Elinor Barker, the winner of the An Post Rás na mBan earlier this month has signed for Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling, the team has announced.
Barker has been riding on the track for Welsh Cycling and Great Britain this season and on the road for Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling.
In addition to her win in An Post Rás na mBan, where she beat Alexandra Nessman (Team Crescent DARE) and Natalie Grinczer (Team WNT) into second and third places respectively, Barker won the Points Race at the UCI World Track Championships this season. Last season, she was a member of the winning Great Britain team in the team pursuit at the Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old was part of the Wiggle Honda team from its inception in 2013, before moving on two years later to concentrate on qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
Team founder, owner and manager, Rochelle Gilmore commented on the team’s website: “As our first confirmed signed athlete for 2018 I am extremely proud and excited to be welcoming Elinor back to the team which she helped create back in 2013, along with Laura Trott, Jo Rowsell and Dani King. Our British registered team experienced a rapid and overwhelming growth of fan support during our first years – Elinor Barker was one of the World Class athletes who trusted a new organisation to support her career.
“I’m honoured and humbled to have her, now as an Olympic Champion, choosing to rejoin Wiggle High5 in order to further support her future aspirations.”
“I’m so excited about rejoining Wiggle High5 for 2018!” Barker exclaimed. “I stepped back from the road scene a little in 2015 to focus on track and getting myself in the Olympic team.
“It’s been fun to watch the team grow from the outside and become one of the biggest women’s teams in the world and I feel so lucky to be coming back to the team in such a good place.”
