Katie Archibald withdraws from London 3 Day after dislocating shoulder

Double Olympic gold medallist Katie Archibald has pulled out of this weekend’s London 3 Day after dislocating her shoulder.

The Scot, who competed in the event’s opening night on Friday, said she had a “small stumble” when exiting the track, and had to go to hospital to have her shoulder put back in.

She will now forego the following two rounds of the competition, scheduled for Saturday evening and Sunday daytime.

Archibald was competing at the newly launched London 3 Day with Neah Evans, in a pairing sponsored by Cycling Weekly. Evans will now compete alongside Robyn Clay as part of a different team.

On Saturday afternoon, Archibald wrote on Instagram that she was “mortified” with her injury, and had been “drugged up to my eyeballs while every doctor in London gave relocating my shoulder a go”.

“The update is that while down here for London 3 Day I had a mishap with my bike when coming off the track and a small stumble,” the 30-year-old wrote.

“That small stumble has resulted, SOMEHOW, in a shoulder dislocation. I don’t know how I do this I really don’t.”

In June this year, Archibald suffered another freak injury, when she tripped on a step in her garden, dislocating her ankle and breaking her leg in two places. After undergoing surgery, she was forced to miss the Paris Olympics, instead undergoing an intense rehabilitation programme.

“I want to hide from the world and pretend I've not done something like this again. I'm mortified,” Archibald wrote. “But it's only going to be a small blip. Currently looks like I'll be able to continue with my racing schedule as planned. Just not as soon as tonight.

“Thank you so much to everyone at the event, especially my dreamy teamy who stayed with me through every relocation attempt. Sorry to my mum who keeps having to find out which A&E I've gone to now.”

Archibald and Evans enjoyed success on Friday’s opening night of the London 3 Day, winning both Madison chase and team elimination events inside the Lee Valley Velodrome.

Earlier this month, Archibald returned to racing, four months after her leg break, winning a gold and bronze medal at the UCI Track World Championships, in the team pursuit and Madison respectively.

The 30-year-old is next scheduled to compete in this year's series of the UCI Track Champions League, which begins in Paris on 23 November.

Fans can watch all the racing at this weekend's London 3 Day for free on Cycling Weekly's Youtube channel.