Elinor Barker

Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track racing cyclist, who last rode professionally on the road for UCI Women's Team . Representing Great Britain in international competitions, Barker is an Olympic champion, a two-time World champion and seven-time European champion in the team pursuit, as well as a three-time World champion in the points and scratch races, a two-time European Madison champion and one time European Elimination race champion. Representing Wales, Barker was also the 2018 Commonwealth Games Points race champion.

Barker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to cycling.

She is the older sister of fellow international cyclist Megan Barker.

Career

Early life

Elinor Jane Barker from Heath, Cardiff, is the daughter of Graham Barker, deputy headteacher at St Julian's Comprehensive School in Newport. She has two older siblings, Joe and Harri and a sister, Megan, three years her junior and also a successful racing cyclist. She attended Llanishen High School.

Junior career

Barker took up cycling with the Maindy Flyers at the age of 10, as a way of getting out of swimming classes.

Taking the title at the British National Track Championships, Barker broke the under-16 British record in the pursuit, previously held by Nicole Cooke. She was recruited into British Cycling's Olympic Development Academy, but remained based in Wales until she completed her A-levels in 2013, after which she moved to Manchester to train full-time at Manchester Velodrome.

She became the Junior Time Trial world champion in 2012, completing the course in Valkenburg, Netherlands in 22 minutes and 26.29 seconds, beating Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark by 35.87 seconds. Subsequently, Barker was named Carwyn James Junior Sportswoman of the Year at the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2012.

Professional career

In 2013, she became a senior world champion for the first time as a member of the team pursuit squad at the UCI Track World Championships.

Barker represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 2014, winning silver and bronze medals.

In September 2014 it was announced that Barker would follow in the footsteps of teammate Laura Trott and join the team for 2015.

At her home world championships in London, Barker was part of the pursuit team along with Ciara Horne, Joanna Rowsell Shand and Trott to claim the bronze medal; after a disappointing qualifying ride. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Barker along with Katie Archibald, Rowsell Shand and Trott claimed the gold medal in the team pursuit in a world record time of four minutes and 10.236 seconds.

Returning to the track after the Olympics, Barker claimed the silver medal at the European Championships. Barker followed this by winning the points race at the world cup in Apeldoorn. Barker then claimed the title at the Six Days of Amsterdam. Barker closed 2016 with success in the national Madison championships alongside Laura Kenny. Starting 2017 Barker finished second in the ominium event and third in the scratch race at the national championships. Barker finished an impressive third in the points race at the world cup event in Los Angeles, despite having just 15 minutes rest after the Madison event. At the Six days series final, despite not winning a race in Mallorca, Barker won the title. At the World Championships, Barker claimed two silver medals, one in the scratch race and the other in the Madison alongside Emily Nelson. Barker went on to win her first individual world title in the points race.

For the 2018 season Barker decided to join , and joined for 2019, after folded.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, Barker took the gold in the points race for Wales, ahead of Scots Katie Archibald and Neah Evans. Barker's win was the first Commonwealth Games title for a Welsh track cyclist since 1990. Later that year she was part of the Team GB squad that took the gold in the team pursuit at the European Track Championships on home ground in Glasgow. At the 2019 Track Cycling World Championships in Pruszków, Barker won the rainbow jersey in the scratch race, her first world title in that discipline.

At the 2020 Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin, Barker won the gold in the points race on the final day of the championships, taking Team GB's only title of the meeting. She was also part of the team that took silver in the team pursuit. Later that year Barker took two titles at the European Track Championships, one as part of the team pursuit squad alongside Katie Archibald, Neah Evans, Laura Kenny and Josie Knight, and an individual gold in the elimination race.

In 2021, Barker was part of the British team that won silver in the women's team pursuit at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics. During the Games she signed a two-year deal to join the Uno-X team from 2022.

