WORCESTERSHIRE ace Janet Birkmyre cycled off with five titles from the World Masters Track Championships.

The Great Witley 50-year-old, who rides for TORQ Performance, had a punishing schedule in Manchester with six races over six consecutive days.

Three days required racing twice with both qualifying and finals on the same schedule, sometimes finishing as late as 11pm.

With an impressive record of never failing to make the podium at a masters event she has started over the last 10 years of racing, Birkmyre was tipped for success.

But, even so, five age category gold medals won in the scratch, points, 500-metre time trial, team sprint and team pursuit, plus a silver in the individual pursuit, represented a serious haul.

Birkmyre said: “Honestly, I did not expect to do so well this year.

“The number of women taking part was up again and the quality of the racing was the highest I have ever had the privilege of being part of.

“To win five titles, plus one silver medal, is amazing and justifies the hard work I have put in on the bike and the time my husband David has spent supporting me all year.”  Birkmyre smashed the world record in qualifying for the gold medal ride-off in the individual pursuit only for her best time to be broken again later in the competition.

She then rode just 0.008 of a second off the world record for the 500m time trial to take the title in the discipline.

Her wins in the bunch events were just as emphatic with a stunning sprint to take the scratch race and in the points contest she notched up 15 to claim the title by seven from the nearest competitor.

The world championships were in Manchester but now move to Los Angeles for 2017 and 2018.

Manchester has always been a hugely popular venue but never more so than this year when more than 560 competitors from around the world arriving for eight days of competition.

There is no time for Birkmyre to enjoy her success, though, as she is already back in training for the Elite National Track Championships in January, where she will rub shoulders with the newly-crowned Olympic champions from Rio.