cycling
A FORMER Teesdale School pupil is celebrating double success after winning two junior world cycling championship titles.
A fortnight after picking up his A level results, 18-year-old Matthew Brennan became the junior World Track Cycling Champion in the Madison and the Individual Pursuit, in which he set a new junior world record, at the UCI World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia.
The teenager is part of British Cycling’s junior academy, a talent pathway for developing future Olympic stars. He went to Teesdale School, in Barnard Castle, and collected his A level results only a few days before heading out for the prestigious four-day competition in South America last month.
On the second day of competition, he secured a silver medal in the junior men’s scratch race.
Matthew smashed the individual pursuit world record on day three, to win the rainbow jersey, only for the record to be broken again by rival Luca Giama 20 minutes later.
However, the hardworking dale cyclist knocked one and a half seconds off this time in the pursuit final, taking the title and the junior world record.
On the final day of competition, which showcases the best young cycling talent on the track, Matthew and Ben Wiggins took gold in the junior men’s Madison.
The duo worked well together, lapping the field to go 20 points up.
Although there were some challenges from the Italian and Belgians, the British pair remained focused, finishing in the final sprint in second place to secure 55 points and the world title, nine points ahead of second place.
The Great Britain team finished third overall on the medal table, with two world championship titles and three silvers.
