Medal joy for City of Edinburgh sprint teams

CITY OF EDINBURGH riders extended the club's proud record of team sprint cycling success when the club's men and women both had podium finishes at the National Track Championships in Manchester last night, writes COLIN RENTON.

The men's trio of Matt Haynes, Bruce Croall and teenager Kevin Stewart posted the second fastest time in qualifying to book a place in the ride-off for the gold medal against a composite North West Region trio that comprised Great Britain squad members Matt Crampton, David Daniell and Christian Lyte. The final went according to form, with the English threesome taking gold.

The women's event, ridden in twos, produced a further medal for the Capital team. Charline Joiner and Jenny Davis were edged out by an experienced Halesowen pairing in the semi-final and were awarded the bronze when their opponents XRT were disqualified for a faulty exchange.

For a delighted Davis, it was a superb climax to her first season in the sport, after switching from judo. "I've learned a lot and I'll be starting a winter programme shortly and expect to make big improvements next season," she said.