By Hannah Blackwell
Elynor Backstedt admitted she felt “gutted” after she missed out on a medal by seconds at the UCI Cycling World Championships.
The Welsh star finished fourth in Glasgow in the team time trial mixed relay as Great Britain were just edged out of a place on the podium.
The riders were greeted by glorious sunshine as Backstedt, Anna Shackley, Pfeiffer Georgi, Dan Bigham, Ethan Vernon and Josh Charlton joined together to form the GB squad.
Teams are made up of three men and three women, the men going first and completing a 20.1km lap, before handing over to the women who do the same.
The male trio got off to a strong start, with Charlton pulling a few big turns before peeling off, saving his legs for the under-23 men’s time-trial tomorrow.
Shackley rolled off the start ramp alongside Georgi and Backstedt, with the three riding as a tight unit until Backstedt peeled off at the foot of Montrose Street.
Mixed Relay Team Time Trial – Glasgow.
The Great Britain team were 4th, just 13 seconds off the medals – Riders were Dan Bigham, Josh Charlton, Ethan Vernon, Elynor Backstedt, Pfeiffer Georgi & Anna Shackleyhttps://t.co/5l3hROfth1 pic.twitter.com/46DfPDUdHR
— British Cycle Sport (@VeloUK) August 8, 2023
Shackley pushed the pace with Georgi on her wheel over the main climb of the course. Crossing the line, they had gone second fastest, but the Germans would go quicker before the Swiss defended their title to ultimately leave the British sextet in fourth place.
Backstedt said: “That really put our skill to the test, as well as power and cohesion, and it’s the first time together, so I think we did pretty well, trusted each other, and got everything out.
“We’re gutted to have missed out on the podium, but we gave it everything.”
Shackley added: “It was a very technical course and we don’t ride together so often, so we’ve spent the last few days getting used to riding together. We can be proud of how we did, even if we’re a bit frustrated.”
Welsh sprinter Emma Finucane sailed through to Wednesday’s semi-finals on the track, 24 hours after setting a new British record on the flying lap.
The Brits are off down the ramp!
Tune in and cheer them on as they go for a TTT mixed relay medal on the streets of Glasgow 🙌
🇬🇧 Dan Bigham, Ethan Vernon, Josh Charlton, Elynor Backstedt, Pfeiffer Georgi, Anna Shackley
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) August 8, 2023
Finucane met Canadian Lauriane Genest in the quarter-finals and with seemingly little challenge, took a 2-0 win.
She will take on last year’s bronze medallist from Germany Emma Hinze on Wednesday.
GB men Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood won a sensational silver medal after a dramatic final sprint in the men’s Madison.
Wood said: “An extremely hot 200 laps with a home crowd – it was quite different to normal with a lot of just sprints.
“At one point, I thought the Dutch would take a lap but they blew as well. I could see them suffering but so was everyone else to be honest.
“It came down to those couple of points in the end but I think we can be proud of how we raced. Second last year, second again, so we certainly haven’t got any worse! I think we rode a better race, one of the best races I’ve ever ridden.”
Wales’ Young Cycling Star Elynor Backstedt Suffers Leg Break In Crash