The Cycling Post www.thecyclingpost.com email: editor@thecyclingpost.com


“Well Kona [Helen's trade team] are an American company, so yeah I do see it happening. It's great to give back as much as they give me.”


I was wondering - I read some interviews you gave at the start of the season where you said your main focus this year was the World Cups and World Championships. In hindsight do you think the US trip affected these goals by making your season longer?


“No not at all. I think my sickness was the


only problem for my worlds' goal. I had fifth overall in the world cup with mostly fifth and sixth places in every round, only one eighth and one 14th.


Because of the sickness during the world cup race that I was 14th in, I had to reduce my training and take eight days off. That brought on my peak way too soon and I was flying in the Leivin world cup race, only 15 seconds off third place. Then the worlds was two weeks later.You can't hold that [form] for that long.


My season is still going. I have five races left and I'm not too tired. I just had a rubbish few weeks of training that affects stuff a lot.


At the end of the day I have still won 11 races this season, I am ranked 4th in the world and I finished fifth in the world cup overall. I would class that as a good season.”


You've talked recently about perhaps having too much focus on the worlds in the past. I was thinking about Andy Murray's situation. Here's a guy, like you, top four in the world, like you, competing against some of the best his sport has ever seen, but still there's such an emphasis on him winning one of four big tournaments. Can you empathise with that at all in terms of focusing on World Cups etc?


“I've always been a good racer over time, but equally I have had two bronze medals at the European championships when I have focused on that so its not difficult for me to peak. I genuinely think that without this sickness I would have peaked to perfection.


It's just the way life is.Maybe I would have to be the best rider in the world, then you are pretty much guaranteed to win worlds. But right now I know I have to step up my training again next season as [Marianne] Vos has been untouchable this year.”


You said you've got five races left. What happens then? A break and then onto the road?


"Yeah, my last race is the indoor race in Hasselt on the 23rd February. Then it's a break of nearly a month and then I start back training at the end ofMarch. I think my first road race will beMay time.


With this sickness it's really important for me to take the time to recover properly before training properly again and making sure I can stay healthy next season.”


You'll be riding the JHT GP Series again this year?


“I think so. It's on the planner but the first step is sorting out the next cross season then I know how the races fit in with that for road training.”


Did your win in that [JHT GP] series last year come as a sort of happy accident or were you targeting it?


“Happy accident for sure. I was there to


train hard and keep a bit of a racing edge. They are good races as I can treat them like a cross race. I can attack hard, recover and attack again and still compete in the race, where as in a European Criterium it's more a case of holding on for grim death.”


What was your impression of the series overall? Obviously it's good for the cycling scene in Britain to have a series like it.


“It's great to have a platform on which we


can showcase women's racing in the UK. With even the smallest amount of TV time we can show a massive level of return to our sponsors and show that Criterium racing for women is exciting too.


I know I


have to step up my


training next season.


Vos has been


untouchable


I think the professionalism of our sport is there in the majority of cases and that looks good on TV. Equally, on the odd occasion where it's not present, something like the Tour Series gives the more experienced racers opportunities to encourage those with less knowledge of professional sport to follow a lead.”


With the London Olympics this year is there a pang of disappointment that cyclo-cross isn't an Olympic discipline?


“Not at all. To be honest I don't think it would


fit in either the summer or winter Olympics properly.


If my entire cycling career was about the Olympics, I would have switched to a discipline already included.At the end of the day I am a professional cyclo-cross rider, it's my job, my life and my passion.And I would not change a single thing.”


Where do you see the sport going? Where would you like it to be in say 10 years time?


“I would hope there could be more professional women in cross. I would like to see an equal pay structure for prize money even if that means two thirds [of the men's pay], based on time raced. I would like to see less old boys running the sport and more people like the organisers of the Gazette van Antwep series who are progressing the sport in Europe.


My ideal would be to see the same level of development in Europe as there is inAmerica. But I think that could take a lot longer than 10 years.”


____________________________________ To follow Helen go to www.helenwyman.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70