Career
Rowsell was picked up by British Cycling's Talent Team programme in 2004, after being tested at her school. Her first major wins came in 2005 and 2006. As a junior, she won the British National Track Championships pursuit in both these years, whilst in senior competition on the road she won the 2006 British National Women's Series competition. She represented the UK at the European and World Junior Track and Road Championships in these years. In 2006 she also finished third in the British National Championship and subsequently signed for the professional team Global Racing for the 2007 season. In her first year as a professional, she finished third in the 3 km pursuit and the points race at the National Track Championships. On the road, she finished second in the British National Circuit Race Championships.
2008 saw Rowsell join the new Nicole Cooke-led Team Halfords Bikehut. She also continued to compete on the track, winning a gold medal at the 2008 World Championships in Manchester as part of the women's pursuit team.
In 2012, she won in preparation for the Olympics at the Track Cycling World Cup in London both the team pursuit and the individual pursuit in February. Rowsell was a member of the team pursuit squad alongside Dani King and Laura Trott, when they won the team pursuit event and set a new world record at the 2011–2012 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics in London. They broke the record again at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Rowsell won a gold medal for the team pursuit alongside King and Trott. Having already set world record times in both the qualifying and semi-finals in this event, the team also went on to set a new world record time of 3:14.051 in the final.
Rowsell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.
Read more about this topic: Joanna Rowsell
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