Megan Barker Wins British Title . . . And Lays Down The Challenge For Big Sister Elinor

By Hannah Blackwell

Megan Barker powered to her first senior national title on the second day of the British National Road Championships in Redcar.

The Welsh Commonwealth Games star outsprinted junior rider Cat Ferguson and Maddie Leech to claim the title in a hotly-contested circuit race.

The younger sister of Olympic gold medalist Elinor Barker, Megan, 25, won after the race was re-started following a huge crash.

Barker said: “It’s my first senior national title, so I’m really happy and I’ve always wanted to win, so I’m finally able to say that!

“It’s really nice for both Elinor and I to have won something! We have another race on Sunday and I think that suits her even more so hopefully we might get another medal and make it a proper Barker occasion!”

Barker and Wood crowned national circuit champions in Redcar!

Megan Barker powered to her first senior national title and Ollie Wood cruised to a solo victory on the second day of the British National Road Championships in Redcar.

Read our full report below ⬇️#NatRoadChamps

— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) June 23, 2023

A number of riders made attacks in the first few laps with Frankie Hall leading the charge with some very aggressive racing, injecting pace into the race and making the peloton work hard from the off.

Leech continued to make frequent attacks as the bunch splintered the best from the rest.

With just a few laps remaining, Katie Archibald attacked and finally managed to make it stick, racking up a sizeable margin in the closing stages of the race.

The victory looked to be hers, but she unfortunately slid out in a corner, ending her race.

At the same time, the chasing bunch were involved in a huge crash as a touch of wheels saw a large group riders go down and caused the race to be paused.

The race started up again for 10 more laps, where the pace was extremely high as riders fought for those all-important podium places.

https://twitter.com/BritishCycling/status/1672321824665763840?s=20

Coming onto the final straight, Leech went long and sprinted with Barker and Ferguson on her wheel.

Barker launched her attack and showed incredible speed to hold off Ferguson, while Leech claimed her second medal of the championships after her under-23 win in the time-trial.

In the men’s race, Ollie Wood took the title as Welsh rider Josh Tarling – winner of the men’s time trial earlier in the week – was unable to make the podium.