'My legs are screaming' - 17-year-old stuns with two gold medals at the British Track Championships

Welsh junior rider Sam Fisher was the standout performer on Sunday’s closing day of the British National Track Championships, claiming two gold medals on his senior debut. 

The A-Level student was one of three 17-year-olds in the Welsh quartet that won the team pursuit, together with Fin Tarling, William Salter and 25-year-old Will Roberts. An hour later, Fisher then raced again in the scratch race, springing an attack with four laps remaining of the 80-lap race, and holding on for the victory.

As he came across the line, the teenager roared back at the crowd, windmilling his right arm to stir them up.   

“My legs are screaming,” he told the press inside Manchester Velodrome afterwards. “I wasn’t expecting it. I came into [the championships] with a bit of illness. I got lapped twice in the points race qualification and didn’t qualify.” 

Fisher joined the GB junior academy in January last year, and said he initially struggled to hold the bunch’s pace in track events. Asked what he wanted to achieve going into Sunday’s racing, he gave a simple, four-word answer: “Stay in the group.” 

In the team pursuit final, Fisher’s Welsh team - which had an average age of just 19 - beat a quartet that counted individual pursuit champion Michael Gill and Nations Cup gold medallist Will Tidball. 

Fin Tarling, younger brother of Ineos Grenadiers rider Josh, said he expected a “tough ride”, but trusted his quartet's bond. 

“They’re all obviously really tough opposition, with a lot of experience between them. But we knew they didn’t have the experience together coming into this event,” Tarling said. “They might have ridden together beforehand, but nowhere near as much as us juniors do with GB.” 

The Welsh held a one-second advantage throughout the event, taking the title with a time of 4:01.548.

Keirin drama

In the day’s keirin finals, Lauren Bell and Hayden Norris doubled up on their weekend gold medal tallies, both winning in photo finishes. 

Bell, winner of the individual sprint on Saturday, held off a late surge from Rhian Edmunds on the home straight. GB academy rider Norris led the entire three laps, winning from a three-up bike throw by the width of his wheel rim. 

“I felt pretty ropey, to be honest with you,” Norris said afterwards. “I knew I had two laps, I had a decent feel in my legs, but nothing happened with two to go. I thought, ‘Someone’s got to do it.’ Then Pete [Mitchell] kicked in, and I was head down going for it. 

“It was close on the line. I had no idea who had it,” he added. “I was just over the moon to clinch it.” 

There was a second national title, too, for Jenny Holl, who added a points race gold medal to her previous one in the scratch race. Like Norris, the Scot said she felt “pretty shocking” on the start line, “but I guess maybe I felt better than everyone else”. 

Kate Richardson took an early lead in the 80-lap event, and held it until the final sprint, when Holl peeled off the front and took double points over the line. “I wasn’t even riding to win,” she smiled. “I was riding to keep myself in second. Kate seemed so strong, I thought, ‘She’s got this wrapped up. I just want to make sure I stay ahead of Frankie [Hall]’. Then it all came together just in the last sprint.” 

In the women’s team sprint, Worlds silver medallists Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell joined Milly Tanner and 18-year-old Georgette Rand in the winning trio. Finucane rode in qualifying, and was replaced by Capewell for the final, the two choosing to save their legs for the Nations Cup round in Hong Kong next month. 

World Champs toppled

In the men’s tandem sprint, Welsh duo James Ball and his pilot Steff Lloyd toppled world champions Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham, winning 2-0 in a best of three. 

“This, essentially, was a World Champs final everyone was witnessing here today,” Ball said afterwards. “We didn’t really know what each other was going to do today, and it was nice to win. I’m really proud of how we rode today.”

Jody Cundy, Blaine Hunt and Matthew Robertson won the C1-5 mixed team sprint in a trio named ‘The Avengers’.