John Archibald going for gold at UCI Track World Championships

There will be no holding back for John Archibald as he launches his bid to become world pursuit champion in Poland tomorrow (Friday).
John Archibald booked his place in the team for Poland with a world record in last months British Championships (pic courtesy of SWpix.com)John Archibald booked his place in the team for Poland with a world record in last months British Championships (pic courtesy of SWpix.com)
John Archibald booked his place in the team for Poland with a world record in last months British Championships (pic courtesy of SWpix.com)

The qualifying and final take place on the same day, but Archibald knows he can’t afford to save anything in his first ride - because that’s the only way to ensure he will get a second.

The 28-year-old has twice set world sea record individual pursuit record in recent months - and reckons it will take something close to, if not better than, the 4:09.54 he clocked in Manchester last month to earn a place in the gold medal ride in Pruszkow.

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He said: “Unless you’re in the very last heat and you’ve seen everyone ride and what time you have to beat, you’re emptying everything in that qualifying ride and hoping it’s good enough.

“You just can’t be sure that someone won’t pop out of the woodwork and put in a two or a three-second pb. You have to be prepared for that and to go as fast as you can.

“If I go 4.09 that should be good enough to get me into that final. I might get a shock on the day, but we’ll see.”

Sister Katie is also in the British squad and was hoping to add to her major medal collection in the team pursuit yesterday (Wednesday) before riding in Sunday’s madison.

But for John it’s a first crack at a worlds medal and he’s determined to make the most of it.

He said: “You don’t know how often these things are going to come by so you have to really go after it.”