MMU Cheshire

Following on from my previous blog about how the build up to the Paralympic Games was, I am quite excited to now be able to write about the competition at the Games and share my account of what happened. Well the bits I can remember anyway!It may seem strange, but for so many of us, we don’t remember a huge amount about the main part of our events, especially on the track because once you are in “The Zone”, you are unaware consciously of what is going on around you! Memory is largely thought to be recorded because of the emotions of a situation and so when you are fully concentrated as a performer, the actions are automatic and can be done without the complexity of emotional thought.

We all work hard to ensure our emotions don’t distract us negatively during an event and so for most athletes they remember what happened because they have watched it back on the TV afterwards.

Starting the team off on Day One, I knew there was a chance I could be the first gold medal for the team. The programme of events is something you can’t choose and so it’s purely by chance you find out when your events fall within the overall programme. In Beijing, I waited until the final day of competition to ride the Individual Pursuit, whereas in London the qualification was on that first morning. I was so excited to get underway and the thing I was most looking forward to about the Games, was getting into the start gate for that first event.

The crowd in the velodrome were breath-taking and they cheered me to the start gate and then roared for the entire 12 laps of the qualification. I remember sitting in the start gate thinking I must time the start perfectly and get out of the gate and up to speed as quickly as possible. This is the only part of the event I have memory of. I remember listening to Chris Furber count down for me, as he done 100’s of times in training, and then that first two revolutions needed to be strongest and most powerful I had done. Once the bike was up to speed I remember passing my opponent around half distance and then the next thing I remember is being roared through the last two laps of the race and thinking that I must be close to the World Record because the crowd got louder and louder!

It was an amazing feeling to see my time on the scoreboard once I finished. Over a second quicker than the time I recorded 12 months ago, at the British Track Championships, and this meant I qualified fastest for the Paralympic final.

When I returned for the final, the expectation from the crowd was at fever pitch but in the most supportive way you could imagine. It gives me goose-bumps to think about how much everyone was desperately willing me to win that first Gold Medal for the team. Again the final is a blur, but catching my opponent at around the halfway mark of the 3000m was just the best feeling. A huge mixture of relief, excitement, feeling invincible and being incredibly humbled by the generosity of the crowd is probably the best way to sum up the emotions I was going through during those laps of honour. And I certainly milked the moment for as long as possible!

Standing on the rostrum a short time later felt amazing and when 6,000 people started singing the national anthem it was the most amazing choir I have ever heard. I sang along with them, barely whispering the words of the anthem, I just couldn’t quite believe I was actually stood there with the Gold Medal hung round my neck!

Two days later was time to step into the unknown and see whether, for the first time in my career, I could win a Paralympic title in a sprint event. Whilst doing my pre warm up on the rollers at my apartment in the Village, I was so excited to watch Barney and Neil smash their own world record in the Tandem Kilometre Time Trial. Such an incredible performance and one that saw them take the top spot on the podium and it couldn’t haven’t been a more motivating sight for me, a few hours before my own event.

Stepping onto the track as last rider off in the 500m Time Trial, I knew I couldn’t get overly excited as the job was still there to be done, but the time I had to beat was one that I had been doing in training before. My own personal target was to dip inside 37 seconds, something done by only 2 other women in the world of Paracycling.

Again the start was crucial, powerful through the first two revolutions and then keep driving the bike up to speed as fast as possible. My strength is the second lap and I could hear the crowd getting louder and louder throughout the race. I was about level after the first lap, but then took a second out of the rest of the field in the closing lap and was able to fulfil that dream of not just another Gold Medal, but also a time of 36.997 seconds!

I genuinely couldn’t believe the time, I was in shock and rode round with my mouth wide open for several laps, before spotting my sister and her little boy with my Dad on the front row in the home straight. Stopping next to them for a photograph, Chris Furber kindly came over to take my helmet off and I was able to stand there and look shocked and excited all over again!

Nothing prepares you for a reception quite like the one we received from the crowd in the London Velodrome. Everyone was on their feet and getting so excited for every single rider, but to win in front of that crowd and hear them roar even more loudly, was so special and not something I imagine we will be lucky enough to experience in quite the same way every again.

There was a tinge of sadness mixed with the excitement for the forthcoming Road events, when we left the velodrome after the competition ended there. However our attentions had to turn to the circuit at Brands Hatch and the second half of the cycling competition programme.

The 8km circuit, with half inside the Brands Hatch circuit and the other half using local roads, made for a fabulous venue and with some short stinging rises all around the circuit, there was plenty to help create great racing.

The Road Time Trial was held on the first morning of competition. It was a beautiful day, with a strengthening wind making some of the circuit even tougher and I was excited to get going and see how quick we could all do the two laps that made up the women’s event. After 7km, I caught my minute rider and then went on to catch another couple before coming into the home straight and finding out I was over 90 seconds ahead of my nearest rival and had secured Gold again.

