Sam Harrison (cyclist)

Sam Harrison
Personal information
Full name Samuel James Harrison
Born 24 June 1992
Risca,[1] Wales
Team information
Current team NFTO Pro Cycling
Discipline Road, Track, Cyclo-cross, MTB
Role Rider
Amateur team(s)
? Cwmcarn Paragon
2006–2010 Planet-X
2011–2013 100% ME
Professional team(s)
2014– NFTO Pro Cycling
Infobox last updated on
22 February 2014

Samuel James "Sam" 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.

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 Program 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 Pro Cycling team for the 2014 season.[12]

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

Palmarès

2007
1st 2km pursuit, British National Track Championships – U16
1st Points race, British National Track Championships – U16
1st Points race, Welsh National Track Championships – U16
2008
1st Isle of Man International Youth Tour
1st 2km pursuit, British National Track Championships – U16
1st Points race, British National Track Championships – U16
1st Scratch race, British National Track Championships – U16
2009
2nd Team pursuit, European Track Championships
3rd Madison, European Track Championships
2011
1st Omnium UCI Track World Cup – Beijing
3rd Team Pursuit – Track Cycling World Championships
2012
1st National Under-23 Time Trial Championships
2013
1st National Under-23 Time Trial Championships
2nd Team Pursuit – Track Cycling World Championships
2nd Points race, British National Track Championships
2014
2nd Team pursuit, British National Track Championships (with Sam Williams, Adam Blythe, Jon Mould and Russell Downing)[14]
2015
2nd Betty Pharoah Memorial Legstretchers Road Race[15]

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] He has previously dated fellow cyclist Laura Trott,[9] although the couple split-up in June 2012. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "Sam Harrison". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Switch Revealed – Sam Harrison". BBC. 2008-11-28.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Cycling: World Championship bronze for Sam Harrison". Wales Online. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "10 Questions with Sam Harrison". British Cycling. 2009-02-19.
  5. ↑ "A Minute with: Sam Harrison". Cycling Weekly.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Cycle champion's £12k bike theft". BBC News. 2009-06-13.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Student gears up for future success – Coleg Gwent". Fforwm. 2009-02-11.
  8. ↑ "Welsh teen star Sam Harrison strikes cycling gold in Beijing". Daily Mail (London). 22 January 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Williams, Ollie. "Laura Trott takes giant leap towards London 2012". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  10. ↑ Benson, Daniel. "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. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "NFTO Pro Cycling – Sam Harrison". NFTO Pro Cycling. 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. 2014-07-09.
  14. ↑ "British National Track Championships 24th-28th September 2014: Communiqué No 010" (PDF). trackworldcup.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "The Betty Pharoah Memorial Legstretchers Road Races". British Cycling. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Eccles, Louise; Parveen, Nazia; McDermott, Nick (8 August 2012). "Laura, her new golden boy and the cyclist she left in her tyre tracks". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2013.

External links