Simon Yates made a bold bid for a medal in the men’s scratch event at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi today in what is the world junior madison champion’s first senior international.

It was a baptism of firey peddling for the 18-year-old from Bury, who eventually finished eighth after making a break for Games glory with 15 laps to go of the 60-lap race in the velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

Yates pulled clear of the pack with a tearaway group of five, including Australian pair Cameron Meyer and Michael Freiburg, and Canada’s Zach Bell, but he lost touch five circuits later leaving Meyer to take gold from Freiburg, with Bell third.

Another teenager, 19-year-old George Atkins, failed to add to his Delhi medal tally, finishing 12th.

Sarah Storey was sixth fastest in the women’s 3000m individual pursuit qualifiers this morning, some six seconds off the pace set by New Zealand’s Alison Shanks.

Laura Trott was seventh fastest with a personal best of 3:40.329, and Anna Blyth 10th.