Great Britain have won gold in the men’s team pursuit at the European Championships in the Netherlands.
Dan Bigham, Ethan Hayter, Ethan Vernon and Charlie Tanfield beat current World Champions, the Danes by 1.154 seconds to win in three minutes 45.218 seconds.
A closely fought race, the British men controlled the pace as Ethan Vernon peeled off, leaving Dan Bigham to take a long turn on the front. With 1km to go, Bigham increased the gap on the Danish to over a second, crossing the finish line as European champions for the first time in nine years.
The win has come at a crucial time with just over six months to go until the Olympic Games in Paris. As well as vital qualification points, the Championships have given the British teams a perfect chance to lay down markers for Paris in Olympic disciplines.
Ethan Vernon said:
“It is one of the last races we will do against the guys here, so it is nice to take a good time and take some confidence going into Paris.
“A few of us are going off onto the road now with our teams, so we are not going to be back together for a few months.
“It was nice to have a high like that before we go off and do our own things for a bit, then come back for the last Nations Cup… I think it will get better going into Paris.”
The British women’s team, the reigning world champions, made up of Josie Knight, Meg Barker, Anna Morris, Jess Roberts and Neah Evans came second in their final, taking the silver medal.
The Championships have been running from Wednesday 10 January to Sunday 14 January and are taking place in Apeldoorn, Netherlands at the Omnisport Apeldoorn. One of Europe’s best-known velodromes, the venue has twice hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
GB finished second in the medal table at last year’s European Championships – winning four golds and 12 gongs in total.
Similar success is expected this time around after a successful showing at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow.
