Wendy Houvenaghel had to settle for a silver medal in Poland

Wendy Houvenaghel was defeated in Wednesday night's final of the women's individual pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships in Poland.

The Olympic silver medalist from Upperlands was over two seconds behind winner Alison Shanks of New Zealand.

Houvenaghel was fastest in the morning heats and she led in the final before fading from the halfway mark.

"Having the two races quite close to each other took a bit more out of me than it did for Alison," she said.

Houvenaghel's qualifying time of three minutes 29.491 seconds would have given the 34-year-old victory in the final.

However, she laboured as the final progressed and crossed the line in three minutes 32.174 seconds.

Houvenaghel was runner-up to Great Britian team-mate Rebecca Romero at the Beijing Games.

Romero, who is on a post-Olympics sabbatical, won the world title in Manchester last year.

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