The countdown continues to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and with just eight months to go, we’re delighted to be working with some fantastic athlete ambassadors who are underlining the role Dell technology will play at the games. I recently sat down with Elinor Barker to hear about her award winning streak at the National Track Championships, the UEC European Track Championships and UCI Track World Cup. We’re so thrilled for Elinor and her teammates and are cheering them on as they continue their journey to Glasgow 2014!
Here’s what she had to say:
In a little over nine months from now, I will be competing at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome along with the top cyclists from across the Commonwealth. While this is a scary thought, it’s also very exciting at the same time!
The last couple of months have been totally crazy. At the end of September my teammates and I broke the Team Pursuit world record at the National Track Championships in Manchester! I was a little nervous in the build-up to the event. I had hurt my back in training and this was also the first time at a Championship that the race would take place over the new 4,000 metre distance, meaning a full 16 laps with four riders versus three riders over 3,000 metres. Although I was surrounded by a team full of experienced Olympic and World Champions(Joanna Rowsell, Laura Trott, Dani King), for me the experience was a little daunting. We were so happy to break the record in this new format and as a team we are learning all the time.
As in any sport there hasn’t been much time to sit back and celebrate, as the UEC European Track Championship got under way in Apeldoorn, Holland on October 18th. I was delighted to have made the squad and on a high from breaking the Team Pursuit world record we managed to break the record again in the qualifying rounds, and then went on to beat Poland in the final, to take Gold!
We then continued our journey of success with the return of the UCI Track World Cup at the home of British cycling (the National Cycling Centre in Manchester) from November 1st – 3rd – winning Gold and setting a new world record! No rest for the wicked as they say!
Whilst Manchester is the home of British cycling, it is now my home too! I have finally made the move north from my hometown in Cardiff. One major battle that I had to overcome recently related to the move was getting my new Dell XPS 12 back from my sister as it was delivered to my home in Cardiff. She is incredibly jealous and has annoyingly taken a real shine to it! I am very much enjoying getting to grips with my new laptop, it has been fantastic for helping me to stay in touch with my family back home and is helping me to be better organised as my new training schedule intensifies!
For more information, visit www.dell.co.uk/glasgow2014
Follow Elinor’s journey on Twitter: @elinorbarker and follow the conversation online: @thecgf, @delluk, @glasgow2014.