# Elinor Barker

Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Team Uno-X Mobility. Representing Great Britain in international competitions, Barker is an Olympic champion, a three-time World champion and seven-time European champion in the team pursuit, as well as a three-time World champion in the points and scratch races, a World champion in the madison, a two-time European madison champion and one time European elimination race champion. Representing Wales, Barker was also the points race champion at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

## Career
### Early life

Elinor Jane Barker from Heath, Cardiff, is the daughter of Graham Barker, deputy headteacher at St Julian's Comprehensive School in Newport. She has two older siblings, Joe and Harri and a sister, Megan, three years her junior and also a successful racing cyclist. She attended Llanishen High School.

### Junior career

Barker took up cycling with the Maindy Flyers at the age of 10, as a way of getting out of swimming classes. She was recruited into British Cycling's Olympic Development Academy, but remained based in Wales until she completed her A-levels in 2013, after which she moved to Manchester to train full-time at Manchester Velodrome.
She became the Junior Time Trial world champion in 2012, completing the 15.6-kilometre (9.7-mile) course in Valkenburg, Netherlands in 22 minutes and 26.29 seconds, beating Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark by 35.87 seconds. Subsequently, Barker was named Carwyn James Junior Sportswoman of the Year at the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2012.

### Professional career

In 2013, she became a senior world champion for the first time as a member of the team pursuit squad at the UCI Track World Championships.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Barker represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning silver and bronze medals.
In September 2014, it was announced that Barker would follow in the footsteps of teammate Laura Trott and join the Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling team for 2015.
At her home world championships in London, Barker was part of the pursuit team along with Ciara Horne, Joanna Rowsell Shand and Trott to claim the bronze medal; after a disappointing qualifying ride. At the 2016 Olympic Games, Barker along with Katie Archibald, Rowsell Shand and Trott claimed the gold medal in the team pursuit in a world record time of four minutes and 10.236 seconds.
Returning to the track after the Olympics, Barker claimed the silver medal at the European Championships. Barker followed this by winning the points race at the world cup in Apeldoorn. Barker then claimed the title at the Six Days of Amsterdam. Barker closed 2016 with success in the national Madison championships alongside Laura Kenny. Starting 2017 Barker finished second in the ominium event and third in the scratch race at the national championships. Barker finished an impressive third in the points race at the world cup event in Los Angeles, despite having just 15 minutes rest after the Madison event. At the Six days series final, despite not winning a race in Mallorca, Barker won the title. At the World Championships, Barker claimed two silver medals, one in the scratch race and the other in the Madison alongside Emily Nelson. Barker went on to win her first individual world title in the points race.
For the 2018 season Barker decided to join Wiggle High5, and joined Drops for 2019, after Wiggle High5 folded.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, Barker took the gold in the points race for Wales, ahead of Scots Katie Archibald and Neah Evans. Barker's win was the first Commonwealth Games title for a Welsh track cyclist since 1990. Later that year she was part of the Team GB squad that took the gold in the team pursuit at the European Track Championships on home ground in Glasgow. At the 2019 Track Cycling World Championships in Pruszków, Barker won the rainbow jersey in the scratch race, her first world title in that discipline.
At the 2020 Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin, Barker won the gold in the points race on the final day of the championships, taking Team GB's only title of the meeting. She was also part of the team that took silver in the team pursuit. Later that year Barker took two titles at the European Track Championships, one as part of the team pursuit squad alongside Katie Archibald, Neah Evans, Laura Kenny and Josie Knight, and an individual gold in the elimination race.
In 2021, Barker was part of the British team that won silver in the women's team pursuit at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. During the Games she signed a two-year deal to join the Uno-X team from 2022. In April 2023, Barker extended her contract with Uno-X until 2027.

## Personal life

Barker revealed in 2019 that she was suffering from endometriosis, which nearly caused her to retire, as well as potentially affecting her chances of having a child. In October 2021, Barker announced that she was pregnant, and had been so when she competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is married to Danish cyclist Casper von Folsach.
Barker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to cycling.

## Major results
### Track
#### 2011

    National Junior Championships
       1st Individual pursuit
       2nd Scratch
    2nd Individual pursuit, UEC European Junior Championships

#### 2012

    UEC European Junior Championships
       1st Individual pursuit
       1st Team pursuit
    2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Cali
    UCI World Junior Championships
       2nd Omnium
       2nd Individual pursuit
       3rd Team pursuit

#### 2013

    1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
    UEC European Under-23 Championships
       2nd Individual pursuit
       2nd Points race
    3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Aguascalientes

#### 2014

    1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
    1st Team pursuit, National Championships
    UCI World Cup
       1st Team pursuit, Guadalajara
       1st Team pursuit, London
       3rd Points race, London
    Revolution
       1st Scratch – Round 3, Manchester
       2nd Points Race – Round 2, Manchester
       3rd Points Race – Round 3, Manchester
       3rd Scratch – Round 4, Manchester
    Commonwealth Games
       2nd Points race
       3rd Scratch

#### 2015

    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
    Revolution
       1st Points Race – Round 6, Manchester
       1st Scratch – Round 3, Manchester
       2nd Points Race – Round 3, Manchester
    2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
    3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Cali

#### 2016

    1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games
    1st Madison, National Championships (with Laura Kenny)
    UCI World Cup
       1st Points race, Apeldoorn
       2nd Team pursuit, Hong Kong
    1st Omnium, Six Days of Amsterdam
    2nd Scratch, UEC European Championships
    Revolution Series
       2nd Points Race – Round 1, Manchester
       2nd Points Race – Round 5, Manchester
    Revolution Champions League
       2nd Points Race – Round 2, London
       3rd Omnium – Round 1, Manchester
       3rd Points Race – Round 1, Manchester
       3rd Scratch – Round 2, London
    3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships

#### 2017

    UCI World Championships
       1st Points race
       2nd Scratch
       2nd Madison (with Emily Nelson)
    UEC European Championships
       1st Madison (with Ellie Dickinson)
       2nd Team pursuit
    UCI World Cup
       1st Madison, Manchester
       1st Team Pursuit, Manchester
       2nd Madison, Pruszków (with Emily Nelson)
    1st Omnium, Six Day Final, Mallorca
    National Championships
       2nd Omnium
       3rd Scratch
    3rd Scratch, Champions League – Round 1, London

#### 2018

    1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships
    1st Points race, Commonwealth Games
    1st Madison, National Championships (with Katie Archibald)
    2nd Scratch, Champions League – Round 3, Manchester

#### 2019

    1st Scratch, UCI World Championships

#### 2020

    1st Points race, UCI World Championships
    UEC European Championships
       1st Elimination
       1st Team pursuit

#### 2021

    2nd Team pursuit, Olympic Games

### Road
#### 2011

    1st Stratford-upon-Avon Team Series
    1st Stage 1 Essex Giro
    2nd Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships

#### 2012

    1st Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships
    1st Jubilee Road Race
    1st Duncan Murray Wines Road Race
    2nd Hillingdon Grand Prix
    2nd Overall 2 Days of Bedford
       1st Stage 4

#### 2013

    1st Otley Grand Prix

#### 2014

    4th Time trial, National Championships

#### 2017

    1st Overall Rás na mBan
       1st Queen of the Hills classification
       1st Stages 3 & 4
    3rd Ljubljana–Domžale–Ljubljana TT
    National Championships
       4th Road race
       5th Time trial
    7th Overall BeNe Ladies Tour
       1st Stage 2a

#### 2023

    National Championships
       3rd Time trial
       4th Road race
    7th Gent–Wevelgem
    9th Time trial, UEC European Championships

#### 2024

    3rd Time trial, National Championships