Wales and Salter target first team pursuit medal

William Salter riding on a cycling velodrome track at the National Track Championships wearing a blue long sleeved skinsuit with black shorts covered in advertising branding. He is wearing a white helmet with the visor down, while his bike is black with black track wheelsSWPix

Cyclist William Salter is competing at the Commonwealth Games for the first time

Sophie HurcomBBC Sport EnglandandDamian DerrickBBC Points West

Cyclist William Salter says he wants to show people what a "small nation like Wales can do" as they aim for a first Commonwealth Games team pursuit medal on the track.

The 19-year-old is part of Wales' five-rider men's endurance squad for the Games and is due to compete in the team pursuit, as well as the individual pursuit and points race.

Wales has never won a Commonwealth medal in the team pursuit but finished fourth in 2018 and 2022.

"We're really driving for being medal competitive, especially for the team pursuit, that's where we're really focussing our energy," Salter told BBC Points West.

"For Wales it's something we've been driving for, especially for the last few Commonwealth Games - they were so close last time.

"It would mean so much for us, especially just [being] a small nation, pushing forward on the big stage showing what we can do."

Salter, from Yeovil, Somerset, represents Wales through his paternal grandparents and father, who are from Anglesey.

He was part of the Great Britain squad that won gold in the team pursuit in the Under-23 European Championships in 2025 and at the National Track Championships in 2024, while he also won gold as a junior in the omnium at the 2024 European Championships.

But to win a Commonwealth Games medal on his debut would sit at the top of his achievements so far.

"That would definitely go centre stage, it's not very often I get to represent Wales so it's always really special when I get to do it," he said.

"It's like the last step before the Olympics, I've been watching it since I was very little so to go there is a bit surreal."

'I've tried to come back strong'

Will Salter standing in a garden with his bike in front of him. He is wearing a red Team Wales Commonwealth Games t-shirt

Salter races both track and road cycling disciplines

Salter is this year part of the Great Britain podium potential track squad - a faction of British Cycling's talent pathway - which is a full-time programme that is a step below the elite Olympic-level riders.

Although the programme was largely revamped in 2022, it is the platform the likes of Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish and Laura Kenny all progressed through.

He has also joined the development team of Alpecin-Premier Tech - one of the top WorldTour road squads in the peloton - and has been racing in Europe for the first time.

Yet Salter describes 2026 as a year in which he has tried to "re-focus" after a disrupted period due to a blood clot discovered on his brain in late 2024.

"Thankfully it was in the off-season so I didn't miss too much training but it was then going through the process of a couple of weeks in hospital, getting through that and then trying to get back on the bike was quite hard," Salter said.

"I wasn't allowed to race for a little while afterwards which maybe wrote last season off a bit, but I've really tried to re-focus after it and try to come back as strong as I can, which I know I can do."

Rather than dwell on the challenging times in his young career so far, Salter said he chooses to focus on what is in front of him - with the Commonwealth Games the next big goal.

"I move forward and realised that eventually it's not all going to go in a straight line, you just have to try to move forward and try to keep pushing to where you know you can be," Salter said.

"When you achieve something big you can look back and see everything you've come through and it really puts a highlight on everything you do achieve."