Alice Wood (née Barnes) will bow out as knowledgeable bike owner on the finish of the 2024 highway season, together with her remaining competitors on dwelling soil coming this week on the British National Road Championships in North Yorkshire.
The 28-year-old from Oxford raced on the highway for 3 groups throughout 9 seasons, most of that point on the Women’s WorldTour, first with Canyon-SRAM after which Human Powered Health.
After early success as a junior in mountain biking and cyclocross, together with seventh on the Mountain Bike World Championships as an U23 in cross-country, Barnes punctuated her highway profession in 2019 when she notched double British nationwide titles on the elite degree.
“At the top of 2024, I might be ending my skilled racing profession. I really feel grateful that I’ve been in a position to do my passion as my job for thus a few years. I’ve raced my bike since I used to be 8 years previous, the place I used to be by no means excellent however saved turning up for the love of the game and the individuals I met. Step by step, I saved progressing to a degree the place biking grew to become my occupation, which I might by no means have imagined could be attainable all these years earlier than,” Wood wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“I nonetheless am very passionate in regards to the sport, so I will not be hanging my bike up for good. Just not pinning a quantity on anymore.”
Wood was a part of a formidable duo together with her sister Hannah Barnes throughout 4 of her 5 years at Canyon-SRAM. Two years earlier than they joined forces as execs, Barnes received the elite girls’s British highway championship in 2016 and Wood completed second total, which additionally gave her the primary of two U23 highway race titles. She signed to race for Drops Cycling for her first two professional seasons and by no means appeared again at different disciplines.
“The proudest for me personally putting 2nd on stage 3 and sixth total within the OVO Womens Tour and likewise successful stage 1 on the BeNe Ladies Tour in a two-up dash with Marianne Vos,” she wrote on her web site about her profession.
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In 2018 she signed with Canyon-SRAM and received a stage within the Thüringen Ladies Tour. But her greatest reminiscence was once more when she raced within the nationwide jersey and this time earned a gold medal on the Road World Championships within the Team Time Trial alongside Barnes.
“By far essentially the most profitable and memorable second of my profession got here on the finish of 2018 after we received the Team Time Trial World Championships in Austria. A purpose that we put a substantial amount of effort and time into. The feeling to step onto the rostrum collectively was one which I’ll always remember, particularly alongside my sister,” she wrote.
Hannah Barnes retired from professional biking final season on the age of 30, so this yr just one sister will participate in nationals. Wood will line up for the time trial on Wednesday in Catterick, a complete of 30km on a two-lap course that features the Throstle Gill climb. At the highway race on Sunday that begins and ends in Salturn-By-The-Sea, she is going to participate on the technical 26km loop, accomplished 5 instances by the elite girls over 130km.
Wood will even compete for a fourth time in her profession at LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour after nationals, and the stability of her season is but to be decided.
“I’ve so many individuals to thank who received me to the place I’m. To begin with my dad and mom. They put a lot money and time into taking us to races and coaching camps from such a younger age. We raced all the things after we have been youthful, which is not an affordable strategy to go about it with 3 youngsters, however that helped me on my strategy to competing for Great Britain on the world championships in 4 totally different disciplines.”