THE Great Britain women’s sprint squad will head to this week’s European Championships hoping to prove the loss of their popular coach has not knocked them off their stride going into the Paris Olympics.

Kaarle McCulloch played a key role in helping a British squad that failed to even qualify for the team event in Tokyo rise to win silver at the world championships in Glasgow last August, while 21-year-old Emma Finucane became world champion in the individual event.

But McCulloch has since returned to her native Australia for personal reasons, forcing British Cycling to make a change late in the Olympic cycle.

Scott Pollock has answered the call, just as he did when he took over as the men’s sprint coach just a few months before the Tokyo Games after the dismissal of Kevin Stewart.

“You wouldn’t pick it by choice because you want to have as consistent and controlled a lead in as you can,” said Sophie Capewell, part of the four-strong women’s sprint squad heading to Apeldoorn for the European Championships that start today.

“However, the choices made around the coaching have been good and we trust in Scott as a coach. It’s fresh eyes, new ideas, new perspectives if we need it. The handover was very thorough. It’s not like we’re starting with completely new ideas, a new philosophy or wanting to rip it up and start again.

“Last year was successful, so we can build on something. It’s not like we’re looking for someone to come in and save us. You wouldn’t pick it but it’s not the worst situation in the world and there are loads of positives that come with that and come with Scott. It’s a fresh start to a big year.”

While Capewell, 25, is hoping to make her Olympic debut in Paris, Jack Carlin is looking forward to what would be a second appearance after the Scot took team sprint silver and individual bronze in Tokyo in 2021.

“This time around you kind of know the processes and what’s going to come over the next seven months until the Games, how you’re going to feel towards it,” he said. “Some days you wake up confident and some days you wake up with impostor syndrome…

“That’s in the sense of whether or not you’re going to turn up and actually compete at the highest level.

“I think every athlete has it. You just don’t know sometimes. Especially in [an event like the European Championships] where it’s not the main goal but it’s still a championship where everyone wants to do well and use it as a platform to prepare for later in the year.”

In Apeldoorn, Carlin will once again be up against Harrie Lavreysen, the Dutchman who has been rewriting the record books over the last several years.

The 26-year-old has won an astonishing 24 golds in the 33 Olympic, world or European title races he has contested since 2018, and Sir Chris Hoy has said he believes Lavreysen has everyone else believing the best they can hope for is silver before a wheel has been turned in anger.

“I think he’s the best track sprinter to have ever lived on the male side,” Carlin said. “No-one is touching him in terms of the times or results he’s getting day-in, day-out. He’s incredible.

“All I can do is focus on myself. At the worlds I raced Harrie in the semis [of the individual sprint] and gave him a run for his money. I wasn’t in tip-top shape so with Olympic form this year I’m hoping to find the next step up.”