Huge medal haul for Loughborough athletes at the British National Track Championships

a cyclist celebrates a win with her arms in the air

Loughborough’s performance cyclists returned home with 13 medals after a hugely impressive British National Track Championships in Manchester.

Athletes from both the Loughborough Lightning and the Cycling Academy amassed a mammoth three golds, eight silvers, and two bronze across three action-packed days.

Jenny Holl won gold in the Women’s Scratch race after a flying final effort saw her take her first senior individual title in the sport.

The drama-filled 10km race eventually saw Holl race clear of the chasing field, showing incredible speed to secure a superb maiden victory.

It proved to be a weekend to remember for Holl – who was competing in Lightning colours for the first time – as the 24-year-old Scot also won gold in the women’s points race for her second national title of the Championships.

In the same race, Loughborough’s Frankie Hall also performed brilliantly to take bronze in a tight sprint finish.  

Elsewhere, Holl, alongside teammate Sophie Unwin, brought yet another medal back for Loughborough by taking silver in the Women’s Para B Kilo.

Sophie Capewell added to the incredible gold tally by winning the Women’s Team Sprint event in style. The Olympic Games hopeful looked in fine form as her team’s strong start proved decisive in maintaining their pace to cross the line first.  

There were also silver medals for Loughborough athletes in the same race as Rhian Edmunds and Iona Moir combined to secure a podium place just behind Capewell’s team.  

Edmunds was soon back on the podium after showing great composure to win silver in the Women’s Keirin – a second medal of the Championships for the Newport native.

Elsewhere, in the Women’s Individual Pursuit, Frankie Hall added another medal to her growing personal collection by storming to silver in a performance that oozed maturity and class.

In the Men’s events, Niall Monks came away with two superb silvers in the Keirin and Kilo respectively. The Keirin saw one of the races of the weekend as a dramatic photo finish was needed to separate the riders on the line with Monks awarded a brilliant second place.

Another Olympic hopeful, Joe Truman, took a well-deserved silver in the Men’s Team Sprint. Truman battled hard throughout with his team missing out on gold by an agonising tenth of a second in front of a raucous crowd.

There were also two podium places for Loughborough in the Women’s Para C1-5 Individual Pursuit. Millie Cass, an alumna of the cycling academy, took silver just ahead of Paralympic Games hopeful Morgan Newberry who claimed a brilliant bronze.

For more information on cycling at Loughborough, visit: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/sports/cycling/