Skinner on a high after Euro bronze

By COLIN RENTON
Published on 22/10/2012 12:00

Capital cyclist Callum Skinner will return to his Manchester base today with a bronze medal from the European Track Championships in Lithuania in his luggage.

But the 20-year-old will have little time to savour his latest success before returning to home soil to challenge for the Scottish title at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow this weekend

Skinner featured in the Great Britain team sprint squad that sealed third spot after their Russian opponents were relegated for an incorrect handover.

And he was back in the saddle on Saturday for the individual event. His qualifying time of 10.308 seconds was marginally slower than the personal best he had set on his way to winning the British title last month and was the sixth fastest in a high-class field.

The City of Edinburgh rider then ousted Italy’s Francesco Ceci and the Czech rider Adam Ptacnik in the early knockout rounds to book his place in the quarter-finals. There he was beaten 2-0 by the experienced Russian, Denis Dmitriev, 
who went on to take the gold medal.

Skinner’s final outing of the weekend was in the minor final where he finished fourth to take eighth spot overall.