Becky James and Jess Varnish got Great Britain off to a winning start at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cali, Colombia, with gold in the team sprint on the opening day.
The pair, who have been reunited in the team sprint following Victoria Pendleton’s retirement after the London Olympic Games, qualified fastest in a time of 33.466 before going on to beat Japan in the gold medal final at the Alcides Nieto Patiño velodrome.
There was a mixture of both youth and experience for Britain at the opening event of the World Cup series and it was a successful day for the Brits all round, with newly formed Welsh Cycling Team SWI marking their debut with silver in the women’s team pursuit.
Junior women’s world time trial champion Elinor Barker was joined by Ciara Horne and Amy Roberts in the line-up which topped qualifying with 3.32.390 to set up a gold medal ride with Italy, with Roberts also finishing ninth in the scratch race.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
