Wendy Houvenaghel retires as injury prevents Glasgow ride

Three time track world champion Wendy Houvenaghel announces retirement - Injury keeps her out of Commonwealth Games that was due to be her final ride - Houvenaghel retires with world titles and an Olympic silver medal

Wendy Houvenaghel, individual pursuit, Track World Championships 2012, day five
(Image credit: CJ Farquharson)

Wendy Houvenaghel has announced she is to retire from competitive cycling ahead of the Commonwealth Games. She was due to ride for Northern Ireland but an injury sustained while training has ruled her out.

Houvenaghel was a regular on Britain's track squad since 2006 where she debuted at the track world championships in the individual pursuit. She then became a cornerstone of the women's team pursuit squad when it became a world championships event in Manchester 2008.

She was part of the winning team that year, in 2009 and again in 2011. In 2010 she won a silver medal, the only year the British team did not win the team pursuit title.

Houvenaghel won an Olympic silver medal in Beijing behind Rebecca Romero. At London 2012 Houvenaghel was the fourth rider in the British team pursuit squad. She trained with Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Dani King - who set three world records in three rides on their way to a gold medal - throughout the 2012 season but wasn't given a ride in any of the three rounds and therefore wasn't elligible for a medal. Something she bitterly complained about in an interview with the BBC. She hasn't been funded by the British squad since then.

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Simon Richardson
Magazine editor

Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. He fell in love with cycling 1989 when watching the Tour de France on Channel 4, started racing in 1995 and in 2000 he spent one season racing in Belgium. During his time at CW (and Cycle Sport magazine) he has written product reviews, fitness features, pro interviews, race coverage and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. He became the 130-year-old magazine's 13th editor in 2015.