The Road Time Trial was the second event [after the Individual Pursuit] in which I was defending Champion and so it was even more special to be able to defend that title in front of the incredible crowd that welcomed us all around the circuit. Standing on the rostrum at the end of the finishing straight and singing the National Anthem alongside another amazing choir of spectators, I had to pinch myself to think that so far everything had gone to plan ,with one final race to come.

The fourth and final race of my programme in London 2012 was the 64km Road Race, held the day after the Road Time Trial. I went into the race without a specific tactic but feeling confident that I could react well to moves being made by other riders in the race and know when it was right to make my decisive move. Having won races in the National Road Series from various positions throughout the year and on various types of courses, I felt strong knowing I could win a sprint if it all stayed together but that I could also get up the road and stay away alone if I needed to.

The race started with the four riders from USA taking control and alternately attacking to force the rest of the field to chase. As we approached the first corner of any significance in the race, I decided to get to the front and take the group round there at my pace and was surprised to find I had a decent gap on the exit. Putting in a few strong revs to get up the rise out of the corner, I extended the gap and it didn’t look as though anyone was going to come across to me, so I ploughed on solo and gradually built up a solid lead.

Getting tangled in the men’s race was interesting for a time, but the last couple of laps saw me back out on my own and able to cross the line with 7 minutes to spare to my chasing pack. Claiming that fourth and final Gold Medal was indescribable and there is no doubt I could not have done it without the amazing support I received from everywhere. Barney, our family, my physiologists Gary Brickley and Jamie Pringle and my coaching support at British Cycling led by Chris Furber are just the tip of an incredible group of people who have played a part in getting me to climb onto the podium four times during the Games. Equalling the record of 11 Paralympic Gold Medals that Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson so brilliantly won during her amazing career in Athletics, seems surreal, especially when you think of the inspiration and support I receive from Tanni both in and out of the sporting arena. Tanni’s example, support and friendship has meant a lot to me over the years and I am so honoured to have my career mentioned alongside hers.

Finishing my competition campaign at Brand’s Hatch was amazing and after another amazing time listening to the crowd choir singing “God Save The Queen” with me, I managed a lap of honour up the finishing straight, to meet the supporters and then it was back to the business of dope control and getting back to the post race interviews.

I didn’t think the surprises of the week could get any better, but the team sent a GOLD London 2012 BMW to collect myself and Barney from Brand’s Hatch to go back to the Village! It was quite simply the icing on a very golden cake!

Of course the after party to these Gold Medals has been continuing for three weeks now, so I will be back soon for Part 3 of my journey through the London 2012 Games.

It’s been quite a while since I managed to sit and write a blog and even now I am perched on the edge of a bed in my umpteenth hotel room since the Games ended! The journey has been incredible and so I thought I would wind the clock back a few weeks talk about the last bit of the build up, the Games themselves and then the post Games fun!After returning from the Tour of Limousin at the end of July, my plan was to be UK based into the Games and with a win at the Rudy Project Time Trial event in early August I then headed back to the track and was working on a fine balancing act between continued altitude training at Manchester Metropolitan University, the start of my track work and the last few road events.

It was an exciting time during early August, not least because the Olympics were going on and there was so much sporting action to keep up with. Of course the cycling action was my favourite, but watching Great Britain bring home that impressive haul of 29 Gold medals was truly inspiring and I was of course most delighted to see cycling take such a large slice of that with another impressive 8 Golds. It was the perfect TV viewing in and around my own training and meant I was even more excited to get going myself!

I finished my road racing preparation by riding the Essex Giro, a 3 stage, 2 day event held near Saffron Walden, in not-so-flat Essex! It was a fantastic weekend of sunshine and the race was made tougher by the strong wind and the short sharp climbs we faced throughout the race. With a strong team with me from For VioRed it was a testament to their support that I won the first and second stages and came 2^nd in the final stage to take the win overall and this also meant the series win too! Winning the Jo Bruton trophy, which is awarded for winning the series, is not something I ever thought I would be good enough to do, so this gave me a huge boost ahead of the Paralympics. Essex Giro also gave me a fantastic chance to try out the specific equipment I would be using during the Road Race at the Games, with one of the most notable changes being the new Air Attack helmet from Giro. Madison had kindly rushed this new helmet to me ahead of the Essex Giro and it proved to be the perfect testing ground for a helmet with fewer air vents, as the weather was so hot!

After a brief return to the Peak District for a final week of training, we headed south again for the all-important closed road Time Trial at Blenheim Palace and without doubt my most favourite race on the British Time Trial calendar.

