This feature first appeared in Procycling magazine. To subscribe, click here.
Procycling’s cover star for the December edition of the magazine was freshly-minted world road race champion Lizzie Armitstead. As soon as she crossed the finish line, we started making plans to interview her and get her on the cover as soon as possible, which resulted in a coveted hour-long slot in her newly busy schedule and a feature interview well before any other cycling magazines got a look in.
Despite two overall wins in the women’s World Cup and numerous international victories, Lizzie Armitstead was developing a reputation for near misses in the very biggest events. But she removed what she described as a “monkey” from her back when she dominated the World Championships road race in Richmond, Virginia, with an attacking ride and superb sprint for gold. Armitstead is the fourth British woman to wear the rainbow jersey. Procycling went to meet her to find out what makes Lizzie tick.
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Lizzie Armitstead, all hectic energy and busy cheer, shoves an armful of shopping bags – H&M, River Island and Harvey Nichols – containing clothes, more bags and a leopard-print shoebox, at me. “Here, hold these please,” she says, and then disappears off with the photographer from The Times.
Life just became a bit busier for new world champion Armitstead, the sixth British rider, and fourth British woman, to win a senior road race rainbow jersey. There’s media (“I won’t finish until seven tonight”), shopping (“I hate shopping”), a holiday (“I don’t even know where I’m going yet – got any ideas?”), a family diamond wedding anniversary which has taken precedence over a trip to Abu Dhabi for the UCI’s end-of-season gala and a wedding to Team Sky rider Philip Deignan to plan. You might think that fitting all this around everyday life might be complicated but this is everyday life for Lizzie Armitstead now.
Not that she was prepared for it. Armitstead’s focus on winning the world title involved detailed planning over a period of months and a perfect imposition of tactics and physical presence on the race itself. That focus and planning went all the way up to the end of the race in Richmond, Virginia, but it didn’t extend to the other side of the finishing line.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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