MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — For Brady Bacon, it was the best of times. For Steve Buckwalter and Chris Windom, in particular, it was the worst of times.

That about sums up the roller-coaster ride of emotions among the top-three drivers during the final laps of Friday’s Williams Grove 100 USAC Silver Crown race at Williams Grove Speedway.

For Bacon, the times couldn’t have gotten any better as he avoided the misfortune in front of him. On the 100th and final lap, second-running Windom got into the rear bumper of Buckwalter, sending Buckwalter spinning out of the lead.

On the restart, Windom, the new race leader, led the field into turn one on the final lap only to see his right rear tire give out, handing the lead to Bacon who ended the drama once-and-for-all by cruising the last three-quarters of a lap to capture his first career USAC Silver Crown win.

Bacon’s score came in his 23rd series start aboard his Beast Chassis – Wilwood Disc Brakes – Hoosier Racing Tire-sponsored Beast/Ford, the second-straight win for the Klatt Enterprises No. 6 following Kyle Hamilton’s victory on the pavement at Indiana’s Lucas Oil Raceway in May.

Bacon, the two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ, started third, but dropped to sixth on the opening circuit which, though had him a tad worrisome, became an afterthought as he preserved his equipment and steadily moved up as the race wore on, running fourth as late as nine laps remaining with Buckwalter, Kody Swanson and Windom sitting ahead of him in the pecking order.

Following the lap-90 restart, Bacon surged from fourth to third to second between laps 91 and 93 and was challenging for the lead. Just a lap earlier, Swanson had slid by Buckwalter for the lead in turn one with just a bit too much gusto, sliding up just out of the bottom groove as Buckwalter didn’t fret and drove back by underneath.

That opened up the door exiting turn two, allowing Bacon to sweep past Swanson to second as the field passed under the legendary back straightaway bridge, while Windom presented an inside challenge to Swanson entering the third turn.

Windom’s right front and Swanson’s left rear tangled not once, but twice in between turns three and four, forcing Swanson wide off turn four and allowing Windom to take the third position.

Bacon challenged Buckwalter for the lead entering the outside of turn three on three consecutive laps to no avail.  With five to go and Bacon unable to make the lane up from the bottom work to his liking, Windom took advantage and skirted underneath on the low line to grab second.

“It took me a lap to get going before I could start trying to squeeze on the outside of turn three,” Bacon recalled. “But Buckwalter was really smart. He races a lot here, so he was keeping himself just far out enough to where I couldn’t get a run on him, and then I slid out.”

The top four of Buckwalter, Windom, Bacon and Swanson ran practically nose-to-tail entering the conclusion. Heading into turn one on the final lap, though, local favorite Buckwalter from Royersford, Pa., a nine-time wing sprint car and five-time ARDC Midget winner at Williams Grove, seemed poised and primed to capture his first career Silver Crown victory in his 25th series start.

That’s when the complexion of the race, and seemingly the universe, turned on its figurative head.  Second-running Windom entered turn one a couple car lengths behind Buckwalter.

Windom tagged Buckwalter’s rear bumper with his own front bumper, turning Buckwalter sideways and, ultimately, to a stop in the middle of turn one. Windom barely escaped to the outside behind Buckwalter’s tail tank while third-running Bacon snuck by underneath without getting caught in the melee.

Buckwalter didn’t mince words in his thoughts of what happened just three-quarters of a lap away from payday.

“I knew I had to get in low and protect the bottom,” Buckwalter explained.  “I was running as hard as I had to (in order) to make that happen. I just feel bad for all the PA fans. We had them beat. I don’t know what else to say. I guess he just didn’t want to get second, but he just drove through me.”

Windom admitted he just plainly misjudged the entry to turn one.

“I obviously misjudged it and I feel terrible about it,” Windom admitted. “I’d been battling brake issues the last 40 laps of the race and he got in so slow and low to protect the bottom. Once the white flag came out, I got excited going down the front stretch and I got in too hard. I had my left foot through the floor trying to slow the car down. I just knew at that point that I had gotten in way too hard. I tried to turn up at the last second, but it just ended up catching him even harder with the bumper and spun him.  I can’t change it now. I had a bad misjudgment there.”

That set up a green-white-checkered finish. Though there was a tad fretfulness at the beginning, Bacon’s car had come to life late. Once he gained a close-up look of the leader’s tire situation, he knew there was blood in the water.

