WATCHING COOKE IN 2008 FIRED OLYMPIC AMBITION
ELINOR Barker was just 13 when she witnessed the Olympic event which was to help mould the future career of this Cardiff champion cyclist. Watching Nicole Cooke ride to Olympic gold in the Beijing rain in 2008 proved an inspirational moment for the Llanishen High School pupil.
“My biggest Olympic moment was watching Nicole win the road race in Beijing,” recalled Barker.
“I had just got into racing and I was watching it with my Dad.
“It was one of the most incredible things I had ever seen and really resonated with me.”
So Barker was honoured to become an Olympian herself eight years later when she was chosen in the women’s track team pursuit squad for Rio 2016, alongside fellow Welsh rider Ciara Horne, Scottish star Katie Archibald and London 2012 gold medal duo Joanna Rowsell Shand and Laura Trott.
“It was a different experience for our team pursuit squad because there are five of us who have been training together for about two years,” said Barker.
“There was always going to be five of us selected so when we were told, it was perhaps not the incredible moment I expected it to be.
“But it still felt amazing. I was with my sister at the time and I had a phone call, which I missed.
“So I now have a voice message saved which is pretty awesome.
“The kitting out day made it feel real and it was so much fun.
“We had a lot of time trying on all the new kit and it’s lovely.”
It’s a first Olympics for Barker, Horne and Archibald, while Trott and Rowsell Shand already know what it takes to win Games gold.
But while the quintet are close, there is going to be disappointment for one rider in Brazil with only four able to start.
“Over the last four years Laura and Joanna have shared so many stories and anecdotes with us about what happened,” added Barker.
“I have already got a good picture about what’s going to happen.
“We all get on and spend virtually every day together.
“Nobody wants to be that person who misses out on riding in Rio, so that’s enough motivation to train as hard as we can.
“Nobody wants to go there and not race, that would be the worst thing in the world.”
Barker has seemed destined for this Olympic honour ever since, as a promising cyclist, she was drawn to the sport having seen the Maindy Flyers in action on the way to a swimming class.
She soon showed she had the talent, winning countless national titles before going on to medal at the 2011 UCI Road World Championships, with silver in the junior women’s time-trial.
In 2012, Barker won the gold medal in the same event, making her a world champion.