Personal life

Barker revealed in 2019 that she was suffering from endometriosis, which nearly caused her to retire, as well as potentially affecting her chances of having a child. In October 2021 Barker announced that she was pregnant, and had been so when she competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Major results

Track

;2011
: National Junior Championships
::1st Individual pursuit
::2nd Scratch race
: 2nd Individual pursuit, UEC European Junior Championships
;2012
: UEC European Junior Championships
::1st Individual pursuit
::1st Team pursuit (with Lucy Garner and Amy Roberts)
: 2nd Team pursuit, 2012–13 UCI World Cup, Cali
: UCI Junior World Championships
::2nd Omnium
::2nd Individual pursuit
::3rd Team pursuit
;2013
: 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
: 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
: UEC European Under-23 Championships
::2nd Individual pursuit
::2nd Points race
: 3rd Team pursuit, 2012–13 UCI World Cup, Aguascalientes
;2014
: 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
: 2014–15 UCI World Cup
::1st Team pursuit, Guadalajara
::1st Team pursuit, London
::3rd Points race, London
: 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
: Revolution
::1st Scratch Race – Round 3, Manchester
::2nd Points Race – Round 2, Manchester
::3rd Points Race – Round 3, Manchester
::3rd Scratch Race – Round 4, Manchester
: 1st Team pursuit, National Championships (With Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott)
: Commonwealth Games
::2nd Points race
::3rd Scratch race
;2015
: 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
:Revolution
::1st Points Race – Round 6, Manchester
::1st Scratch Race – Round 3, Manchester
::2nd Points Race – Round 3, Manchester
: 2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
: 3rd Team pursuit, 2015–16 UCI World Cup, Cali
;2016
: 1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games
: 2016–17 UCI World Cup
::1st Points race, Apeldoorn
::2nd Team pursuit, Hong Kong
: 1st Omnium, Six Days of Amsterdam
: 1st Madison, National Championships (with Laura Kenny)
: 2nd Scratch race, UEC European Championships
:Revolution Series
::2nd Points Race – Round 1, Manchester
::2nd Points Race – Round 5, Manchester
:Revolution Champions League
::2nd Points Race, Round 2 – London
::3rd Omnium, Round 1 – Manchester
::3rd Points Race, Round 1 – Manchester
::3rd Scratch Race, Round 2 – London
: 3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
;2017
: UCI World Championships
::1st Points race
::2nd Scratch race
::2nd Madison (with Emily Nelson)
: UEC European Championships
::1st Madison (with Ellie Dickinson)
::2nd Team pursuit
: 2017–18 UCI World Cup
::1st Madison, Manchester
::1st Team Pursuit, Manchester
::2nd Madison, Pruszków (with Emily Nelson)
: 1st Omnium, Six Day Final, Mallorca
: National Track Championships
::2nd Omnium
::3rd Scratch race
: 3rd Scratch Race, Revolution Series – Champions League – Round 1, London
;2018
: 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
: 1st Points race, Commonwealth Games
: 1st Madison, National Championships (with Katie Archibald)
: 2nd Scratch Race, Revolution Series – Champions League – Round 3, Manchester
;2019
: 1st Scratch race, UCI World Championships
;2020
: 1st Points race, UCI World Championships
: UEC European Track Championships
::1st Elimination race
::1st Team pursuit (with Katie Archibald, Neah Evans, Laura Kenny and Josie Knight)
;2021
: 2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games

Road

;2011
: 1st Stratford-upon-Avon Team Series
: 1st Stage 1 Essex Giro
: 2nd Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships
;2012
: 1st Jubilee Road Race
: 1st Duncan Murray Wines Road Race
: 1st Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships
: 2nd Hillingdon Grand Prix
: 2nd Overall 2 Days of Bedford
::1st Stage 4
;2013
: 1st Otley Grand Prix
;2014
: 4th Time trial, National Road Championships
;2017
: 1st Overall Rás na mBan
::1st Queen of the Hills classification
::1st Stages 3 & 4
: 3rd Ljubljana–Domžale–Ljubljana TT
: National Road Championships
::4th Road race
::5th Time trial
: 7th Overall BeNe Ladies Tour
::1st Stage 2a

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Elinor
1994 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Cardiff
Welsh female cyclists
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Wales
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales
UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women)
Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic cyclists of Great Britain
Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Olympic medalists in cycling
Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Welsh Olympic medallists
People educated at Llanishen High School
Welsh track cyclists
European Championships (multi-sport event) gold medalists
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
People with Endometriosis