“I knew we had a better car at the end,” Bacon noted. “I was a little worried when we weren’t very good at the beginning, then I saw some tire issues come about. Buckwalter’s tire was looking pretty bad and Windom’s was looking bad. Once they had that little altercation over there, that gave us an extra lap. I knew that wasn’t good for Windom because I could see his cords.”

As Windom’s tire went down, forcing him to slip up the race track in turn one, Bacon scooted underneath and it was in the books as Bacon drove away and got out of Dodge to claim one of the most drama-filled last laps in USAC Silver Crown history.

“Coming off turn two, maybe,” Bacon explained. “But then I’m like, there’s no telling who’s behind me.  I don’t know how much I slowed down to miss (Windom), but I was pretty confident I had it. I was just hoping they didn’t throw the yellow. It feels like I should’ve won a couple of these, but glad to get my first one. I love coming out here to PA. This is a really cool place to win a race.”

Swanson finished six-tenths of a second behind Bacon in the second spot ahead of Justin Grant in third.  Mike Haggenbottom earned a career-best fourth from the 15th starting spot while Eric Gordon rounded out the top five.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

ATTICA, Ohio — Ohio Sprint Speedweek has certainly been kind to Kyle Larson, as each of his Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victories have occurred during Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Indy Metal Finishing.

Larson, pilot of the Chevrolet Accessories/Finley Farms/Priority Aviation/Howard Johnson of Lima/No. 57 sprint car, dominated Friday night’s Speedweek opener at Attica Raceway Park, leading 25 of the 40 laps and winning by nearly eight seconds.

The $5,000 victory increased Larson’s Series win total to nine, now with two at Attica Raceway Park; his first since 2016.

“Just a great car all night,” Larson said. “It was either starting to clean off, or take a little bit of rubber through turns three and four. That made things pretty technical. At times, I felt like I needed to cheat it and run below it to stay on a clean track, but I knew I needed to be in the rubber at the same time. Definitely a fun track. I haven’t raced Attica too much, but this is the slickest Attica I’ve been on, so it’s pretty neat to get a win.”

Although starting from the pole, ‘Larson was beat to the initial punch, forced to follow defending All Star champion and current Series point leader, Aaron Reutzel, for the first 15 circuits.

A pair of cautions, one appearing on lap five and another on lap ten, gave Larson a set of opportunities to earn the advantage over Reutzel, but the Clute, Texas-native remained strong and in control.

Unfortunately for Reutzel, but a fortune circumstance for Larson, lap 16 proved to be drama-filled for the front-runners, as a spinning car would create a definite road block leaving Reutzel will little time to react and nowhere to go.

Eventual contact with the spinning car ended with Reutzel laying on his side, ultimately ending his evening at Attica Raceway Park. Reutzel’s early retirement inherited the lead to Larson, and that is where he stayed.

Despite Buddy Kofoid’s ability to hang with Larson during the first 15 circuits, actually showing Larson his nose on multiple occasions, the driver of the familiar Ed Neumeister-owned, No. 11n entry was no match for Larson during the latter stages of the main event.

Larson eventually escaped in traffic, extending his lead to nearly eight seconds with over half of the field left a lap down.

Six-time All Star champion Dale Blaney eventually snuck by Kofoid on lap 27 to secure the second position. Kofoid held on to finish third at the final checkers, followed by D.J. Foos and 12th-starting Tim Shaffer.

“I obviously caught a big break when Reutzel got caught up in that wreck. We were a little bit lucky tonight,” Larson continued. “It’s tough when you’re in second and the track is really dirty. I felt like Reutzel was a little bit better than me when he was leading, but then, once I was the leader, I felt like I was better than I had been when I was behind him.”

The finish:

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 3. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [4]; 4. 16-DJ Foos [7]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12]; 6. 70X-Spencer Bayston [9]; 7. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [10]; 8. 5X-Justin Peck [11]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [18]; 10. 23-Hunter Schuerenberg [21]; 11. 5R-Byron Reed [19]; 12. 26-Cory Eliason [22]; 13. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 14. 70-Brock Zearfoss [20]; 15. 13-Paul McMahan [25]; 16. 1ST-Gary Taylor [13]; 17. 99-Skylar Gee [26]; 18. O9-Craig Mintz [16]; 19. 35B-Stuart Brubaker [14]; 20. 3J-Trey Jacobs [15]; 21. G1-Caleb Helms [23]; 22. 1-Nate Dussel [24]; 23. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 24. 17B-Bill Balog [8]; 25. 25M-Chris Andrews [17]; 26. 14-Tony Stewart [3] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel [1-15], Kyle Larson [16-40]

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Brian Brown has dominated sprint car competition at Knoxville Raceway this season, winning all three times he has competed heading into Friday night’s opener at the Brownell’s Big Guns Bash featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

The Grain Valley, Mo., driver made it “four for four” in dominant fashion, leading every step of the way in the 25-lap feature. The win was worth $10,000 for the pilot of the Casey’s General Stores/FVP Brian Brown Racing No. 21.  Brown became the 15th different winner of the season for the World of Outlaws.

