AFTER her warm up in the Otley Town Centre Cycle Races’ classic event in mid-week Otley’s Lizzie Armitstead headed for Abergavenny in Wales on Saturday and controversy.

World track champion Lizzie took on World and Olympic champion Nicole Cooke in the National Women’s Road Race Championships and the Otley rider stormed to second place.

Controversy then followed as the race commissaire ruled that Lizzie would not get the silver medal for the elite race - only the medal as U-23 champion.

Race winner Cooke and other riders expressed their disquiet and the decision was later reversed by British Cycling, who overruled the Commissaire.

Lizzie, disappointed not to get her silver medal at the time, was later presented with it.

Race officials initially denied her the prize for her second-place finish on the basis that a rider could not be eligible for both categories.

British Cycling president Brian Cookson said: “I would like to apologise to Lizzie for the distress caused.”

Nicole Cooke said after the race on hearing that Lizzie had had her silver medal taken from her: “It is very sad. In black and white, Lizzie was second today and a very worthy winner of that silver medal and as soon as the girls heard the news, everyone was disappointed and no-one wanted to take a medal that wasn’t theirs. We’re all competitors, we all want a fair result and that is what we had across the line”.

After the race Lizzie said: “I am a bit disappointed, not only in that the medal was taken from me, but also that I messed up the last corner. I should have been first into that last corner in hindsight. I should have lead it out.”

However, the rising star of British cycling eventually got her just reward and the men’s races the following day.