuit and flying 200m.

In the scratch, she took a lap on the field midway through the 40-lap event, while Lane-Wright attacked late, ensuring that she comfortably won the race for silver and secured another British one-two.

Defending champions Thornhill and Scott once again showed the form which has seen them dominate this event in recent years, stopping the clock in a time of 1m04.953s – just three tenths of a second shy of their own world record.

Meanwhile, there was a British one-two in the equivalent men’s event for the fourth year in a row, as Fachie and Rotherham regained the title they lost last year, ensuring that defending champion James Ball and his pilot Lewis Stewart had to settle for silver.

Fachie and Rotherham were the first of the British pairings to set their time, stopping the clock at an impressive 59.724s ahead of Ball and Stewart who recorded a time of 1m0.323s to secure silver.

Elsewhere, Jon Gildea claimed bronze in the MC5 pursuit with Will Bjergfelt coming home seventh while Matthew Robertson finished sixth in the omnium and kilo world champion Jody Cundy registered finished eighth in the MC4 pursuit.

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