Great Britain's Emma Pooley is heading to Rio for her third Olympics where she will ride the time trial and support Lizzie Armitstead in her bid for road race gold.

The hill-filled route enticed the Beijing road race silver medallist out of retirement, persuading the climbing specialist that she could be the best rider for the job.

Rio will be the third time 33-year-old Pooley has lined up for Great Britain at an Olympic Games, after medalling in Beijing and helping Lizzie Armitstead to her 2012 road race silver.

“I saw it as an amazing opportunity to race in a major competition - the Olympics are extremely special,” said the Norwich-born rider.

“But I’m trying to just see it as a racing opportunity over a course that potentially suits me.

“It is a big change to come back to cycling from triathlon but I’m just an athlete that likes doing races that I’ve got a chance at!

“I wouldn’t have chosen to try and come back if it was pan flat – even if they had wanted me to, which I don’t think they would have done!"

The 29.8km course, which takes in the testing Grumari circuit, appealed to Pooley who won her Olympic silver medal in the hills beneath the Great Wall of China.

“I was out in Rio in March and it’s beautiful,” she said.

“The hills suit me but the route is really beautiful along the beach – it’s a lot different to London!

“It was the course that got me excited and then a bit of encouragement from the coaches at British Cycling – they thought the course suited me and I suited it.

“That encouragement is pretty important – I’m not a coach or a sports scientist so I needed that backing to at least try.

“No one can promise anything, least of all me, but I’m excited to have someone believe in me and tell me that I might be good enough.”

Despite her focus on her individual event and her supporting role for Armitstead in the women’s road race, Pooley is hoping to enjoy the whole Olympic experience.

“In the Olympic village it’s really exciting,” she said. “I couldn’t get over how many tall people there were, I felt tiny!

“It’s fun sitting in the dining hall and playing guess the sport!”

“You try not to get side tracked before the event because you have to focus on staying as calm as possible; if you get an adrenaline rush when you check in on the first day it’s not going to do you very well for the actual race a few days later.

“You have to try and be really boring before your event and then let loose afterwards if you want!”

Rio will be Pooley’s third Olympic Games racing on the road but it will be quite a change from her most recent venture; becoming a double world champion in long distance duathlon.

“It’s pretty different – racing is very different being in a team environment,” she said.

“It’s all a bit chaotic in road racing, you can’t control very much whereas with triathlon I organise my own travel and sort myself out.

“The physical challenge is a bit different too, you have to attack and ease off.

“Even in a time trial there’ll be times when you’re not pedalling very hard, when you’re going downhill or cornering, but in long distance triathlon you have to stay at a certain threshold for several hours.

“Obviously my training has had to change a bit and my racing plan for the year but I’m still a full time athlete and life still revolves around what I’m training for.”

Watch Pooley contest the Olympic time trial on Wednesday 10 August.