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Elinor Barker: Are you Rio ready? |
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June 2nd 2016 |
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Are you Rio Ready? |
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Four years ago Elinor Barker was one of the top juniors in the
world winning three medals at the 2012 Junior Track World
Championships - silver in the omnium and individual pursuit
and bronze in the team pursuit. Before going on to claim the
time trial world title on the road, improving on her silver
medal from the year before.
Now Barker stands as one of the top track endurance riders in
the world. Not just a contender for selection for the Rio
Olympic Games
but a leading contender for gold with Great Britain in the
women's team pursuit.
The 21 year old's record the past four years is one few can
claim to match with two world titles in the team pursuit,
having broken the world record on numerous occasions as well
as three European titles in a row. Plus an ever growing number
of World Cup gold and national titles.
Just over two months away from stepping on to the track in
Rio, Barker is confident she and the Great Britain team will be
ready as they look to defend their title against a growing
field of competition.
In March you posted a photo asking the question 'Are
You Rio Ready?' and your caption was "Maybe not quite yet" so
now two months from Rio are you Rio ready?
Not quite yet, there's still a lot of hard work to be put in
during the next six weeks but the training is going well and I'm
confident that we will be prepared.
Home World Championships for you this year heading in
did you feel the expectations on the women's team pursuit
squad were greater than in the past for a home championships
and to regain the rainbow jersey?
It would have been a dream come true to have won the rainbow
jersey in a home worlds, however anybody who follows the sport
closely would have been aware of how strong the competition
had become. There were five teams at worlds who were all very
close and could have won.
After a disappointing team pursuit qualifying you
bounced back and came together to win bronze. It might not
have been gold and the rainbow jersey but how much did it mean
to stand on the podium?
It meant a huge amount. Maybe it meant more because we were
coming back from disappointment but it was very special to
have broken the national record and get ourselves on the
podium.
There was a lot of criticism of the team following
your bronze medal particularly because of past success was it
hard to read or hear what was being said or did you manage to
block it out?
It was fairly easy to block out, even though we did receive a
lot of criticism. I understand that it's somebody's job to
write an emotive and exciting piece about the racing. So if
its not a tremendous win its a shocking defeat in the media,
even if we've had a fairly average ride. How we dealt with it
as a team was much more important than external opinions.
GB dominated the women's team pursuit for so long but
Australia and United States have won the last two world titles
and Canada won two World Cups last season. Do you feel the
level and the competition has stepped up a lot the past 18-24
months?
Yes I do - massively! It's easy to forget that women's team
pursuit is a reasonably new event with the 4km 4 man version
being even more recent. So it makes sense that after a little
while more and more teams are gaining knowledge and with it
momentum. It makes for some exciting racing and the games
should exhibit that.
Elinor Barker takes a brief break from training to explore
Valencia.
Been on a training camp in Valencia how did it go?
I've spent a lot of time out in Valencia in the last year -
it's becoming like a second home. The camps have been going
really well and we're fortunate enough to have the track, gym
and decent roads as well as lovely weather. Dream combination
:)
Close bond between the team how important is that in
training and spending day in and out with each other?
It's very important, especially when giving and receiving
criticism. It's essential to feel comfortable with one another
if you're to give the necessary feedback to help push the team
to improve. If you're always worrying about offending each
other it makes it difficult.
You have raced every team pursuit at every competition
you have gone to (World Championships, World Cups and European
Championships) since joining the elite team quite an
achievement on its own what do you put that consistency down
to?
I have no idea! I think I'm a fairly constant rider in general
- I don't have a massive strength that I'm known for being my
"thing," but I can keep up in most situations.
Four years ago you were still a junior winning silver
at Junior Track World Championships in the omnium and IP and
bronze in the TP and then the time trial world title on the
road. Did you think four years on would be a leading contender
not just to ride in Rio but for gold?
I always hoped it but never dared to think that far ahead. It
was always about the next race or the next world champs,
rather than a four year plan to get to the Olympics for me.
Commonwealth Games medallist in points and scratch
races and have won medals at World Cups and European
Championships in individual events. Has it been difficult to
largely sacrifice your individual ambitions the last couple of
years and just focus on the team pursuit?
I haven't really had to sacrifice individual events until the
last 12 months. In this time I've still raced individual
events at Nationals and European Championships as well as at
revolutions. It doesn't feel like a sacrifice that all my
training at the moment is tailored to team pursuit because
getting in the team is the most important thing to me, but the
thought of getting back into bunch and road racing next year
is definitely exciting. |
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