Sunday 25 May 2014 21:09, UK
Katie Archibald won the elite women’s Milk Race following a nail-biting finish in Nottingham.
Archibald, who rides for the Pearl Izumi Sports Tour International team, held off Wiggle Honda duo Laura Trott and Charlotte Becker to take the honours in the legendary event which was held around the city centre course in Nottingham for the second year running.
Trott finished second - just ahead of Becker - with a third Wiggle Honda rider, Elinor Barker, in fourth and Katie Curtis of the Starley Primal Pro Cycling team in fifth.
Archibald said: “It’s great to win such a prestigious event in front of such amazing crowds. Here’s hoping The Milk Race returns again next year.”
Trott, who won gold in the omnium and team pursuit events at London 2012, said: "It was a good race. We just got out-jumped at the finish but fair play to Katie, she finished it off really well at the end.
"I'm pretty pleased with how the race went. It was really good - town centre events are always good because you get lots of people watching."
In the men’s race, Graham Briggs of Rapha Condor JLT was victorious over Raleigh’s Mathew Boulo and Velosure-Giordana’s Matt Cronshaw, who came in second and third respectively.
Briggs, whose team-mates Ed Clancy and Felix English were fourth and fifth respectively, said: “It’s great to be the winner of an event like The Milk Race.
“It’s probably the best event in England for the amount of support there is from the crowd and it’s super motivating to hear them shouting your name.”
Sandy Wilkie, chairman of the Dairy Council, said: “Last year’s Milk Race was a great occasion but today’s event has surpassed it.
“It was a fantastic spectacle and a great celebration of cycling and dairy. Our congratulations go to Katie and Graham, and here’s hoping that, if further funding can be secured, The Milk Race can be a permanent fixture in the British sporting calendar for many years to come.”
