Elinor Barker: I've loved catching up with friends over a beer since Rio gold

Standard Sport catches up with Rio 2016 columnist Elinor Barker, who won gold in team pursuit.

You had a lot of travelling planned post-Rio. Did it all come off? I was meant to go to China to meet my brother’s new baby but sadly I didn’t manage to get a visa sorted in time. Thankfully he’s back for Christmas. But I went to California for three weeks with my boyfriend, which was really fun and we didn’t even talk about Rio. So by the time we got back it was a pretty distant memory.

What have you been able to do that you couldn’t before Rio? I think meeting up with friends for a beer has probably become my new favourite pastime! It’s not like I’ve been out crazily late but when bedtime’s usually 9pm it’s been quite a change! It’s so nice to be able to catch up with friends.

What do your friends make of your success? I picked up my two best friends from the station and they told me off for parking in the wrong place before congratulating me on the medal! It barely gets spoken about.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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How was the return to training? My first day back last month was a road ride in the rain. I got to a set of traffic lights about 10 minutes in and had a little cry. It probably sounds a little pathetic but within a couple of minutes I was all right again. But I’m really enjoying it because it’s really different. Us four pursuit girls haven’t been back together since it happened and training is very different. I do miss the girls but, at the same time, it’s nice to do something different. We’re still in a WhatsApp group.

What are your plans for 2017? I’d like to compete at the Track Worlds in events like the points, scratch and madison races.

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