After qualifying as a dentist, Wendy Houvenaghel served in that capacity with the Royal Air Force and reached the rank of Squadron Leader. Her husband, a keen cyclist, encouraged her to take up the sport in 2002 as a way of recovering after running the London Marathon. A year later she was British champion in the road time trial and was considered for selection for the Athens Olympics. She won her first British rack pursuit title in 2005 and won the UCI’s World Cup series for event in 2005-06. She placed fourth at both the 2007 and 2008 World Championship in the individual pursuit and gained her first world title as part of the team pursuit at the latter championships. Houvenaghel qualified fastest from the first round of the pursuit at the Beijing Olympics but was eventually beaten in the final by compatriot Rebecca Romero. Since Beijing she has continued to be a major figure on the world scene and has been part of the British pursuit teams that won the 2009 and 2011 World Championships and were silver medallists in 2010. She also won silver in the individual pursuit at the 2009 and 2010 World Championships and, representing her native Northern Ireland, at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Great Britain