Great Britain’s cycling team is turning red.

No, this isn’t a funky new skin suit departing from the traditional white or navy blue, but rather a reflection on the nationality of the riders.

After Aberaeron’s Josh Tarling came so close to a medal in the men’s road race time trial, Wales will be hoping for further success in first the men’s road race and then the wave of talent on track.

Of the six names selected in the women’s team pursuit, four are Welsh, including Meg Barker attending as a reserve.

Meg is the younger sister of two-time Olympic medallist Elinor who is part of the team along with fellow Cymru cyclists Jess Roberts and Anna Morris.

When you add that to the women’s sprint with Emma Finucane alongside Lowri Thomas as a reserve, Stevie Williams joining Tarling in the road race with Owain Doull as a reserve, it means there are nine Welsh cyclists set to compete at the games, along with Ella Maclean-Howell who has already ridden in the mountain biking.

For all bar Elinor Barker and Doull, this is their first experience of the Olympics, hardly surprising for 19-year-old Maclean-Howell, 20-year-old Tarling and 21-year-old Finucane, in particular.

Putting The ‘Pinnacle Of Sport’ In Perspective

Elinor Barker won gold in Rio  and silver in Tokyo, both as part of the team pursuit, before revealing that she was pregnant when she rode in Japan.

Her son, Nico, is now two years old and Barker admits that he doesn’t quite understand what the buzz is about regarding the Olympics.

“I’ve tried to explain to him about the Olympics but he’s two years old,” said Barker.

“They had a sports day at nursery not so long ago and I think he understood when he’d won a race and when he hadn’t won a race but with the Olympics, I don’t think it’s the sort of thing a two-year-old can understand.

“He knows I’m on holiday and that him and Daddy are going on holiday next week and I think that’s all he cares about.”

The Olympics can often be perceived as the be-all and end-all for athletes, but Barker finds that her son, as well as her career on the road with team Uno-X, has enhanced her perspective.

“As much as going to an Olympics or winning gold can define your career and life, it doesn’t have to be the only thing you’ll achieve or only thing people care about,” said Barker.

“It’s been tough balancing road and track this year but I think it’s been really good for me. Helping with my stress levels for the Olympics.

“When Nico was small, it was the first time I’d spent a significant time away from cycling and I was still on training camps, I just wasn’t racing for just under a year. It was nice to have a glimpse into the whole entire world outside cycling.”

“Previously it’s been a culture within our team that if you’re a track rider during Olympic year you don’t do any road, you’re fully focused on track. The first year I did that it worked well for me, I was young, had so much to learn and I liked having that complete and utter focus with my whole programme overseen by the same people.

“It’s quite healthy to have Olympics as part of my season rather than the one defining thing. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to go and win, and it’s still the pinnacle of sport, impossible to overestimate.”

First Time Nerves

While competing on the world stage is now old hat for some, the Olympics brings with it a whole new level of pressure for those who have not experienced the Games before.

“There’s a lot of emotions which come with this big event,” said Jess Roberts.

“I have a lot of excitement and nervousness the closer I come to it. I’m just really excited to get going, training has been going well and I think we’re in a good place.

“Seeing everyone altogether in the same kit it feels like it’s getting real now and getting closer.

“There are times where I think ‘Oh my god I’m going to the Olympics!’ and it’s quite overwhelming. I still can’t quite believe that I’m going.”

Roberts grew up racing with and against the Barker sisters and believes that has helped bring the team “closer together”.

In the team pursuit, riding as a team is crucial, maintaining a close distance to the wheel in front of you in order to maintain the slipstream effect.

While they are riding against another team with the possibility of catching their opponents, Roberts says the team will be focusing on their internal effort.

“We have a schedule which we ride off, we’re not looking at the other team unless we’re in the final when our coach might walk the splits off the other team to know where we are,” said Roberts.

“Our coach has an iPad and we have colours which mean different things. It used to be if you walk up the line you’d be up and down you’d be down.

“You feel if someone’s at their limit or the pace is about to come off. It’s all about feel in the team pursuit, being in tune with the cadence and the speed and you can feel it as a rider.”

Olympic Expectation

Anyone who even has a passing interest in the Olympics knows about Britain’s success in track cycling and in the women’s team pursuit, GB won the World Championships in 2023.

In the women’s team pursuit, GB won gold in 2012 and 2016 before a silver three years ago in Tokyo.

Roberts says that she and her teammates are “going to Paris to win” but Barker admits it is difficult to know who the favourites before the first rounds of qualification are.

“We don’t know where we’re at or where everyone else is at,” said Barker.

“We know what time we want to do and what we think we’re capable of and then we’ll have to see what the other qualifying times are and try and figure out what we’re targeting.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of unknown.”

Barker is also competing in the women’s madison, an event which she and Scotland’s Neah Evans won gold at the 2023 World Championships.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on other teams for the Madison, seeing what countries are putting forward which teams,” said Barker.

“We’ve had a lot more races with head-to-head against different teams. What makes it so difficult is how tactical it is how that can impact on things. Whether teams are going to use the same tactics or ride it differently we don’t know. That’s always the case which is why cycling is so exciting.

“We have our plan A and will keep trying to revert to that, but we have to understand that not everyone has the same plan A as us. We will have to adapt and change our plans if someone attacks or is really dominant in the splits.”

Welsh Cycling Growth

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Wales won seven medals including James Ball and pilot Matt Rotherham’s gold in the Men’s tandem sprint.

For Barker, the “growth in Welsh cycling is amazing but not at all surprising.”

“We’ve known for a long time that we have really good pathways and infrastructure to support Welsh cycling particularly in the south,” said Barker.

“You can see that with Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe, Nicole Cook and Becky James, so many people who you can count who’ve gone and made it to the top.

“I think it shows that the funding and work that’s put in to putting things in place is worth it. All the work with the Commonwealth Games puts a safety net in place in a way for anyone who slips through the net for British cycling.”

Speaking of the Commonwealths, will Barker be there? The 29-year-old certainly hopes so.

“I’ve got three years remaining on my contract with Uno-X on the road,” said Barker.

“In terms of Commonwealth Games, I’d love to compete in that again, but I don’t know how certain that is. The Olympics in LA is just outside of that three-year contract is up so it’ll be a case of re-evaluating when that time comes.”

📷 – SWpix.com

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