Edward CLANCY

A redheaded Yorkshireman who is part of the same generation of British cyclists as Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy has had only moderate success on the roads but, as both an individual and part of the British pursuit team, has been one of the outstanding track riders of recent years. He met with immediate success when he helped Britain win the world pursuit title at his first attempt in 2005 and then added two more titles in 2007 and 2008 before he led off the British team to smash the world record and claim gold at the Beijing Olympics. With major changes having been made to the Olympic programme, specifically the introduction of the omnium, Clancy began also to compete in the multi-discipline event and used his skills as both a sprint and endurance rider to win the world title in 2010. He also won medals in the team pursuit at the 2010 (silver) and 2011 (bronze) World Championships, and in 2012 he won gold at the Olympics and a fourth World team pursuit gold medal. He also won the bronze medal in the new Omnium event at the 2012 London Olympics. Clancy won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and in 2016 was part of the British team that won their third successive Olympic gold medal. A great ambassador for the sport, Clancy gives a lot back to the sport and is involved with the British Cycling Academy programme, which gave him his big break, as he encourages youngsters to take up the sport.