Dani Rowe
Danielle Rowe is a British former road and track cyclist. As a track cyclist, she is an Olympic gold medallist, three-time world champion, and two-time European champion in the team pursuit. She is a member of the British Cycling Hall of Fame.
Rowe became a member of Great Britain's team pursuit squad in 2010, and she became a world champion in the discipline for the first time in 2011. Later that year, she became a European champion in the same event. Riding with Laura Kenny and Joanna Rowsell, Rowe helped Great Britain defend their world title in 2012 and win the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics; The trio also broke the team pursuit world record at the Olympics. In 2013, Rowe won a third world title and a second European title in the team pursuit. She missed the 2014 World Championships through injury, and then turned her focus towards road cycling. She missed out on selection for the road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics, but won a bronze medal for Wales in the road race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games having previously represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She retired from cycling in December 2018.
Early life
Rowe was born in Hamble, Hampshire. Her father, Trevor King, is a former biathlete who competed in both the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, and Rowe has stated that he was "inspirational" for her. She went to school at Hamble Community Sports College before attending Barton Peveril Sixth Form College. As a youngster, Rowe initially competed in swimming, but in 2005, she participated in testing hosted by British Cycling at her school. Rowe was then selected to join the Talent Team. Later that year, she joined the Portsmouth School of Cycle Racing which was based at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth.Career
Having joined the Talent Team in 2005, Rowe finished third in the cyclo-cross National Championships the following winter, and subsequently joined Great Britain's Olympic Development sprint squad. She entered in the junior category at the 2007 European Track Championships, finishing ninth in the sprint and twelfth in the keirin. She then switched to the endurance squad. In October 2008, she was released from British Cycling's roster, leaving her without coaching and a professional team. For 2009, she joined the Vision1 Racing team whose riders included Nicole Cooke. That year, Rowe won the British National Circuit Race Championships, and the National Derny Championships. She also became a national champion in the madison with teammate Alex Greenfield.In 2010, Rowe came down with glandular fever. She was able to compete in the British National Track Championships in September, winning in the team pursuit, as well as recording podium finishes in the madison, points race and scratch race.
The following month, Rowe began training with the national team after successfully progressing through a selection process run by head coach Shane Sutton. Three months later, she made her World Cup debut in Manchester. Rowe, Laura Kenny and Katie Colclough finished fifth in the team pursuit. The following month, she became a world champion in the team pursuit at the 2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn. Riding with Wendy Houvenaghel and Kenny, the trio overcame the United States in the final. She also won a bronze medal in the scratch race during the championships.
In September, at the 2011 British National Track Championships, Rowe was part of the team pursuit line-up that secured victory, and she also came third in the scratch race. The following month, she became a European champion, helping Great Britain triumph over Germany in the team pursuit final alongside teammates Joanna Rowsell and Kenny. The following month, Rowe won a silver medal in the omnium at the 2011-12 Track Cycling World Cup meeting in Astana. She won two of the events that comprised the Omnium — the individual pursuit and flying lap. She then secured a gold medal in the team pursuit at the under-23 European Track Championships in Portugal, as well as claiming a silver medal in the omnium.
In February 2012, Rowe, Kenny and Rowsell were victorious in the team pursuit at a subsequent leg of the Track Cycling World Cup in London. They also set a new world record time of 3:18.148 in the final. Houvenaghel rode in qualifying with Rowe replacing her for the final against Canada. Rowe, Kenny and Rowsell then defended Great Britain's world team pursuit title at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne. They overcame Australia in the final with a world record time of 3:15.720. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Rowe won a gold medal in the team pursuit again riding alongside Kenny and Rowsell. The trio also set a new world record time of 3:14.051 in the final versus the United States. It was the sixth consecutive race that the trio had broken the world record. In November, at the 2012–13 UCI Track Cycling World Cup meeting in Glasgow, Rowe, Kenny and Elinor Barker rode to victory against Australia in the final of the team pursuit.
In February 2013, Rowe helped Great Britain defend their world title in the team pursuit at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk. Rowe, Kenny and Barker secured victory against Australia in the final. After the competition, the women's team pursuit was set to increase to four riders riding 4 km. On the road, Rowe won the Milk Race in May, and finished in third position at the British National Road Race Championships in June. Returning to the track at the National Championships in September, Rowe, Kenny, Rowsell and Barker won the team pursuit in a world record time of 4:32.721. She also claimed victory in the madison alongside teammate Kenny. In November, she was a member of the British line-up that won the team pursuit at the 2013 UEC European Track Championships in Apeldoorn. Great Britain overcame Poland in the gold-medal race and also recorded a new world record time of 4:26.556 during the competition. Rowe also claimed a silver medal in the points race.
In November, Great Britain twice broke the world record for the team pursuit at the 2013–14 UCI Track Cycling World Cup meeting in Manchester. Rowe, Kenny, Barker and Rowsell won the event with victory over Canada in the final with a time of 4:19.604. The following month in Aguascalientes, at the next leg of the Track Cycling World Cup, Great Britain broke their own record twice more as they again triumphed over Canada in the final. The team of Rowe, Rowsell, Barker and Katie Archibald beat the world record set in Manchester by three seconds, posting a time of 4:16.552, assisted by the high altitude conditions in Mexico.
After being involved in crashes on consecutive days, Rowe was unable to train fully and consequently missed out on selection for the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She labelled her absence as "heartbreaking". In late June, at the British National Road Race Championships, Rowe finished runner-up behind Kenny. She represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She finished eleventh in the road race, and on the track, she came fourth in the scratch race, seventh in the points race, and eighth in the individual pursuit. In September, Rowe was part of the Wiggle-Honda team pursuit line-up that achieved victory at the British National Track Championships.
In November 2014, Rowe was involved in a crash after a fellow rider hit a pothole while they were training on roads near Merthyr Tydfil. She suffered a snapped rib cage and a collapsed lung and spent ten days in hospital. Five months later, Rowe claimed overall victory at the Tour of the Reservoir. It was her first race back after recovering from her crash the previous year.
In 2016, Rowe finished third in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, fourth in the Women's Tour Down Under, and seventh in the Philadelphia Cycling Classic. She then missed out on selection for the road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rowe criticized the decision not to select her, calling it "unfair". Rowe's ranking was better than two of the cyclists that were selected. She said it was "shocking" that the selectors had not attended any of her races that year. She later launched an appeal, but was unsuccessful. In September 2016, Rowe signed for for the 2017 season. In October 2017, she announced that she would join for 2018.
In December 2017, Rowe announced that she was switching allegiance to Wales ahead of the forthcoming 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast. Explaining her decision, she stated that she has a "strong affinity and love" for Wales where she had lived throughout her professional career. At the Games, she won a bronze medal in the road race. In May, Rowe finished runner-up to Megan Guarnier at the Tour de Yorkshire, and in June, she finished third overall at the 2018 Women's Tour. She suffered injuries in a crash on the penultimate day but was able to finish the race. Afterwards, Rowe stated that it was her "best result" on the road. The following month, she finished runner-up in the British National Road Race Championships after she was beaten by Jessica Roberts. In December 2018, Rowe announced her retirement from the sport.
Personal life
Rowe married fellow cyclist Matthew Rowe in September 2017, and she gave birth to a son in 2020. Rowe has a younger sister.After retiring from cycling, Rowe began preparing to run the 2019 London Marathon but was forced to stop training after developing multiple stress fractures in her right leg. She works as a colour commentator for Eurosport.