Elinor Barker believes there are plenty of positives to take out of her 2018 season despite missing out on a TISSOT UCI Track World Cup omnium medal in London.

Barker put in strong performances in the scratch and tempo races but disappointed in the elimination race with an 11th place finish.

As a result, she attacked the points race but failed to make it count as Kirsten Wild and Jennifer Valente brought her back time and time again before finishing fifth overall, much to the Olympic champion’s frustration.

“I wasn’t really looking to defend fifth, so I was trying really, really hard to get that lap,” said Barker. “Idealistically, I was kind of hoping I could get two and that would put me in contention but that was a little bit of a pipe dream in the end.

“I’m glad I tried, and I’m fairly surprised I managed to stay in fifth, no one really seemed to move around a lot.

“You know you’re onto something when the noise of the crowd rises, you know there’s going to be at least a half decent gap behind you to the group.

"So, that was nice, and it spurred me on a little bit but not enough unfortunately.”

Barker’s year has been mixed to say the least, unable to bring the curtain down with gold on her home Lee Valley VeloPark track after medals in Canada and Germany.

Yet with Commonwealth and European titles to her name, her standing in what is an ever-strengthening British endurance team will only grow ahead of the next Olympic Games.

That’s a mentality she hopes to take heading into Tokyo 2020 but first comes the small matter of the World Championships in just a couple of months’ time.

“This year has been a bit of a funny one,” she added.

“If I don’t think about it my initial reaction is I’m quite happy to get 2018 finished and done with.

“But actually, if I look back there’s been some really positive results in there, so I think I’m probably being a little bit harsh on myself.

“But that’s probably a product of the team that I’m in.”


The next TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup on UK boards takes place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow from 8-10 November 2019. Sign up now at bit.ly/NextStopGlasgow to access tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Image credit: SWpix