Our different approach did not work – Clancy

Ed Clancy says problems behind the scenes was the reason for the British team pursuit squad’s failure to challenge for yet more glory at the world track championships in Cali, Colombia.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Feb 2014, 00:58 BST
Britain's Ed Clancy talks with head coach Shane Sutton during a training session before the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Cali, Colombia.Britain's Ed Clancy talks with head coach Shane Sutton during a training session before the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Cali, Colombia.
Britain's Ed Clancy talks with head coach Shane Sutton during a training session before the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Cali, Colombia.

The Yorkshireman – who has four world titles and two Olympic gold medals at this discipline – was the senior rider in an experiemental team that could only finish eighth on day one of the championships.

Together with 21-year-old Sam Harrison and 20-year-olds Jon Dibben and Owain Doull they stopped the clock at 4:04.419, well down on the nations that contested the medals, despite revealing in the build-up that preparations had gone well.

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“We didn’t announce it, but behind the scenes we’ve had some problems,” said Clancy, who starts his bid in the individual omnium tonight.

“We knew a week ago our backs were against the wall. Despite the fact we didn’t have a couple of our more established riders in the line-up, we were still hoping to get a ride in the final.

“We have tried a bit of a different approach for these track worlds. Perhaps it just hasn’t paid off.”

Becky James and Jess Varnish won team sprint bronze to get Britain off the mark.

Related topics:Colombia