UCI Track Champions League: Katie Archibald says 'mental form is there' as two-time Olympic champion returns from injury
Published 21/11/2024 at 13:43 GMT
Katie Archibald is mentally prepared for a return to the track with the UCI Track Champions League soon to be in full swing and is hoping to use her experience to guide her through a return from injury. Archibald missed the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a double leg break, but victoriously returned to action in October before suffering another injury setback.
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Katie Archibald is hoping to use her experience and nous to navigate a successful UCI Track Champions League campaign after recovering from two tough injury setbacks.
Archibald was forced out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a freak garden accident which saw her suffer two broken bones and two torn ligaments in June - a month before the event in France.
The two-time Olympic champion enjoyed a winning return to the track in October, triumphing for her sixth world title at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships as part of Great Britain's women's team pursuit squad.
But Archibald dislocated her shoulder eight days later, after a "small stumble" while exiting the track on the opening day of the inaugural London 3 Day event at the Lee Valley VeloPark - ruling her out for the rest of the event.
On her return to action, Archibald is hoping she can put her injury troubles behind her, and use her know-how on the track to guide her to victory - despite feeling she will be behind her competitors in terms of preparation.
When asked about her form heading into the Track Champions League - which begins on November 23 and will be shown live on Eurosport and discovery+ - Archibald said: "[My] mental form is there. And that's half the game.
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"I think I overthink this question. I'm not wondering if I should tell you the truth. I'm here wondering - what would be an interesting answer is different to what would be an honest answer.
"It would be just as embarrassing to say I've been really struggling, and I think I'm in big trouble next week. Because then, if it goes brilliantly, you'll think low of me.
"It's been an up and down season. I hope I'm smart enough to use what I've got in the right places through Track Champions League.
"I think there's a lot to be said for just getting yourself healthy. I guess I can't lie about the fact I don't have the same foundation as the rest of the field coming into this.
"But I know my way around a turbo trainer, so seven out of 10."
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Archibald helps GB deliver ‘emphatic’ performance to beat Germany in Team Pursuit final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Archibald also won bronze in the women's Madison during October's World Championship event, adding to an extensive medal collection which includes team pursuit gold at Rio 2016, followed up by silver at Tokyo 2020 in the same event, as well as Madison gold in the Japanese capital.
The Track Champions League, starting on Saturday, sees five events take place across two weeks, and you can watch every moment live and on-demand via discovery+.
2024 UCI Track Champions League fixtures
- Round 1: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France – Saturday, November 23
- Round 2: Apeldoorn, Netherlands – Friday, November 29
- Round 3 : Apeldoorn, Netherlands – Saturday, November 30
- Round 4: London, UK – Friday, December 6
- Grand Finale: London, UK – Saturday, December 7
Stream the UCI Track Champions League on discovery+
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