Elinor Barker – A modest outlook for a cycling legend

Finding smiles by challenging and exploring yourself

Elinor Barker is a quietly spoken cyclist, who does her talking on the bike. This young athlete and member of the world’s elite pro peloton – on both the track and the road - is the type of person who you just know will always give her very best on the bike. And, for a few years now, along with her teammates, she’s been cycling faster than most people in the world. As a track cyclist, Elinor 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. That makes her not only one of the most successful cyclists in the U.K., but also one of the most successful in the world; and yet, this somewhat shy and quietly spoken Welsh girl, lights up when she sits on the bike, whilst remaining modest and humble about her cycling achievements.

Whilst not really coming from a cycling family, her first bike was a small red bike called ‘the Rocket’, which had been her uncles as a kid and which all the family learned to ride on. Elinor loved it and she loved going fast. Talking about this with her, she recalls it fondly, wondering if her own son might also learn to ride on ‘the Rocket!’ From these early days as a child growing up in Cardiff, she joined the well-known Maindy Flyers – the same club that produced Geraint Thomas and others, and racing became a regular thing for both Elinor and her sister. Ironically, whilst she never met her granddad, it seems that he too had been a keen cycle racer in his younger days; and so, the feeling to go fast was obviously tucked away in her genes.

The road to Rio

Riding out with the club and on the local track, Elinor simply liked riding and racing. It wasn’t that she felt she was great at it – quite the opposite. This unique and amazing cycling talent is extremely modest and somewhat shy, and she rode because it felt good, she liked going fast and her analytical mind saw room for progression and improvement. At 14, British Cycling identified her potential and came calling in the guise of their junior talent team, and the long and steady route towards real training and events began. Missing out on the British Cycling development team the next year however; this disappointment fired Elinor up even more and she successfully aimed for the Olympic development squad. From here on in, it was a life filled with training, trips to races at home and abroad and being a part of a closely knitted team, which she loves being a part of.

Cycling for Elinor is not simply her job; it’s become a part of who she is, and she’s enjoyed the journey as it’s evolved – all the way to the Rio Olympics, where she won gold in the team pursuit alongside  Katie Archibald, Joanna Rowsell Shand and Laura Trott. To this day, it’s one of her proudest moments in cycling, and one of her happiest – achieving something that had been a single focus for years. As she says during our chat, ‘it was pretty amazing to realise this, and it just felt really special.’

Days like these…

In terms of her pro cycling career, this quietly spoken athlete recalls days riding in the Giro, where the route and the weather were tough, and where the results maybe didn’t reflect either the effort or the pride that she felt for herself and the team. Elinor tells me: ‘It’s hard to explain, and hard to say why it’s satisfying when the result may say otherwise. However, days like this one particular Giro stage are simply amazing; and, on this one day I felt really proud of myself and the team.’

Talking with riders who exist at this level is a privilege, and especially so when you listen to Elinor and she says: ‘The very best days I have had on the bike, you can’t really remember – you’re in a trance, a flow state. Not having to think about anything – the race, the tactics, the bike, the route. It all simply feels obvious and natural. You know instinctively when you’re doing each little thing, each element. It’s the best feeling to have.’

Conversely, at the other end of the spectrum are those tough training days when the winter weather is against you. Elinor recalls one such day when she got a puncture, saying, ‘there I was, in the middle of nowhere and my hands were so cold that I couldn’t even twist the cap off the tyre. It was really terrible weather, and I felt battered by the cold and wind, and yes… the puncture. My hands were just too cold to change the tube. It was horrendous.’

It’s by coming through these tough days and training rides though, that help to define Elinor and to make her one of the most successful cyclists in British Cycling – and one of the all-time elite champions at World and Olympic level.

Balancing bikes and family and downtime

As a top-level pro rider at world level, it can be difficult to balance downtime and visiting family, alongside having a young family yourself. When not riding and racing, it’s often walks and hikes or time at the beach that help Elinor to reset things. It obviously works, when you consider the years that she’s spent at the very highest level in cycling.

Thankfully though, training rides can be fun, and for Elinor they’re frequently a time to look around her at the amazing scenery and plan future hiking and biking trips for herself! She recognises the privilege that she shares with her fellow racers, being able to visit so many amazing places around the world. Talking about this with her, Elinor recalls a trip to Adelaide in Australia, where she’d gone to avoid the winter cold for 6 weeks warm weather training. It reminded her of her home in the Peak District of Derbyshire and is definitely a place that she wants to return to.

Lake cycling shoes for problem solving cycling

Elinor started working with Richard and the team here at lake, in 2023. It was a period where she’d been experiencing some niggles and problems with her previous cycling shoes, affecting performance and comfort – two elements that need to be in harmony. The issues were taking her away from training and so a solution was required, and her bike fitter mentioned Lake cycling shoes as an option. Going through the Lake analysis and fitting process made a huge difference for Elinor, and ‘it’s super-manageable now,’ in her own words.

The Lake CX333 road cycling shoes feel almost custom made for her own unique feet, with the carbon mouldable heel counter and other key elements such as the panels at the back of the shoe to aid support and help to deliver power whilst giving the foot stability and comfort in equal measure. Elinor tells me that ‘it really has made a massive difference’ to her cycling comfort and performance and given her the confidence she needed to push on.

The learning curve and advice for young riders

When you get the opportunity to talk with a rider as successful and easy-going as Elinor, it’s useful to pick her brains on what advice she’d give to younger riders entering racing today. Chatting about this, she tells me that things have changed so much and for the better. She’s an extremely positive person, which is refreshing and also indicates why she’s been so successful.

In terms of advice for young female riders in particular, Elinor highlights a book that greatly impacted on her and which she recommends: ‘Roar, by Stacey Simms. It’s a comprehensive plan for training the body to optimally adapt to exercise. Elinor tells me that it will be useful in helping others, as she says: ‘get to know yourself and your nutrition. Understand that at certain points in your menstrual cycle, you need 400 calories more. Not all the time, but when you do, it’s important to know this as an athlete and woman. Keep on top of new science all the time and understand that it’s so beneficial to apply to injury management and nutrition to your training and racing. Finally, know the power of your hormones and the impact they can have.’

Considering the world and Olympic successes of this quietly spoken, yet determined and inspiring racer, these are tips that any young woman entering cycling would do well to follow.

As we close our chat, Elinor and I share our knowledge of the Peak District – her home away from racing – and cafes and places to explore. She tells me of her end of ride café rule – earning the break, and her favourite haunts such as Ginger and Pickles in Macclesfield, famed for its baking. All I can say is that Elinor has earned her coffee and cake! As a key member of the Lake cycling shoes global family, we’re extremely proud of Elinor and will be watching the 2025 season with interest, as Elinor adds even more successes to an already amazing Palmares – with Lake cycling shoes helping her on every ride.