Olympic champions take GB 1-2 in women’s sprint at European Championships 

—- Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane turned from teammates to rivals as they went head-to-head in the fight for the women’s European sprint title, with Finucane coming out on top. 

Finucane regained the European title in two straight rides in the gold medal final, having previously held it in 2024. This is Sophie Capewell’s first individual European medal since 2023 and marks a welcome return to the competition after taking an 18-month break following the Olympic year. 

These accolades continue to be evidence of the strength and depth of the British women’s sprint squad, who came out on top at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as team sprint champions, having not even qualified a team since London 2012. 

Following a long-term focus on identifying and nurturing talent and delivering initiatives specifically around female sprint performance, the squad has reaped many rewards. The team sprint silver medal won earlier this championships, which only included Sophie Capewell from the Olympic line up, shows that this approach has set the team up for long-term success. 

On her win, Finucane said: “Yesterday I wanted to execute my ride perfectly, and I did; I came away with a world record and I couldn’t believe it. But it doesn’t finish there, you still have to race races and the girls were really fast, there was lots of fast sprinting and to come away with this medal and with this jersey means so so much to me. “ 

Elsewhere, Anna Morris won the women’s omnium title in sensational style, dominating throughout before delivering a tactical masterclass to secure her win in the final points race.

Morris said: “The racing was really tough today, Stenberg and Bossuyt made the race really hard and the points race was difficult to navigate but I worked hard to steal the points and win the race there at the end. 

“The European jersey is really special, especially in an event like the omnium, so I’m really happy and proud to be taking this back home.” 

Results round up 

Gold, Emma Finucane, women’s sprint  
Gold, Anna Morris, women’s omnium  
Silver, Sophie Capewell, women’s sprint 

4th, Matt Bostock, men’s individual pursuit 

10th, Tim Shoreman, men’s individual pursuit 
18th, Will Tidball, men’s scratch race 

The full daily round up can be found here. 

Ellie StottCommunications Manager, Great Britain Cycling Team