CYCLING

Sam Harrison, Britain's U23 time trial champion, is convinced that his difficulties from earlier in the season have been overcome as he looks forward to bidding for glory in the Czech Republic in the European Road Championships. The start of 2013 saw a succession of setbacks for the Welshman, however in February at the track world championships he managed to help Britain to achieve silver in the team pursuit and now he is focusing on Brno's 23 km circuit, having managed to retain his national time trial title in Glasgow. The British Cycling Olympic Podium Programme rider, who is just 20 years old, has been intensively training for the past few months and has a positive outlook towards the course in the Czech Republic's second largest city. The last time a British rider won the European title was back in 2010 when Alex Dowsett took the podium, but Harrison feels he is ready to take the top spot, having been the highest placed Briton in 2012.

The RideLondon-Surrey Classic

As well as the European Road Championships, Harrison also has the RideLondon-Surrey Classic coming up where he is determined to achieve success. This has been a hectic year for the Risca cyclist as he works hard to secure his spot at the Rio Olympic Games having missed out on a place in the Team GB squad at London 2012, and the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will represent a great opportunity for the 20 year old to show just what he's made of. The route is a variation on the Road Cycling Race route from the London 2012 Olympic Games and will see around 150 world class cyclists from all over the globe taking to the100 mile course which begins at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and winds up with its finishing line at The Mall. Among the recognisable faces in the line up will be Peter Sagan, who has won the Tour de France's coveted green jersey on two occasions and will now be participating in this event which is likely to be the UK's largest cycling event for over a generation. It's no wonder that Harrison has high hopes for this massive event, where he is hoping to attract the attention of professional cycling teams and to compete against some of the world's top performers in the field. The RideLondon-Surrey Classic also affords him the opportunity to get to grips with London's frenetic atmosphere and to prepare for this year's Tour of Britain which will end in the UK's capital city in September.

Sam Harrison – a Brief Guide

As one of Britain's top young cyclists to watch, what do you need to know about this young competitor from Wales?

Born in 1992, Samuel James Harrison, better known as Sam, is from Risca, Newport in Wales. As a student, he attended the Coleg Gwent at Crosskeys which is close to his home. He came to cycling at a young age when a friend told him he would enjoy the Newport Velodrome, and by the time he was 13 he was racing with Cwmcarn Paragon, his local club. In 2008 he was chosen to take a place on the British Cycling Olympic Development Programme, and in the same year received a nomination for the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year award having already won 3 titles in the British National Track Championships youth competition. He was selected in February 2009 to represent his country at the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship and later in the year was awarded 2 medals for his performance in the U23 European Track Championships. In 2011, Harrison saw his first break through at a senior level, winning the Omnium in Beijing at the UCI Track World Cup event. As Part of Team Pursuit, he achieved a bronze medal at the UCI World Track Championships, but missed out on a place in the Team GB squad for London's 2012 Olympic Games and the 2012 World Championships. In 2013, he was once again part of Team Pursuit in the World Championships and helped them to win a silver medal and also achieved first place in the National U23s Time Trial Championships.