Armitstead Will Bounce Back From Copenhagen Disappointment

After the disappointment of finishing seventh in the World Road Race Championships in Copenhagen, British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead still has her sights firmly set on the London Olympic Games.

The Otley rider, who was frustratingly caught up behind a collision towards the end of the race, suggested before the championships that she's looking to evaluate everything ahead of 2012.

The disappointment of Copenhagen is in some respects a telling sign, not only for Armitstead, but for British cycling. The desire to at least podium shows a transition of expectation within the team which Armitstead represents.

"If you don't get a medal it's sort of a disappointment now," she candidly says.

"I used to go to meets and aim for top tens, and now I want to aim for podiums and wins. If you're not doing that it almost feels as though you don't fit in anymore."

A great deal of this has come down to the inherent success of British cycling over the past decade, with the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Victoria Pendleton forging a path of success.

Training with and around such high calibre athletes clearly rubs off on the new generation of cyclists as Armitstead explains. "You're in an environment of excellence and professionalism.

"Everyone has to step up their game and there's no room to be unprofessional.

“When I look at this team I realise that I need to be better than at least five of these girls. When you're looking at them training on the track, you realise it's a big challenge and you have to be committed to it 100%."

Armitstead, who specialises in both road and track cycling admits that it is difficult balancing the two, but believes that the skills required for each discipline helps her when competing.

"They compliment each other quite well. To be a sprinter on the road you have to have a quick turn of speed which you get from track training.

"With the women's team pursuit it's getting faster all the time, and to get the strength for that you sort of need the road.

"There's plenty of people who do more than one discipline in cycling, but the basics are all the same. If you've got the capacity to do more than one event, then why not?"

The 22-year-old is now firmly focused on her next major event, the 2012 Olympics. Heading towards the games, Armitstead is hoping to feature in both the road and track events, and is already planning for a road race which twists and turns around the nation's capital and will include navigating Box Hill national park in Surrey.

Controversially the recent road race test event only featured male riders, and while Armitstead admits it is a shame there was no women's race, she still managed to gain a good perception of the tough circuit.

"It was a lot harder than what I thought it would be", says Armitstead, who drove around the circuit.

"I think it will be a really tough race. I always thought of London as quite a flat place, but obviously not.

"I don't think there's much in the way of recovery in the short laps round Box Hill, so I think it will be quite an exciting race."

While there is no guarantee that all the preparations will pay off in London, one thing is for certain, Armitstead means business. Still very much a junior in her career, she signs off by firing a warning to her rivals.

"I don't feel like I'm at the top of my game yet. I haven't reached anywhere near what I want to achieve. It's not like I'm trying to stay on top of anything, I'm still trying to reach it."

Team GB athlete Lizzie Armitstead was appearing at the Manchester Velodrome for the launch of the Hornby Scaletrix Track Cycling set. For more information please visit www.hornby.com.

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