Interview: Wendy Houvenaghel
February 10, 2008
BY Larry Hickmott
Twice a winner of the UCI World Track Cup for the Women’s Pursuit, Wendy has pulled out some scintillating rides in the last year or so and has been busy preparing at the Manchester Velodrome for the Copenhagen World Track Cup event and the big one that follows, the Manchester UCI Track Worlds.
Wendy is well known in the UK for her success in the race against the watch. Asked how she see’s the Pursuit event and whether its quite a ‘lonely’ event to do, she replies “I don't really perceive the Individual Pursuit event as a lonely ride as I enjoy it very much.”
“I just focus on getting from the start line to the finish line as fast as I can, the faster the better! On arrival to the track centre on competition day, I try to get myself organised for the task ahead which involves setting up my warming up area and putting my kit in a suitable place and settling down and thinking about what it is that I have to do.”
“I tend not to get distracted by what’s going on because I just think about my own race. My coach will let me know the timings (for the events, warmup etc) and we'll finalise the gear selection after considering what he and the senior staff suggest after looking at the conditions inside the velodrome. After this, the mechanics will get my bike ready and then its just about waiting for your event to start.”
“I'll begin my warm up about 30 minutes out from my estimated race time and get focussed on the race ahead. I enjoy getting on the rollers to warm up because my legs are always full of power and they feel like they're running away with me! I always have to be careful to save my energy for the event and not get too carried away during the warm-up.”
Being UCI champion means stepping in front of the TV cameras for a spot interview in Sydney 2006.
“I'll then make my way to the start gate with my coach (Dan Hunt) and soigneur and sit in the chair and wait to be called forward to the line. Once my mechanic is happy with my bike in the gate then I'll get on the bike and check the clock and observe the count down prior to being released from the starting gate.”
“I'm always relieved when I get released (from the gate) and then my legs just do the rest. I always just ride on feel and try to keep the effort as even as possible. The pain will always hit you somewhere during the three and a half or so minutes -- it’s just a case of hoping it doesn’t happen too early on, otherwise you've got it wrong!”
“Pace management is important!”
“The best bit is getting over the finish line and hearing your gun going off before the opponents during a finals. The most difficult part is composing yourself afterwards and walking away from the track when your legs feel as if they're made of jelly. Lying in a heap is such a good look!”
Going back in this Winter’s World Track Cup season, and the opening event in Sydney, Wendy was fourth. Was that about right for the time of season I asked?
“I was pleased with my qualification ride at Sydney as I was riding against the current world champion in my heat and I won that heat.”
“During my finals, my opponent wasn't released from her start gate and I had two standing starts to do. This may have cost me the bronze medal as there was only 0.4 seconds deficit between the two of us at the end. Overall though I was happy with where I was for that time of the year. There was a long nine months ahead prior to the Olympic Games and my aim in Sydney was to score points for Olympic selection and come away from the competition with a smile on my face. It would have been a bigger smile had I won a medal at this stage of my Worlds and Olympic preparation!”
Beijing World Track Cup
Wendy and the GB camp then upped sticks and moved to Beijing and the next Track World Cup where Wendy was 7th. “My recorded time for this Pursuit event was 0.5 seconds slower than my time from Sydney.”
“While I went very slightly slower over the twelve laps, there were a few others who went very slightly faster than they did in Sydney. The overall placings were very close and something like two seconds separated 2nd to 9th place. In hindsight I probably over-trained in the week between the two events and should have listened to my coach who was advocating that I do little work.”
“This probably was where I lost a few seconds, however, I have learnt a valuable lesson in the lead up to competition. Less is more where the Pursuit is concerned. Thankfully, I still earned more points towards my Olympic qualification.”
“I was lying 6th in the World Cup rankings and with the 12 fastest women going to the Olympics, I was quite relaxed about where I was in the standings at this time of the year. Having travelled three quarters of the way around the globe, I was happy with the adaptation my body had achieved and I raced well, even though it was slightly under par for me.”
“The notable difference between this years World Cup events is that they are just like a series of mini World Championships and certainly in Sydney and in Beijing, all the competitors who usually compete at World Championships were all there. It was great to experience a simulated race effort under race conditions on the Olympic track. Time spent in reconnaissance is rarely wasted!”
Time for a break
It was then back to basics for Wendy and her teammates with a break before the next World Track Cup. “I had some time off after the Beijing World Cup Race and spent time with my husband, family, nieces, nephew, friends and in-laws all in one fell swoop!”
“It was great to relax and be in an environment where Christmas was approaching and cycling was just for fun. I started back into my training just prior to Christmas as my coach had my bike due to a slight hitch with the arrival of our kit into Manchester airport from Beijing (not that I was complaining!)”
“As I was already in Cornwall, my husband sorted me out with a bike in the interim and he did a chocolate raid of the cupboards, so training in earnest began around the 21st December and I got hold of my Trek road bike shortly afterwards.”
