World Track Cycling Championships: Elinor Barker wins world points race gold

Elinor Barker won Great Britain's second gold of the Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong with victory in the women's 25km points race.

Barker, who has also won silver medals in the madison and scratch races at the championships, produced a stunning late burst to pip America's Sarah Hammer.

The 22-year-old gained two laps on the field to win with 59 points from Hammer (51) and Dutch rider Kirsten Wild (35).

Katie Archibald won Britain's first gold in Friday's omnium.

The team have won five medals in total, with the other coming earlier in the week with Chris Latham's bronze in the men's scratch race, to finish fourth on the medal table - Australia led the way with three golds in their haul of 11.

It is a first individual title for Wales' Barker, who won team pursuit gold medals at both the 2013 and 2014 Worlds and the Rio Olympics in 2016.

"I'm incredibly happy," she told BBC Sport. "Until the last lap it was looking like another silver. I'm so happy it was a gold.

"Straight after the Olympics I told my coach I wanted to win the points races and I was backed.

She rode a near-perfect race, teaming up with Hammer, after winning the fourth of 10 intermediate sprints, to gain a lap midway through the 100-lap race that earned both riders 20 points and moved Barker to the top of the standings.

Barker then consistently picked up points in the following sprints that came every 10 laps to strengthen her position.

However, Hammer attacked with 29 laps of the race remaining and managed to gain another lap and pick up 20 points to put her on 51, with Barker on 39 and only 10 points available for the final sprint.

With around 15 laps remaining, Barker rode clear of the peloton in her quest to lap the field but the initial support she received from Wild waivered as the Dutch rider knew she had no chance of winning the title.

But Barker's aggression paid off as she raced around the velodrome and caught the bunch with six laps to go to pick up 20 points and lead on 59.

She still had to be watchful because a victory for Hammer in the final sprint could have been enough to win the title, but the American did not have the legs to contest it.

Meanwhile, Katy Marchant went out of the keirin in the first round repechage as Germany's nine-time world champion Kristina Vogel won her third title.

Senior academy rider Joe Truman set a personal best time of one minute, 01.429 seconds to finish 11th in the kilo. Francois Pervis of France won event for a fourth time.

France also won the men's madison with Britain's Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood one of three pairs withdrawn after losing three laps on the field in the 200-lap race.

Analysis:

Double Olympic gold medallist Joanna Rowsell Shand

"It means the world to her. She said eight months ago she wanted to go for the points race and they put the plan in place.

"She hadn't scored in the first three sprints but she won the fourth, looked behind her and saw she had a gap and that Hammer was going with her.

"El had obviosuly done her research and saw she had a good rider going with her. Hammer is renowned in the cycling world as having the ability to win lots of different races so it's great for El to beat her."