Held in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace it was fantastic to be able to whizz round the circuit, covering 3 laps of the course to make up a 20km race in total. The event was also the perfect event to do ahead of the Paralympics, as the undulating and slightly twisty nature of the route was not too dissimilar to that we would face at Brands Hatch during the Games.

It was huge success for our For VioRed team with myself and Claire Galloway securing the top two spots on the podium, with my winning time being only 1 second slower than last year in far more blustery conditions.

Leaving Blenheim I had butterflies in my stomach as we were heading straight to Chepstow and our location for the pre Paralympic Games holding camp. Using the boards of the Newport Velodrome, the altitude chamber at the University of Glamorgan and the Time Trial being run by Pontypool CC on the Tuesday night of our stay, we had a great base for putting the final preparation to our training. The roads of Gloucestershire over the bike path on the M48 bridge and the hills between Chepstow and Usk, provided great options for my road training too and it was great to be able to chill out and focus on the task ahead.

My training was as evenly spread between all elements of road, track, altitude and time trial as was possible, with additional rest thrown in on some days to help me absorb the extra intensity of the pursuit efforts I was doing on the boards. Speed was also a prime consideration, as I knew the 500m Time Trial would prove to be a tough ask given the challenge of the Chinese and also the factor system that was being employed as the C4 and C5 classes were to be combined.

After an enjoyable 8 days of training, we were soon heading across to London and our first look at the Paralympic Village, our apartment for the duration of the Games and the schedule we would have prior to competition starting on August 30^th.

I was sharing an apartment with tandem pairing Helen Scott and Aileen McGlynn and with 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and lovely big lounge, not to mention the wrap around balcony, we were spoiled and settled in very well!

My room was looking over the stadium and swimming pool, with the impressive London skyline the ultimate backdrop. I decorated the walls with all the cards and good luck messages I had received, as well as hanging up my union flags, union flag bunting and sticking up all the amazing post cards I had received from the Deloitte people I had been working with as their Ambassador to London 2012. I also received an amazing book from Scottish Widows, who I had been working with for five years, again as their Ambassador to London 2012. The book was full of messages of support from people I have worked with and they were all telling me how proud they were to have had me as their Ambassador and how they were looking forward to watching me race. Barney had contributed to the book too and there were some great pictures in there.

Another Ambassador role I had been doing for London 2012, was one with Links of London, who had the official jewellery collection to the Games and they had made me an amazing engraved silver plate to wish me all the best. Having these fantastic messages of support was incredibly special and certainly helped us personalise our apartment. Whenever anyone came to visit us they were impressed with the effort we had gone to!

Our first full day in the Village saw us waiting for a late track session, so after a morning with some high rev rollers, it was time to chill out and prepare to head across to the track to see how things were shaping up for the competition. The track centre looked fantastic with all the pits laid out and the flags and branding displayed. The roof lights were blacked out so you couldn’t tell what time of day it was and the temperature was rising nicely, so we knew conditions would be pretty good by the time we were ready to race.

I was only doing two short sharp sessions on the velodrome ahead of competition and on opening ceremony day I was scheduled for a 90 minute road spin as the last training session before the Individual Pursuit started the following morning. Provision for road training at the Games was superb and very well organised, with a bus leaving the transport mall and heading to the closed circuit at Redbridge several times every morning. From the circuit there was a signed route on open roads, using quiet country lanes and giving a total circuit of 40km including a lap of Redbridge at the start and finish. It was an ideal spot to head out to, and although we had only been in the Village bubble for a couple of days, the freedom of being out on the road in the sunshine was very welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed my short visit out to Essex again and was ready and raring to start competition the following day.

The first thing of course was the Opening Ceremony, but the cycling team had opted not to go to the ceremony as competition started the following morning. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner before settling down to watch the TV. The great thing about the position of our apartment was that it allowed us to step onto the balcony and listen to the music live as well as seeing and hearing it through the television!

After the teams had all been announced it was already very late so we headed to bed before the end, only to be woken up by the fireworks around midnight! Thank goodness for ear plugs!

That’s it for this first installment, needless to say the next one will be action packed and hopefully I will have time to write it during my stay in the next hotel! Thinking back to the start of competition and how excited I was to get going, I could never have imagined how I would feel sat here writing about it!

Bye for now

Stage 3 was another 130km stage and all on tiny twisting roads, with lots of gravel and a constantly hilly route. The scenery was amazing, but again there was no chance to admire it as the speed was high from the gun and the pace didn’t settle down until another break went up the road. I was with Carla in the group behind the break on what proved to be a technically challenging day for me and although I had a dig towards the end of the stage, we finished in the bunch having decided we would need to wait to the final day to see whether we could get up the road ourselves.