Sam Harrison (cyclist)

Samuel James Harrison (born 24 June 1992)[2] is a Welsh racing cyclist. He has twice won medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in 2011,[3] and 2013.

Sam Harrison
Personal information
Full nameSamuel James Harrison
NicknameSam
Born (1992-06-24) 24 June 1992
Risca,[1] Wales
Team information
Current teamTeam Wiggins Le Col
DisciplineRoad, Track, Cyclo-cross, MTB
RoleRider
Amateur teams
?Cwmcarn Paragon
2006–2010Planet-X
2011–2013100% ME
Professional teams
2014–2015NFTO
2016–WIGGINS
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's track cycling
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2013 MinskTeam pursuit
Bronze medal – third place2011 ApeldoornTeam pursuit

Cycling career

Harrison is from Risca, Newport. He tried cycling after hearing his friends saying that Newport Velodrome was fun, and at the age of 13[4] he was soon racing with the local club, Cwmcarn Paragon. He was selected to be a member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme in 2008.[5]

Harrison was nominated for the BBC's Young Sports Personality award in 2008, after winning three titles in the youth competition of the British National Track Championships.[2][6] In February 2009, he was selected to represent Great Britain at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[7] He also won two medals at the Under-23 European Track Championships.

2011 saw Harrison break-through at a senior level. He won his first competition at the UCI Track World Cup event in Beijing, winning the omnium.[8] The first appearance for Harrison at the UCI World Track Championships came in 2011, in which he won a bronze medal as part of the Team Pursuit. He was selected in the final after regular starter Ed Clancy fell ill.[3] Harrison also finished 11th in the omnium.

Harrison was left out of the Team GB squad for the 2012 World Championships[9] and 2012 Olympic Games[10] after more experienced riders returned to the team. He won the under-23 title at the British National Time Trial Championships. 2013 saw Harrison return to the British squad for the World Championships, in which he formed part of the silver medal winning Team Pursuit team.[11] Harrison signed for the NFTO team for the 2014 season.[12]

Harrison represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 2014.[13]

He was named as a member of the WIGGINS team for the 2016 season.[14]

Major results

2009
1st Team pursuit, National Track Championships
UEC European Junior Track Championships
2nd Team pursuit
3rd Madison
2nd Overall Junior Tour of Wales
2010
UCI Junior Track World Championships
2nd Omnium
2nd Team pursuit
National Track Championships
2nd Madison
3rd Individual pursuit
2nd Overall Junior Tour of Wales
7th Paris–Roubaix Juniors
2011
1st Omnium – Beijing, UCI Track World Cup
National Track Championships
2nd Individual pursuit
3rd Kilo
2nd Team pursuit, UEC European Under–23 Track Championships
3rd Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
2012
1st Time trial, National Under–23 Road Championships
2013
1st Time trial, National Under–23 Road Championships
2nd Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
National Track Championships
1st Scratch race
2nd Points race
1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
2014
2nd Team pursuit, National Track Championships
2016
3rd Omnium – Glasgow, UCI Track World Cup

Personal life

Harrison attended Coleg Gwent at Crosskeys.[7] Six of Harrison's bicycles were stolen from his family home in June 2009. They were valued at approximately £12,000 and included a bright pink Planet-X team issue bike unavailable in the shops.[6]

References

  1. "Sam Harrison". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  2. "Switch Revealed – Sam Harrison". BBC. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
  3. "Cycling: World Championship bronze for Sam Harrison". Wales Online. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. "10 Questions with Sam Harrison". British Cycling. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  5. "A Minute with: Sam Harrison". Cycling Weekly.
  6. "Cycle champion's £12k bike theft". BBC News. 13 June 2009.
  7. "Student gears up for future success – Coleg Gwent". Fforwm. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  8. "Cycling: Sam Harrison strikes World Cup gold". 23 January 2011.
  9. Williams, Ollie. "Laura Trott takes giant leap towards London 2012". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  10. Benson, Daniel (5 August 2012). "Great Britain's team pursuit coach already thinking about 2016 Olympics". Cycling News. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  11. "Cycling: Becky James and Sam Harrison celebrate World medals". Wales Online. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. "NFTO Pro Cycling – Sam Harrison". NFTO Pro Cycling. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. "Commonwealth Games 2014: Olympic champion Geraint Thomas and world sprint star Becky James head up Welsh cycling team for Glasgow". Wales Online. 9 July 2014.
  14. "20 riders for Team WIGGINS in 2016". cyclingnews.com. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
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