Tokyo Olympics: Time the target, not finishing position in team pursuit - Elinor Barker

Britain's women's team pursuit squad will target a time rather than position at this summer's Olympics, according to Rio 2016 gold medallist Elinor Barker.

The 26-year-old says not racing their rivals for a year and the potential restrictions in Tokyo make it difficult to set a medal goal.

Final details of the Covid protocols for the Games are yet to be published.

"I'm preparing for maximum safety procedures and inconvenience," she admits.

"Then anything from there is just going to be a bonus."

Barker believes anything that affects training time in the velodrome could impact performances on race day.

"Before Rio we were there for 10 days. One of the many rumours I've heard is that this year we'll be allowed five days, then as soon as we race we have to leave," she said.

"It makes it tricky to put expectations on, but it'll be the same for everybody. It's difficult for everybody involved."

The team would usually have just taken part in the Track Cycling World Championships.

In fact winning the world title in the points race in Berlin back in March 2020 was the last event Barker did before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

This year's World Championships are not due to take place until October, meaning the team have a lost a key indicator of their current performance level.

Barker added: "Usually at this point in the [Olympic] cycle we'd have a pretty decent understanding of where the rest of the world are and what we need to work on.

"Whereas we haven't actually raced some of our biggest competitors for over a year now already.

"That makes it quite difficult to say where we think we are.

"But we've got a very good understanding of ourselves now because we've had so long to train.

"So I think when it comes to goals and targets it's very much time-based rather than position-based."

'I'm more resilient to change'

Elinor Barker has won gold medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

The Cardiff cyclist says the current uncertainty and ongoing restrictions have made her even more grateful for her experience at Rio 2016.

Then aged 21, Barker won gold in the women's team pursuit alongside Laura Kenny, Joanna Rowsell-Shand and Katie Archibald.

The quartet set a new world record on their way to a dominant Olympic title.

But the pandemic has torn up so many plans and, even with fewer than 100 days until the Games begin, the uncertainty does not look like ending yet.

"I've definitely become more resilient to change in the last year," Barker says.

"Now I just roll with the punches and try to be ready for whatever happens.

"I'm always aware that anything that goes into the diary racing-wise is likely to be cancelled, which isn't a situation anyone has been in before.

"But I think I'm better equipped to deal with that kind of thing than I was a year ago."

But the targets are focused on times, the dreams are purely about the top step of the Olympic podium.

"I'm so excited at the prospect of trying to win that title again," says Barker.

"It's the closest thing to life-changing that's ever happened to me and it was just the most incredible experience.

"To have that whole experience again would be absolutely insane."