Neah Evans hopes the World Track Cycling Championships provide Team GB with “a springboard” towards the Olympics in 2024.
The competition gets under way in Paris today, where the Games will be held in two years, and the British Cycling squad has undergone some changes.
Monica Greenwood, their coach during the last Olympic cycle, stepped down, with Australian Cameron Meyer stepping into the breach.
The refurbishment of the velodrome in Manchester – British Cycling’s home – has also impacted their training time.
But Cuminestown’s Evans, who will race in the madison, team pursuit and points race in France, reckons they can give a good account of themselves.
“We’ve only done three or four proper track sessions together,” she told the Team GB website. “It’s an exciting team but if you scratch the surface, I don’t think anyone’s in the place they’d ideally like to be.
“Glass half full, there are a lot of good opportunities. There isn’t quite the same pressure without Olympic qualifying points on the line.
“Hopefully it will act as a bit of a springboard to show us where we are, what we’ve done and then boom, we’re straight into Paris.”
Evans was one of the stars of this summer’s Commonwealth Games for Team Scotland, becoming their first female cyclist to win three medals at a single Games.
She picked up a silver and bronze on the track and followed that up with another silver in the road race as the Games drew to a close.
It followed a change in training regime, with her fiancé Jonny Wale overseeing her coaching.
When you become the first female Scottish Cyclist to win 3️⃣ medals at the same Commonwealth Games!
History Maker @neahevans🌟💫#TeamScot #TimeForHeroes #B2022 pic.twitter.com/Zv1Cfqnidq
— Team Scotland (@Team_Scotland) August 7, 2022
“I’m not always the best at admitting that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew and need to step back,” she added.
“He can just say, ‘no, no, we need to adjust’ and we’ve made it much more specific, factoring in a bit more recovery. When we hit a session, we hit it hard and we back off completely.
“It’s really fun and it’s exciting for me. I’ve learned a huge amount about what works for me and how we can use this knowledge to build for Paris.
“It was a dream come true to go to Tokyo and come away with a medal but I’m very competitive and there’s a big part of me that thinks we can do better.
“It’s exciting to see improvements already. The Games was part of the journey.”
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