Samuel James Harrison (born 24 June 1992) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

. He has twice won medals at the

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

, in 2011, and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Cycling career

Harrison is from

Risca Risca ( cy, Rhisga) is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. Risca has a railway station, opened on the Ebbw Valley Railway ...

, Newport. He tried cycling after hearing his friends saying that Newport Velodrome was fun, and at the age of 13 he was soon racing with the local club,

Cwmcarn Cwmcarn is a village situated in the Ebbw valley in south Wales, in the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It grew with 19th-century coal mining, but is now known for its extensive mature forestry and greenery, that attract thousands of visi ...

Paragon. He was selected to be a member of

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

's Olympic Development Programme in 2008. 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 The British National Track Championships are held annually and organised by British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation). The main events are various track cycling disciplines for elite athletes to determine the British national cha ...

. In February 2009, he was selected to represent Great Britain at the

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the world championships for cyclo-cross organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Starting in 2020, six events are organized each year – men's elite, women's elite, men's under 23, wome ...

. He also won two medals at the Under-23

European Track Championships The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the European Cycling Union (UEC ...

. 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 An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...

. 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 The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

. He was selected in the final after regular starter

Ed Clancy Edward Franklin Clancy (born 12 March 1985) is a British former professional track and road bicycle racer, who competed between 2004 and 2021. During his career, Clancy won four medals (three gold, one bronze) at the Summer Olympic Games, ...

fell ill. Harrison also finished 11th in the omnium. Harrison was left out of the

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

squad for the 2012 World Championships and 2012 Olympic Games after more experienced riders returned to the team. He won the under-23 title at the

British National Time Trial Championships The British National Time Trial Championships for cycling are held annually. The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic white cycling jersey featuring blue and red stripes, which can be worn by the rider at other time trial events in ...

. 2013 saw Harrison return to the British squad for the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, in which he formed part of the silver medal winning Team Pursuit team. Harrison signed for the team for the 2014 season. Harrison represented

Wales at the Commonwealth Games Wales is one of six countries to have competed in every Commonwealth Games since 1930, the others being Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and Scotland. At the Commonwealth Games, Wales takes part as a separate entity, as in the Six Nations R ...

in Glasgow, 2014. He was named as a member of the team for the 2016 season.

Major results

;2009 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Team pursuit, National Track Championships : UEC European Junior Track Championships ::2nd Silver medal europe

Team pursuit ::3rd Bronze medal europe

Madison : 2nd Overall

Junior Tour of Wales The Junior Tour of Wales is an annual cycle race for junior male riders, held around Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. First held in 1981, the race is the final round of the British Cycling Junior Road Series – and as such attracts the best jun ...

;2010 :

UCI Junior Track World Championships The UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships (named the UCI Juniors Track World Championships before 2016) are a set of world championship events for junior riders, for various disciplines and distances in track cycling and are regulated by t ...

::2nd

Omnium ::2nd Silver medal blank

Team pursuit : National Track Championships ::2nd Silver medal blank

Madison ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Individual pursuit : 2nd Overall

: 7th

Paris–Roubaix Juniors Paris–Roubaix Juniors (or Le Pavé de Roubaix) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in northern France for junior cyclists (aged 17 and 18) ahead of the senior Paris–Roubaix classic race. It is organised by the Vélo-Club d ...

;2011 : 1st Gold medal blank

Omnium An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...

– Beijing, UCI Track World Cup : National Track Championships ::2nd Silver medal blank

Individual pursuit ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Kilo : 2nd Silver medal europe

Team pursuit, UEC European Under–23 Track Championships : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

UCI Track World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

;2012 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Under–23 Road Championships ;2013 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

, National Under–23 Road Championships : 2nd Silver medal blank

: National Track Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Scratch race ::2nd Silver medal blank

Points race : 1st Gold medal blank

Team pursuit,

UEC European Track Championships The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the European Cycling Union (UEC ...

;2014 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Team pursuit, National Track Championships ;2016 : 3rd Bronze medal blank

– Glasgow, UCI Track World Cup

Personal life

Harrison attended

Coleg Gwent Coleg Gwent ( en, Gwent College) is Wales' largest further education college at various locations in the former county of Gwent, South Wales. It has 24,000 students ranging from secondary school leavers to mature students. A wide range of part- ...

Crosskeys Crosskeys ( cy, Pont-y-cymer) is a village, community and an electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales. Etymology The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains the official Welsh name for the village. The name ...

. 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Sam 1992 births Living people Welsh male cyclists Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games People educated at Hurtwood House People from Risca Sportspeople from Caerphilly County Borough Sportspeople from Newport, Wales Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales