‘RESET AND START AGAIN’: OLYMPIC PURSUIT MEDALIST KATIE ARCHIBALD EXPALINS HOW SHE ACCEPTED TOKYO DELAY

• GB athletes Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald talk about their year so far and look ahead to rescheduled Games
• Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling celebrates two Olympic heroes with video chat on day Tokyo 2020 should have started
• Digital event will be streamed on Facebook at 8pm Friday, July 24

Two members of the triumphant women’s pursuit gold medal team from Rio 2016 will be talking about their feelings on missing out on the chance to retain their title this year, on the day the postponed Tokyo Olympics had been due to begin.

GB riders Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker were among thousands of elite athletes left bereft when the Games were moved to July 2021 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elinor Barker Katie Archibald

Katie and Elinor will be chatting about life in lockdown, staying motivated and adjusting your goals as part of Cycling UK’s Women’s Festival of Cycling, which runs from July 11-31.

Katie Archibald said once it became clear the Games could not go ahead this year, it did not take long to re-adjust and focusing on peaking for next year.

She said: “It wasn’t too difficult, as the decision is taken out of your hands. I fully support the decision as one that has been taken for the right reasons and we have a social responsibility to do what is right. For the athletes, it is just a case of reset and put plans in place for next year.”

The dream of going for gold this year in the Olympic velodrome may have been dashed, but host Anna Glowinski will be pitting the two teammates against each other in a mini virtual Olympics featuring games and activities, interaction and even a medal ceremony.

As well as winning women’s team pursuit gold four years ago, Katie Archibald has also been part of a European championship winning pursuit team on five occasions. Individually, she has been European champion in the elimination race, twice in the ominium and held the European title in the individual pursuit from 2014 to 2017.

Previously a swimmer, Katie took up cycling in 2011, where she competed on a grass track. Her brother John is also a cyclist and the siblings won medals representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

This year had started well for Elinor, shortly before lockdown she claimed the worlds points race title in Berlin for the second time in her career, having won the scratch race in 2019 and gold in the points race representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games a year earlier. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honour List in 2017.

Elinor grew up in Cardiff and took up cycling with her local club the Maindy Flyers at the age of 10. She was recruited into British Cycling’s Olympic Development Academy, but only moved to Manchester to train full-time in 2013 after completing her A-levels in Wales. Within three years, she was an Olympic champion as part of the Rio quartet with Katie, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell-Shand.

The chat to be screened on Cycling UK’s Facebook page from 8pm tomorrow (Friday) is part of series of digital event taking place during the three-week Women’s Festival of Cycling organised by Cycling UK.

To find out more about the festival and the full range of digital events, visit www.cyclinguk.org/womensfestival