Welsh cyclist Elinor Barker is back in Manchester after falling ill at the Track World Cup first leg in Colombia, an event she has mixed feelings about after her teammates bravely claimed bronze.
Barker is now undergoing a month of intense training at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester before heading to Spain for a 10-day camp.
The 21-year-old became unwell on the day of the team pursuit’s bronze medal race against China in Cali for the October 30-November 1 event but it was too late to replace her so she began the race and pulled off before completing a lap.
However in an impressive display her teammates Ciara Horne (Wales), Katie Archibald of Scotland and England’s Joanna Rowsell Shand beat their opponents to claim third.
Barker told MM that facing adversity at a top level event has its advantages.
“Of course the performance in Cali wasn’t our best to date but given the circumstances we did pretty well.
“I feel a mixture of disappointment and pride at how we responded to the situation.
“The other riders could’ve chosen not to ride so the fact that they rode with just the three of them and come away with bronze makes me really proud of them.
“It’s nice to see that even when things don’t go right we can still succeed, it shows a lot of strength in our team.
“There’s always pressure to win because we had a four-year streak of winning until the worlds this year.”
The result was the team’s first international competition since last month’s European Track Championships where they claimed gold to help Great Britain top the medal table.
The team will travel to New Zealand in December for the second leg and then Hong Kong in the new year for the final round of the World Cup.
Image courtesy of British Cycling via YouTube, with thanks.