Brown came from his starting spot inside row two to blow by front row starters Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart.  As he pulled away in clean air, seventh-running Sammy Swindell slowed to bring out a caution two laps in. The restart saw Brown leading Pittman, Stewart, Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet.

Brown chose the inside line and pulled away again, building on his lead.  The leaders entered lapped traffic on the tenth circuit.  Brown continued to build his lead with Pittman maintaining second over Stewart and Schatz.

Sweet pressured Schatz for the fourth spot as the two took turns battling past each other. Eventually Schatz would maintain his advantage.

Brown weaved masterfully through traffic, and was four seconds ahead of the second-place car of Pittman at the checkers.

Stewart followed, ahead of Schatz and Sweet.

“This one’s for you Knoxville fans!” exclaimed Brown. “You guys support us every Saturday night. It’s important for us to run well in front of you guys when the Outlaws are in town. I’m proud of everyone on the team. I got a really good start, and I haven’t been running the top much. I knew I was running my tires off a little bit. You don’t know how far you’re ahead.  Lapped traffic got intense a couple of times. I kept my composure and here we are.  We treated this like a normal week. I always thought I’d like to win my first Outlaw show at Knoxville.  We’ve won them in Charlotte, Arizona and Kansas, but this one’s special.  Four seconds (his lead at the checkers) felt like four-tenths of a second to us.”

“That just means he did a better job than I did,” said Pittman. “I don’t know that they slowed me down any more than him.  He just was probably a little more aggressive. He’s good here. I was unsure how far you could be behind a guy to pull the trigger on him. I know not completing the pass would kill our speed. I was maybe a little hesitant to do that.  I’ve got to thank my guys. They worked their tails off.  We got an engine changed before the dash and I went out there and the car was really good. I have to thank Dennis and Teresa (Roth). We’ve got a super race team. I’m super-excited about the direction we’re headed.”

“There’s no spots easy here with these guys,” said Stewart, who drove the CJB Motorsports No. 5. “We were able to get back by Donny there on the last lap, but this race was over at the green flag. Brian and those guys did a great job. We’ve been proving that every time we make the dash, we’re in contention to win. We just have to keep making the dashes. These are little test sessions for August. We’ll go back to the drawing board tomorrow. My guys work really hard. I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. I’m happy to be where I’m at.”

To see full results, turn to the next page.

Analysis, social media chatter and plenty of silliness from the World Cup 2019. If the blog isn't loading for you, please refresh. Also, you can follow ball-by-ball commentary of the game here

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live updates on today's World Cup encounter from Cardiff. Both South Africa and Afghanistan are searching for their first win. Whose day will it be? (Please refresh your page if the blog doesn't load.)

Big picture

Must we succumb to building this game up beyond the point of hyperbole? Despite the fact that one side so heavily outguns the other in just about every department imaginable? Despite the fact that India and Pakistan have never played a World Cup game that has produced a finish to match the needle? Despite the fact that the game might not even happen, with an unfavourable forecast in Manchester beginning to take a turn for the worse?

Yes, we must. There's no avoiding it, and perhaps no reason to. This contest may not have produced as many high-quality cricket matches as you might expect from a rivalry of this intensity, but, with more eyeballs on this match than the final itself, cricket can ill-afford to turn its nose up to the casual fan base that tunes in to India vs Pakistan. It was the most anticipated game of the tournament when the fixtures were announced - perhaps indeed when the tournament format was announced - with Steve Elworthy revealing that the ICC had had 400,000 applications for tickets, and that they "could have packed out Wembley four times over".

