Archibald seeks reset after ‘comedown’ of world title

Scotland’s Katie Archibald is hoping she finds fresh inspiration in next week’s British Track National Championships after global success in 2024 left her feeling flat.

The two-time Olympic champion will race in the championships – held in Manchester from 21-23 February – for the first time in six years after a turbulent 2024.

The 30-year-old was ruled out of the Paris Olympics after a freak accident at home but bounced back to win her sixth world title in October as part of Great Britain’s women’s team pursuit.

However that victory in Copenhagen did not result in the elation and satisfaction Archibald expected and she took a five-week break – the longest of her career – to assess her career and her goals.

“After the Paris Games that I didn’t attend I was pinning everything on the worlds, and it was the first time I experienced what’s kind of like this ironic comedown after success,” she said.

“We went to the worlds and defended the team pursuit world title. You leave as world champions, and it was the first time in my career that something like that hadn’t acted as a springboard.”

Archibald mapped out goals that stretch as far as the 2028 LA Olympics but begins with her first tilt at the nationals since 2019.

“I really don’t know how this [gap] happened,” she added.

“You have a view of yourself and one day you wake up and look at the facts and you have to update that. I really saw myself as someone that really loved riding the nationals.

“It’s my favourite thing to turn up to and it’s got this emotional attachment to it.

“As an amateur you can turn up at the nationals and beat the best and it’s nice to be part of that journey for other people or to defend your stature as somebody who has made it.

“The way things have conspired there’s always been something else to prioritise but I guess it’s a reflection of a good reset to finally be back.

“I guess I wanted to reconnect to what it was like before, when this would have been the main goal of my season.”

British Cycling has decided not to send a women’s endurance squad to the Nations Cup in March in Turkey, so Archibald’s other big targets for 2025 will be October’s World Championships in Santiago, Chile.

While the 2028 Olympics is her major ambition, a home Commonwealth Games in 2026 is also high on her agenda.

“It is a really exciting thing in my season-planning for the next two years,” she said.

“It was in 2012 that the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome opened in Glasgow for the 2014 Games, and you can pinpoint easily a lot of the talent that has come out of that facility.

“It’s quite a nice rounding point for my career, from when I was trying to break into that 2014 team, to still feel quite connected to that naive rider that was there. So that’s a big deal for me.”