MONMOUTHSHIRE’S Lewis Oliva successfully defended his men’s keirin title on the first day of the National Track Championships in Manchester.

The cycling star from Devauden narrowly held off the challenge of Joe Truman in the home straight in a thrilling final, in which Alex Jolliffe took bronze.

Fellow Brits Katie Archibald, Charlie Tanfield and Katy Marchant were aslo victorious.

Olympic and world champion Archibald, riding for Wiggle High5, retained her women’s individual pursuit title, beating Emily Nelson – who had earlier set a new personal best for the event – in the final, while Emily Nelson beat Hayley Jones to claim bronze.

Afterwards, Archibald said: “I’m pretty chuffed, to be honest.

“The race was painful – last year it was myself and Emily again in the final and I’d gone for the catch, so I got out the gate this year and thought that I’d just see how it felt, but straight away I knew I was in for the long haul!

“So it was a painful race, but I got there in the end.”

The Scot demonstrated her versatility by also reaching the podium of the women’s sprint event, but it was Olympic bronze medallist Marchant who won gold – regaining the title she first won in 2015 – with a narrow 2-1 victory over Sophie Capewell in the final.

Archibald had earlier defeated defending champion Jess Crampton to take bronze.

The men’s individual pursuit saw Team KGF’s Tanfield – fresh from world cup gold in Minsk last weekend – put in an astonishing performance to catch defending champion and team-mate Dan Bigham with three laps to go in the final.

There was also an Archibald on the podium in this event, as John took bronze ahead of Mark Stewart, with Harry Tanfield’s fifth position ensuring that Team KGF occupied four of the top five places – a result which bodes well for the Derby-based outfit ahead of Sunday’s team pursuit.

Tanfield said: “It feels great – it’s what I’ve been chasing ever since Dan beat me last year!

“It feels really good to keep on the high that I’m on at the moment, and I want to see if I can build on this for the world championships, if I get selected, and maybe the Commonwealth Games as well.”

The first champion of the weekend was crowned in the para-cycling C1-5 time trial, where – after factoring – Olympic champion Jon-Allan Butterworth took gold in the mixed event ahead of Blaine Hunt and Katie Toft.

There was more success for Rio Paralympic champions in the para-cycling B time trial, as Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott were victorious.

Neil Fachie, piloted by Matt Rotherham, took silver, while Ponthir’s James Ball and Pete Mitchell were third.

Thornhill and Scott doubled up in the evening session, winning the B 200m flying 200m, with Fachie and Rotherham claiming another silver medal and Laura Cluxton and Emma Baird completing the podium.

In the C 1-5 flying 200m, Hunt upgraded his time trial silver to a gold, while Toft and Matthew Robertson won silver and bronze respectively.