Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans) says she is exactly where she needs to be for the Olympic Games, after claiming victory and the race lead on stage 3 of the Aviva Women's Tour. Victory was all the sweeter with her family making the journey from Otley to Chesterfield to cheer her on.
Armitstead has just come off a block of training and had earlier admitted that she was not in top shape, but that didn't stop her helping to blow the race apart in the final 40 kilometres. Just two months away from the biggest goal of her season, the Olympic road race in Rio, she is more than happy with where her form is.
"I know that I'm in a really good place, I'm really fit. Although I didn't feel great, I didn't expect to," Armitstead said in her post-stage press conference. "I think that's an advantage for me; I didn't expect any good sensations on these roads so you have to get on with it and attack even if you don't feel great because you're never going to feel great on this kind of terrain.
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"I'm not wanting to feel great. I don't want to feel sparky and aggressive. I just want to feel strong; that's where my phase of training is. There are about eight and a half weeks to go until Rio, and I'm right where I need to be."
The burden of the rainbow jersey can often prove a struggle for many a rider but Armistead's reign as the world champion has been confident and commanding one. With this latest victory, the Boels Dolmans rider has maintained a 50 per cent success record with six stages from just 12 days of racing. In her post-stage press conference, she exuded the confidence that comes with such success, but she refuses to get carried away with the high expectations of others.
After keeping her nose clean in the opening two stages and working for teammate Christine Majerus, Armitstead set her focus on this stage, the hilliest of the week. The stage played out perfectly for Armitstead and the team by first getting a rider up the road before she bridged the gap on the final climb.
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