But now to the cricket itself. India might have begun the tournament late, but they haven't exactly been eased in, with their first three games scheduled against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The third was washed out, but resounding wins in the other two mean they have cemented their position as co-favourites for the title, perhaps even edging ahead of England given the dominance of their displays. They have a pace attack that would be the envy of Pakistan - imagine saying that at any other point in these two countries' histories - combined with the twin spin threat of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to keep the middle overs tighter than any other team does. They front up to a Pakistan who haven't quite figured out their best eleven yet, and will go into this game having to make a decision that potentially leaves them a batsman light.

There is no escaping the fact Pakistan are unpredictable, and India will be professional enough to be cognisant of that. Sarfaraz Ahmed's side have lost 12 of their last 13 completed ODIs, but it is notable that the win came last week against England when it really mattered, having been blanked by the same side in a bilateral series last month. The top three all average above 50 - though Fakhar Zaman's recent form is a mild concern - and while the pace attack isn't quite the threat they would like it to be, a resurgent Mohammad Amir may look to torment India's top order once more. Shadab Khan, set to return after being dropped against Australia in a move that didn't quite work out, is one of the few that matches his Indian counterparts for ability, and the two sides' last meeting at an ICC tournament in England, which produced the heaviest-ever win in a game between these two teams, is one Pakistan will look to seek inspiration from.

For India, the challenge will be to rise above the emotions of a derby game, while Pakistan must try and frame it as such. Stripped bare of emotions, the gulf between the two sides is a gaping chasm. With the balance tipping towards India each time the two sides play - India hammered Pakistan in the recent Asia Cup twice, which is more reflective of the trend than the Champions Trophy final - Virat Kohli's men will look to approach this as just any other match, because the pressure of viewing it through the prism of history will only play into Pakistan's hands. But then again, the mental baggage swings the other way, too; Pakistan have never once beaten India in a World Cup match, even in the years they were unquestionably the better of the two sides. Were they to turn all that on its head in a year when it looks less likely than ever before, this World Cup might just find the spark it has so plaintively awaited in its opening fortnight.

Form guide

India WWLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: LWLLL

in the spotlight

Much is made of Rohit Sharma's third-ball lbw to Mohammad Amir in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, and his second-ball dismissal to the same bowler in the same fashion in Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in 2016. What isn't mentioned, however, is that on the other three occasions that the two have met since Amir's return, Rohit has scores of 91, 52 and 111*. To say he'd be apprehensive about facing Amir is a product borne out of selective meory, but there's no overstating the importance of that battle. India, who rely on a gun top order, are without Rohit's usual opener Shikhar Dhawan, making his wicket even more prized for Pakistan. It will matter not a jot to them if Amir takes it or not, but on current form, he looks like the bowler Rohit - and indeed India - should be most wary of. Rohit, however, started off the tournament with 122* and 57, so perhaps it is Pakistan who should feel forewarned.

The most gushing - and at the same time damaging - compliment Pakistan fans can pay to Babar Azam is some sort of favourable comparison with Virat Kohli. The numbers suggest he could be on track to become Pakistan's greatest batsman ever, but he isn't nearly in a position where such comparisons are helpful or accurate. India will be well aware that his average against them drops from his career figure of 50.96 to 27.50, and he is yet to cross 50 in four matches. The contest against Australia, where he looked gorgeous for the all-too-short time he was there, will latch itself into YouTube clips for glorious immortality, but a longer, grittier, uglier innings would have won Pakistan the game - the sort of game Kohli would have won for India. Old Trafford is another chance for Babar to show he isn't just a big player but also one who can rise to the big occasion.

Team news

India's biggest concern is the unavailability of Shikhar Dhawan owing to a hand injury sustained against Australia. KL Rahul will be promoted to open the batting, with Vijay Shankar looking likeliest to take the middle-order slot vacated as a result.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedhar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan are wrestling with the balance of their side, and whether to play five specialist bowlers or stick with the extra batsman at seven. There's uncertainty about the personnel, too, with Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali, both of whom had difficult outings against Australia, potentially in for a demotion. Haris Sohail looks primed to take one of those two places.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Haris Sohail, 7 Shoaib Malik/Asif Ali/Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir 11 Shaheen Afridi

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is flat, with almost no sign of green, which should suggest a high-scoring game. However, there is inclement weather predicted for the evening, meaning whoever wins the toss will look to put the opposition in.

Strategy punt

• Bring Kedar Jadhav on early, and give him a long spell. Against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final, India brought him on when starved for wickets, and he struck early, removing Babar Azam in his three-over spell. In the Asia Cup last year, his figures read 9-0-23-3, his career-best figures to date. Mohammad Hafeez gave his wicket away to Aaron Finch loosely in the previous game, and Pakistan are just the sort of team who might get frustrated by the bowler's unorthodox action and nagging line.