“I have had a very gradual and steady build up in my training until now. I have also been fortunate to have had some excellent training in Majorca with some of the Women’s endurance squad and Dan has been making us work hard but in the warm weather this really isn't a chore!”
“Not that I'd have wanted to be doing much more as there were barely enough hours of daylight as it was. I have been on the track for a few weeks now doing the faster work and things are coming together nicely with regards to my competition preparation”.
Team Pursuiting
One of the exciting additions to the World Championships is the Team Pursuit where Great Britain has such a great record with the male event. Now the women have the chance to do well on the World stage. As ever, Wendy like the others is finding the event a real help.
“I have been involved with team pursuit training ever since I joined the Olympic Podium Programme back in June 2006. More recently, with the introduction of the Womens Team Pursuit competition at the World Track Cup and World Track Championship events for 07/08, more emphasis has been placed on these drills which make up part of our routine training at the present time. I thoroughly enjoy it and I find it complements my individual pursuit training and vice versa.
Wendy admits as well that despite thousands of laps around the track, there is always something to learn. “Every time I step onto the track for training or an event, I learn more about the physical and technical requirements for the Pursuit. I'm forever striving for perfection and have been experimenting with a few different technical aspects, more specifically during this seasons training.”
Olympic Year
Is Wendy any more nervous in Olympic year than she has been? “Not really. I always train and race to the best of my ability and am confident that I am doing my best, whether its Olympic year or not.”
“At the moment, my training emphasis is on Olympic qualification and gathering UCI points and winning the World Championships in Manchester. Once I've got that sorted, then I'll pay attention to the actual Olympic race and its preparation.”
“My training is always ongoing and carried out to a very high standard. For the last two years, my training programme has been planned back from the Olympic competition date, so I'm happy with how things are and I'm not nervous as such. I'm looking forward to the challenge as the competition is wide open and the gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals could be anybodies."
"Obviously I am working to make sure that I get one of them, preferably the gold one!”
And is the Pursuit her main event now? “I am on the Olympic Podium Programme to train specifically for the Womens Individual Pursuit competition at the Beijing Olympic Games on August 8. As part of my training last summer, I showed some good form at Time Trialling and was fortunate enough to be awarded a place to race in the World Championship Time Trial last September. Doing that race was predominantly for more international race experience albeit in a different discipline.”
“I enjoy both disciplines and was happy to have the opportunity to get some time away from the track for a few of the summer months and felt refreshed as a result of that. My focus this year up until August is track orientated and not road orientated.”
During a Nikon Expo at Manchester recently, a photographer presents Wendy with a poster courtesy of the Epson Printer stand at the show.
Sacrifices
When I step into the track centre for a GB training session, whilst the male endurance riders are all together and doing Team Pursuit work, both Wendy and Rebecca are there doing their efforts alone – such is the life of a Pursuiter. Wendy is also a long way from home staying in Manchester during her track training block. So how is life as a pursuiter?
“Its a very selfish, disciplined and hard existence where my training and racing take over my life although every so often there will be a break in training where there is an opportunity to catch up properly with your friends and family.”
“The track season is during the winter months (0ctober to March) which is fine when I'm training indoors on the track. However, any road work that has to be done is particularly difficult due to the restrictions of the daylight hours and I am at the mercy of the British winter weather for part of the season. Thankfully I get to go on a series of warm weather training camps and I thoroughly enjoy doing these road blocks in the warmth of the Spanish sun!”
“To achieve at the highest level, sacrifices have to be made and I have chosen to live like this and want to give myself the best opportunity to realise my full potential as a Pursuiter. I do a mixture of track, road and gym work depending on what phase of training I'm in and how near I am to competition dates and how important that competition is.”
Being a full time cyclist is all a far cry from her living in dentistry. So what has been the biggest challenge? “Cycling is a very tough sport but any sport at World and Olympic level is not going to be easy. In Dentistry, I had a comfortable existence after I graduated but I had spent five years of my life training to become a Dentist and endured countless exams to obtain my degree.”
“I have also recently completed a three year post graduate diploma course. Nothing worthwhile in life comes easily and if I want something enough, I go out to try and achieve it. To make it happen. Once I realised I had a natural talent for this sport, I decided I wanted to fulfil my potential and I have set about trying to fulfil that potential.”
“I am working to achieve an Olympic Gold medal and the whole process is a challenge, one that I absolutely believe in otherwise I wouldn't have committed to it in the first place. The biggest challenge of all though is the fact that the medal you strive to achieve is not guaranteed regardless of all the blood sweat and tears that go into the preparation for one race!”
Finally, being so far from home, we asked what outside cycling helps keep Wendy going? “Coffee shops and Manchester retail therapy - not that I get much time to do either!” Our thanks to Wendy for her time in answering these questions by email and good luck to her in Copenhagen and Manchester for the Track Worlds.
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