Dani King: I need to get my confidence back

Olympic champion Dani King tells BBC Breakfast that she is back in good shape physically and how her Wiggle-Honda teammates are supporting her recovery

Dani King, British road race national championships 2013

Dani King admits it was scary to get back on the road after the crash that left her with broken ribs and a collapsed lung last year.

The 2012 Olympic team pursuit champion’s winter training was cut short by the accident, which occurred when a training partner hit a submerged pothole, bringing King to the ground as well.

But the 24-year-old is back in action with her Wiggle-Honda team, having recently returned from a training camp in Belgium, where the terrain was a real test of her recovery.

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“I was cycling on the cobbles in the rain so it doesn't get much worse than that," King told BBC Breakfast. “I am in good shape, I just need to get my confidence back.”

She added: “It was scary but I am getting there. Everyone in the team was so nice and encouraged me to get back on the road.”

King hopes to get back into the reckoning for a place in the Rio 2016 team pursuit squad, but says the accident was a setback in her plans.

Great Britain took silver in the women’s team pursuit at the recent UCI Track World Championships, but King is not expecting to walk straight back into the squad.

“All the girls are incredible athletes and it is going to be really hard for me to get back in," she said.

“We have to fight every day to make the team but I hope to be firing on all cylinders and to get myself back in for Rio.”

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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.