• Open the bowling with Shadab. It worked, don't fix it. Jason Roy was dismissed in Shadab's second over, and the ploy will be suited even more with a new opener in India's ranks. If Amir's job is to target Rohit Sharma, Shadab plotting against Rahul at the other end with the new ball is likely to disrupt the batsmen's rhythm, and may bring the early wicket Pakistan crave.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan and India have only ever played one ODI at Old Trafford, the venue of the clash tomorrow. That came in the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cup, with India winning by 47 runs.

• Jasprit Bumrah's figures in the Champions Trophy final read 9-0-68-0. They remain his worst ODI figures.

• Shadab Khan is one wicket away from 50 in ODIs, and should he get there tomorrow, will become the fourth Pakistan legspinner to do so.

Sri Lanka A 260 for 3 (Dickwella 111, Cooray 65, Shreyas 3-49) beat India A 259 (Gaikwad 74, Dananjaya 3-51) by seven wickets

Niroshan Dickwella's ninth List A century and his 165-run opening partnership with Sangeeth Cooray set Sri Lanka A on the track for a seven-wicket win against India A, helping them level the five-match series 2-2.

Having been put in to bat in Hubli, India A were anchored by a half-century from in-form opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (74 off 73 balls), who also helped stitch together two half-century stands for the second and third wickets after the early loss of Prashant Chopra. However, apart from useful knocks from Ricky Bhui (38) and Deepak Hooda (37), the other India A batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts. They were eventually dismissed for 259.

The Sri Lanka A spinners - Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Shehan Jayasuriya and Ashan Priyanjan - dominated the wickets tally, taking seven wickets between them, including the scalps of Gaikwad, Bhui, Hooda and India A captain Ishan Kishan.

Dickwella (111 off 93) and Cooray (61 off 74) were rapid in their pursuit of the 260-run target, striking at over six an over during their 165-run partnership. The base was strong enough to survive three quick wickets - all to legspinner Shreyas Gopal - as Jayasuriya and Priyanjan took the side home in the 48th over with an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 75.

Kyle Lowry's willingness to take a secondary role to incoming star Kawhi Leonard was a key first step in the Toronto Raptors' winning their first title Thursday night.

The July trade that brought Leonard to Toronto was among the topics the two players discussed with ESPN's Rachel Nichols after the Raptors' 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6.

"I told him, day one, this is his team. He the man," Lowry told Nichols. "And I'm gonna make sure he's the man. And when he did special things, I told him he was the man."

Said Leonard: "That's just the type of guy he is, you know? He wants to win. Very competitive player. Like I said before, Kyle's been a big help with me in my transition, just knowing things throughout the city and obviously basketball."

Leonard called winning another NBA title "surreal" while referencing behind-the-scenes drama that could have derailed the Raptors' season.

"Our season was so up and down -- behind the scenes," Leonard said. "And you know, that's how you know this is a great group of teammates. Nothing got out. You guys didn't know what was going on."

Leonard declined to address follow-up questions, while Lowry responded "all you gotta know is that's the MVP right there. We world champs."

By being named Finals MVP, Leonard became the first player to win the award with a team from both conferences; he was the Finals MVP in 2014 when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat.

Leonard averaged 28.5 points per game on 43 percent shooting in the Finals, but Lowry was also a key contributor, including his 26-point performance in the title clincher.

"Words can't explain it, to be honest," Lowry told Nichols. "But the feelings of just success, the adversity, the ups and downs. It's what you work for as a professional, as a man. You just wanna be at the top of your game when you need to be at the top of your game. And it all kinda worked out at some point."

Leonard and Lowry said they will now stay "in the moment" to celebrate the title, but the next question will be Leonard's pending free agency, should he decline to exercise a $21.3 million player option for next season. Leonard told Nichols he wasn't worried about that yet.

"I'm not thinking about it right now," Leonard said. "No, I'm a Raptor for right now. And you know, we'll see what happens."

Points and a podium place are the aim for the in-form Scot as she gets ready to race in the Czech Republic on her road to Tokyo

The many different elements to Saturday evening’s Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon mean Steph Twell is really relishing the opportunity as she returns to racing after a stint of altitude training in St. Moritz.

The 29-year-old has already improved both her half-marathon and 10km PBs in 2019 and is looking forward to testing herself at a race she describes as “a bit of an undiscovered gem”.

