Wales’ cycling contingent set to compete for Great Britain at the 2024 Paris Olympics has been increased with another seven names added to the list of those set to compete or as reserves for Paris.

The first half of the team was named on June 24th, with Emma Finucane in the women’s sprint, Lowri Thomas as reserve in the same event, Josh Tarling and Stevie Williams competing in the men’s road race and Ella Maclean-Howell in the women’s mountain bike.

Tarling is also set to double up with the road time-trial at the games, a discipline where he is reigning European Champion.

The list added today sees two-time Olympic medallist Elinor Barker, Jess Roberts, Anna Morris all in the women’s track endurance team along with Elinor’s sister Meg as a travelling reserve.

There is a similar family affair in the women’s road race with sister’s Elynor and Zoe Bäckstedt reserves for the women’s road race, along with Owain Doull in the men’s event.

In total there are now 12 names in GB’s team and reserves hailing from Wales in what is a huge feather in the cap of Welsh cycling.

The signs were there of a bright future for Welsh cycling at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 with Wales winning a total of seven medals.

Sprinting talents

Finucane won bronze in the women’s individual sprint before combining with Rhian Edmunds and Lowri Thomas for team sprint bronze.

At the time, Finucane and Edmunds were still teenagers but the former in particular has since gone from strength to strength winning individual sprint gold at the World Championships in Glasgow last year and winning again at the European Championships in January of this year.

The 2023 Welsh Sports Personality of the Year winner will be one of the favourites for gold this time around in both the team and individual events.

Pursuit Possibilities

In the endurance events on track 29-year-old Elinor Barker joins teammates Jess Roberts and Anna Morris, while Elinor’s sister Megan is a travelling reserve.

Elinor won gold in the team pursuit at Rio and silver five years later in Tokyo.

At the games in 2021, Elinor was alongside Laura Kenny, Katie Archibald, Neah Evans and Josie Knight.

With Kenny having since retired and Archibald breaking her leg in a freak garden accident, Barker is once again joined by Evans and Knight along with Welsh duo Jess Roberts and Anna Morris.

Megan Barker, Morris, Roberts and Ella Barnwell were all part of the Welsh team who missed out narrowly to England in the Bronze medal race at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Read More:

• Emma Finucane: Leader of the Pack
• Geraint Thomas and Stevie Williams Change Tack
• Wales’ Tour de Force

Road Rage

Off the track, Wales also feature strongly on the road this year with both Josh Tarling and Stevie Williams selected in the men’s road race with Tarling also named to race the individual time-trial.

Williams has enjoyed a brilliant first half to 2024, winning the Tour down under and also the monument one-day race La Flèche Wallonne.

On a lumpy course, Williams is an outside bet for a medal although he may be asked to play a supporting role for Tom Pidcock or British road race champion Fred Wright.

Additionally, EF Education-EasyPost’s Owain Doull has been named as a reserve for the road race. Doull won team pursuit gold on the track at Rio but has since focused almost exclusively on the road, competing at each of the three grand tours.

In the women’s road race, sister’s Elynor and Zoe Bäckstedt have been named as reserves.

Their father Magnus won a stage at the Tour de France and also Paris-Roubaix and mother Megan represented Wales at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Elynor won bronze in 2018 and 2019 at the World Junior Road time trial championships, while younger sister Zoe won Junior road race and road time-trial gold in 2022 before winning gold at the European under 23 time trial championships.

Zoe is also a strong cyclo-cross ride, winning U23 world silver and European gold in 2023.

Mountain Bike’s Time To Shine

Last but not least is Ella Maclean-Howell who will compete in the women’s mountain bike race.

Much of the attention will be drawn to the men’s race where reigning mountain bike cross-country champion Tom Piddock will double up with his road race hopes.

However, Maclean-Howell has a strong palmares of her own, winning the British Junior and U23 titles in 2022 and 2023 respectively before winning the British National Cross-Country series round 1 in April.

After the success of Nicole Cook, Geraint Thomas, Barker and Doull in the past, it looks as though Welsh Olympic cycling is in rude health.