Ireland's Mark Downey wins bronze at Track Cycling World Championships
Ireland has secured its first medal of the Track Cycling World Championships.
Dromore's Mark Downey has claimed bronze in the men's points race in Poland.
In a hectic race full of attacks, Downey picked up a critical third lap late in the race to vault up the leaderboard and into a tie with Poland's Wojciech Pszczolarski.
The pair finished with 67 points, while Holland's Jan Willem Van Schip won with 104 and Spain's Sebastian Mora Vedri took silver on 76.
"That means a lot," Downey said. "I've had such a bumpy winter with a lot of crashes. I've finished fourth a lot of times in my career over this past year, I know what it's like to finish fourth, so third there tonight is just a good as a win after so many emotions of being so close.
"It all flowed to me with eight laps to go. I was suffering so much, but I thought I can't let that feeling happen again and to be on the other side of the coin is a very nice feeling.
"It was very hectic, but I knew it would be. I just had to bide my time. I split the race up into quarters. I played it smart, focused on the laps and didn't get involved in the sprints because they're not really my forte. It worked to my favour."
It is Ireland's first world track cycling medal since Martyn Irvine's silver in the men's scratch in 2014.