The Olomouc Half Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label race and as a result it offers athletes the chance to gain points in the IAAF world rankings, while it is also the third race in the EuroHeroes Challenge series which was launched last year with the support of European Athletics and aims to celebrate and encourage athletes from the continent.

Twell is looking to be competitive at the front of a European-only field and also gain experience of racing in warm conditions, with temperatures set to be around 28°C when the race sets off at 7pm local time in Olomouc, a city situated 179 miles south east of the Czech Republic capital of Prague.

“It’s a new challenge for me to do a half-marathon at this time of year. I’m against a competitive field but one that I hope I can be quite close to the front of,” says Twell, who ran 71:33 when finishing second at The Vitality Big Half in March before getting close to that lifetime best when running 71:37 to win in Reading a week later.

“What was really important for me (in choosing to race in Olomouc) before the British Athletics selection policy came out for the Tokyo (Olympic Games) marathon, was really to try and sort out this confusion with the rankings system that I’m still trying to get my head around.

“It was a bit of an undiscovered gem, really, to have an IAAF Gold Label race at this time of year when maybe not everyone is targeting half-marathon. For me, it’s an opportunity to see where I can position myself and get as many points as possible to help support my opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. To come out here, in an IAAF ‘A’ race, I would love to try and get a podium place, if not a win, against some quality marathon runners.

“There’s that aspect for me personally trying to support myself as strategically as possible ahead of Tokyo,” adds the two-time Olympian. “But secondly, this concept (EuroHeroes) I just think is a fantastic concept. I have found it hard to be supported and to support myself bridging the gap to world-class athletics. I’ve been on the cusp for a long time but for me this year is about being more independent and trying to step up and improve in a new challenge over the roads.”

Last year’s inaugural EuroHeroes Challenge series included two events and it has expanded in 2019 to feature four – in Karlovy Vary, Ceské Budejovice, Olomouc and Ústí nad Labem. When European athletes race in at least two of these events their performances are converted to points, with a separate prize structure up for grabs for those at the top of the rankings.

“For me, the EuroHeroes Challenge is an ideal platform to help me be at the front of fields on the roads,” says Twell. “If I can gain more experience against my European compatriots while being at the front of fields over a longer distance, hopefully I can translate these lessons on to the major marathon scene.

“I think I’ve got experience and history of winning at a domestic and European level on the track, but the EuroHeroes Challenge now offers me a new way to learn about my competitors on the road more regularly. I think it’s going to be a great concept and I’m looking forward to being part of it and seeing it develop and lift off.”

Among those racing against Twell in the elite women’s field on Saturday will be 2:27 marathoner Lilia Fisikovici of Moldova, who will look to continue her winning ways in the EuroHeroes series after having secured success in Karlovy Vary and Ceské Budejovice. Her half-marathon best of 70:45 was set in September.

The men’s field features Italy’s EuroHeroes leader Yassine Rachik, who has a PB of 62:29 from February, plus Ireland’s Paul Pollock (62:10 PB), Spain’s Camilo Raul Santiago (62:40 PB), Roman Romanenko of Ukraine (63:22 PB) and Czech Republic’s Jiří Homoláč (63:23). Twell’s fellow Scot Callum Hawkins was a late withdrawal.

While she is using Saturday’s race as a chance to test herself  and see where she is currently at, Twell believes there is plenty more to come.

“I think I’m still just touching my potential,” says the now self-coached runner, who improved her six-week-old 10km PB set in Brighton by two seconds with 31:55 to retain her Vitality London 10,000 title at the end of May after having impressed on her marathon debut at the end of last year with a 2:30:11 run in Valencia.

“I think there’s still a lot of improvements to be made, but I’m really happy with my training. I think it really took off from Brighton and I think I have to say that coincided with my change in mindset and my freedom of being coached by myself.

“I’m super happy with where I am at but I have ambitions,” adds Twell, who will return to St. Moritz for a week after Olomouc, ahead of racing at the Highgate Night of the 10,000m PBs. “I’m really serious about understanding more about the training for the marathon and how I can become an overall better athlete from this training and over the 5km and 10km distance.

“My aim has been to use this race now as a three-week block post Vitality London 10,000 and a three-week block prior to Highgate. It’s positioned nicely to see where I’ve come on from, from my previous half-marathons, but also equally to give me some indication of how to pitch my training for the marathon this autumn.”