Rachel Neylan achieved a personal and professional goal in 2016 by earning selection for Australia at the Rio Olympic Games. However, the 34-year-old was "personally disappointed" by her race and result but following a long break off the bike, Neylan is focusing on performing to the best of her ability for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Prior to signing with Orica-AIS in March 2015, Neylan was accustomed to riding on one-year contracts. With the Australian team, Neylan has found a stable and secure environment which she hopes can help her to greater consistency and success over the next two seasons.
"In terms of my career, I am just focusing on the next two years," Neylan told Cyclingnews of her ambitions. "I want to consolidate consistency and focus on becoming a leader and be more consistent at the pointy end of races in Europe. I have proven over the last two years that I can win in Europe and that is an extraordinary motivating thing for me.
ADVERTISEMENT
"To be in a stable performance environment like Orica, that has given me wings the last two years and has enabled me. I have said it in interviews before, it's invaluable to have that solid performance environment and nurturing framework in which I can take my racing to the next level."
Neylan's Olympic Games result of 22nd was down on her personal objective heading into the race that was suited her punchy climber characteristics. While the reality of the race was in contrast to her expectation, Neylan explained that she believes the team still rode to capacity on the day and the result will drive her and her teammates to greater success from the 2017 season.
"It was a pretty special year for me making my first Olympic team," she reflected. "It was such a great honour to ride in the green and gold and at the moment, it is the thing in my life which I am most proud about. Arriving back home on Australian soil, it is hitting home how special it is actually being an Olympian. But the reality is, is that I was personally disappointed with the outcome of the race and the bad luck that I had in the race and the fact that I wasn't able to actually show my full potential in the race with the way things unfolded.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2hcP5jC
No comments:
Post a Comment