We caught up with the Queen of the Track to find out how she is getting on and how she fancies her chances against the mighty Marianne Vos.
So it has been a time of change for you, what with your announcement that you are moving to Matrix Vulpine. How is all going?It doesn’t really change very much to start with as I am still with Wiggle until December. It is an exciting move. I can’t wait to get started with my new team.
What are the main reasons for your move?Riding for such a high profile road team you have to travel around quite a lot and do a lot for the sponsors. So for me I wanted to cut all of that out and have some time at home so I can fully focus on the track for Rio. I do track in the winter and racing from now all the way up until February when the road season starts so it was all getting a bit much for me. I want to make sure I am giving 100% to the track.
There is no doubt you are now the star of the team. All eyes will be on you. How does this additional pressure affect you?To be honest I don’t think it will affect me at all. When I got to British races a lot of people expect me to win anyway no matter what team I ride for. I think it will be nice to be part of a developing team and actually help younger riders and bring the knowledge and experience that I have from riding with Wiggle to that team and see them develop and watch them grow as riders.
Wiggle Honda has lost a couple of big names. Do you think it will affect the team overall?Not really. To be honest they have lost a lot of track riders so if anything it just means there is a lot more space to have proper road riders who will ride the road full time so I think it opens up more opportunity for the team by not having as many track riders on there.
The World Road Championships are on at the moment in Spain. We know you are not racing but you must have seen the controversy caused by the exclusion of any team GB riders from the Individual Time Trial? Do you feel there is inequality within British Cycling?For me I have never seen any inequality in British Cycling, especially for me in track as that’s the core. For me it’s also hard to comment when people say there is no women’s cycling on TV. I have seen it a lot over the past few years, a lot more than I had before.
Road cycling hasn’t always been on telly but track always has been. In terms of the ITT, I guess Sarah Storey would have been the obvious one to put in but apart from that, the girls who were in the top at Nationals – Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker they are track riders so I guess we are all off doing other stuff. I guess it would have been nice to put in one of the first years Under 23s but they have taken them for the road race. So if taking them for the time trial would have meant they couldn’t play their role on the road then them not actually doing the time trial might actually be a good thing.
Do you think racing early on, helped to develop you as a competitive rider?I mean, I didn’t race too much when I was younger. In terms of team pursuit, I got put in the Europeans when I was young and I did find it good for me I guess. The only way you are going to learn is by doing it and getting thrown in the deep end a little bit. Before that I had never done much team pursuit so I guess I was learning the ropes while I was still young so I wasn’t nervous or scared to try something new.
It must be very exciting to see the current rate of development in women’s cycling?Oh definitely. I was actually saying earlier that when I first started, just doing National Championships and stuff there wasn’t actually a female national championships for Under 14s and downwards. The men had one but we didn’t, so to see things like that has been great. And now to see the bigger picture and to have the races on TV and have the Women’s Tour of Britain, I just think it is amazing. It is definitely going in the right direction.
We have had the Women’s Tour of Britain this year, the Ride London Grand Prix and now the Revolution Series which starts at the end of October which is fantastic. All eyes are on you and Marianne Vos at the Revolution Series as the Queen of Track and the Queen of Road go head to head. How are you feeling ahead of that one?I think it is massive. I know Marianne rode one last year but we were away at a World Cup so we didn’t get to race head to head. I think it is going to be really exciting. I know she said in an interview that she is excited to race against me and I am too. We have never raced on the track against each other before. Hopefully we can showcase what women’s cycling is really about.
How do you fancy your chances against Vos?Well I would hope I have the edge over her but Marianne is such an incredible rider. For her to be able to perform at world level in mountain biking, cyclo-cross, track and road, everything, I really do think she will be hard to beat. At the end of the day she is a complete rider, I think she might have the edge over me in the bunch races but I hope I’ll be able to pull it out of the bag in the timed events so it will just come down to that at the end.
The first of the Revolution series is in Lee Valley, so are you hoping the home support will play to your advantage?Yes a bit of a home advantage. That would be nice wouldn’t it?
Who else do you think poses a threat for you?I haven’t seen what other foreign riders are coming over but in terms of Britain, definitely look out for Katie Archibald. She has really stepped it up this year, both on road and on track. She was incredible at the Worlds last year and she has kept on developing and she is becoming an omnium rider so yeh I think she is the one to look out for.
The Nationals start tomorrow. How are you feeling?I feel a bit nervous to be honest. I am not going as well as I was hoping I would do after coming back after a break. I am nervous but I am looking forward to them. It is always nice to go to a national championships, show your face and ride as well as you can whether it’s the best I can be or not. I think it is very important to show your face at a National Championships.
Do you ever take a break?It will be now until February, until the end of the season, I won’t get a break. And then I probably won’t get a break after that either as I’ll be off with my new team. I will have a training camp with them after the World Championships.
Laura Trott will be competing in round 1 of the Revolution Series at the Lee Valley VeloPark on the 24/25 October. Tickets range from £15 to £45 and are available to buy at www.cyclingrevolution.com or by calling 0844 854 2016.Also worth a read:
Vos and Trott to Battle for Velodrome Victory at the 2014 Revolution Series
