Tuesday 19 April 2016 19:20, UK
Laura Trott produced a magnificent late surge to win gold in the women’s scratch race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London as Becky James added a silver in the keirin.
Just hours after being part of a calamitous performance by Great Britain's women in the team pursuit, Trott bounced back in sensational fashion by claiming the sixth world title of her career.
The 23-year-old powered to the front of the field going into the last lap and then held off late counter-attacks to beat the Netherlands' Kirsten Wild into second place and Canada's Stephanie Roorda into third.
Trott said: "It's incredible. I'm celebrating on my own a little bit here. It's much nicer to be with the [team pursuit] girls alongside me. It's my second individual [world title]. I've kind of forgot what the omnium individual [in 2012] felt like.
"To go out there and win, it gave me that buzz back and that nice feeling that I strive to achieve."
Trott insisted she had not been motivated by the disappointment of Britain's poor performance in team pursuit qualifying earlier in the day.
She said: "I'm a racer. I would have gone into that race wanting to win, regardless what happened in the team pursuit. I just love racing in front of a home crowd.
"I just had to put it to the back of my mind. I didn't know I was doing the scratch. I hadn't 100 per cent said yes until yesterday. I guess I just took it one event at a time. I did the team pursuit, put that to the back of my mind and reset and started again."
As Trott celebrated, James handed Britain their second medal of the World Championships in the keirin.
The 24-year-old had looked boxed in on the inside of the track but forced an opening and surged through it to finish behind winner Kristina Vogel, of Germany, and runner-up Anna Meares, of Australia.
James, the 2013 keirin world champion, was delighted to return to the podium after being dogged by a long-term knee injury and a cancer scare in the past two years.
She said: "It's just absolutely amazing. I can't believe it. For me, to be back at my first worlds, everything was a bonus. Top three in the semis was not what I expected, and then to get a bronze medal, I can't get my head around it.
"I got struck on the inside. I could have gone around on the outside, but it is a long way round and a gap opened up, and you have got to take those opportunities, and it paid off.
"The last four weeks, I have seen really rapid improvement. This is the best I've been since before my injury, which is amazing to be back racing at a half-decent level."
