Megan Barker is preparing to make her long-awaited City of London Nocturne debut ahead of the Commonwealth Games and National Championships.
Megan Barker is set to fulfil her second of five goals in 2026 when she takes to the track at City of London Nocturne.
In April, the Welsh cyclist, who is based in Manchester, competed in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Hong Kong, winning a silver medal in the team pursuit. And this summer, the new City of London Nocturne offers the chance to tick another item off her bucket list.
She said: “I’ve heard a lot about it and seen a lot of clips and pictures. I think it’s really cool and I’m glad it has come back. I think the crowds enjoy it because you can see all the action and you don’t have to stand around all day.”
The new Nocturne event has been designed to be bigger and better with food stalls and street music building an intense urban atmosphere around a circuit in the City of London.
Barker said: “It suits my physiology. I like really short, sharp, hard efforts and going up to one hour is perfect for me. I’m better at it than road racing. It will be nice to get some crit racing in a bit earlier in the season than normal, before crit nationals.”
The 28-year-old won the national title in 2023 to join an exclusive club that boasts names such as Katie Archibald and Lizzie Deignan (nee Armitstead) and repeating that success is her third major aim of this year. She said: “It’s always one of my big aims. I crashed out last year quite early on, so I was gutted about that. And it’s the same course – I’m hoping it’s not a repeat. And I’m also aiming for the Track World Championships in Shanghai.”
But by far the biggest target for Barker this summer is the Commonwealth Games. She raced at both Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022 but failed to win a medal. Glasgow represents a real opportunity for the Welsh team to take home some silverware if Barker is selected.
She said: “Obviously, it only comes down every four years, so you want to make the most of it. My main aim would be the team pursuit, because a lot of girls in the GB squad are Welsh this year, so we have a solid team.
“We were fourth last time and it was pretty tight. I’m hoping we’re going to have like a really good chance of a medal, which has been one of my career goals that I keep just missing out on. My family are all booked to go, which makes it way nicer, especially if you do get a good result and you can celebrate with them afterwards.”
To find out more and enter races go to www.racenocturne.com
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