Road to 2016
Lucy Garner: “I really want to try and defend my title, but it’ll be hard”
British Cycling Olympic Development Programme athlete and reigning junior women’s road race world champion Lucy Garner has spoken of her ambition to defend her title, hoping to overcome adversity once again to pull on the rainbow jersey.
Garner – who won the title in her rookie year – will face a course she admits is not suited to her abilities but will draw on her resilience displayed in last year’s contest to fight for the win.
Last September Garner came back from a mid-race crash to rejoin the peloton, attacking in the closing kilometres. Eventually caught, she still summoned the energy for a finishing sprint, recovering from being blocked in the process, before accelerating to the line for the win.
Since, Garner has savoured winning the jersey and already has designs on retaining one of road racing’s biggest prizes.
“I’ve been training quite a lot for it and we’ll just see how it goes. It’s a lot different to the course last year, it’s hillier, which probably isn’t my best but I’ll give it my best shot.
“I’m just trying to not put too much pressure on myself, I want to do well, I really want to try and defend it, but it’s going to be hard.”
Since winning the world championships Garner went on to win the European road championships and was part of both the winning team pursuit and silver-medal team sprint squad at the European track championships, however she is insistent her loyalties are to road racing.
“I don’t think I’ll focus on the track, my heart is still on the road, I’ve always loved the road,” Garner said during the British track championships. “I was so happy with the results I got this year on the track because I wasn’t expecting them at all. I will obviously still carry on with the track but road is where I want to progress.”
Garner’s next progression will be at the world championship road race, on September 21 with live coverage on British Cycling.
