Forres cyclist Lauren Bell's golden Commonwealth Games potential

Lauren Bell believes last month’s hat-trick of gold medals at the Lloyds National Track Championships shows she is on an upward trajectory.

Forres track cyclist Bell claimed victories in the team sprint, keirin and individual sprint in Manchester over the weekend of 21-23 February.

It followed a silver medal in the women’s team sprint at the UEC Track Elite European Championships earlier in the month.

Bell feels her strong start to 2025 has been the result of progress she has made in her training schedule in recent months.

Lauren Bell throws her hands in the air after winning gold in the Women's sprint final during day three of the Lloyds Bank British National Track Championships in Manchester. — Lauren Bell celebrates gold in the Women’s sprint final during day three of the Lloyds Bank British National Track Championships at the National Cycling Centre, Manchester. Image: PA.

She said: “As I keep progressing, I just feel I’m getting stronger on the bike in lots of different ways.

“Since last year when I have been training, I just feel this is the best I have ever felt on the bike. I feel I have made such good progress.

“Last year, from 2023 going into 2024, I felt I had a lot of backward progress – I had a slight issue with my back, and I just wasn’t very happy.

“That made my progress stall a little bit, but I now feel really happy riding. I guess I had to step back, to take 10 steps forward.

“You can have self-belief, but sometimes it’s important you do have those little snippets of success coming through to remind you that you are progressing – and that you belong here.

“It was very positive.”

Bell developing tactical understanding

At the age of 25, Bell continues to rack up valuable experience in a career which has brought her two European team sprint silver medals, along with a silver and bronze in the same event at World Championship level.

Bell credits some of her recent individual success to a growing understanding of the tactical element of racing.

She added: “I have struggled with tactics for a while. I just kept making the wrong decision.

Rhian Edmunds, silver, Lauren Bell, gold, and Georgette Rand, bronze, on the podium for the Women’s Sprint during day three of the Lloyds Bank British National Track Championships at the National Cycling Centre, Manchester. Image: PA.

“My brain would think: ‘You should do that’ – but in a race you have to react instantly because you can’t be thinking it through.

“I had a lot of good legs, but I was kind of fighting my bike, or just wasn’t tactically very good.

“When you get to a higher level internationally, if you make one mistake, you are just out immediately.

“There is still a long way to go, but I think I’m definitely making progress, which is quite positive.

“The racing is the fun bit.

“I’m glad I’m slowly, but surely getting there.”

Commonwealth Games starting to come into focus

Next up for Bell is the World Cup in Turkey later this month, while the World Championships in Santiago de Chile are also on the horizon in October.

Looking ahead to next year, Bell says the prospect of representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is a huge motivation in her efforts to carry on her momentum.

Bell added: “When I was younger, winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games was always my main goal.