By Ryan Walters/Sportsbeat
Commonwealth gold this summer will see Laura Trott complete her set of track cycling medals but the 22-year-old insists success in Glasgow will tell her an awful lot about how she should look to prepare for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Trott, the double Olympic champion from London 2012, was named in England’s cycling team on Wednesday for both the women’s track endurance and road disciplines.
Realistically she has a good chance of standing on top of the podium with three gold medals up for grabs in the form of the individual pursuit, the scratch race and the points race.
And on the final day of the Games, the Harlow-born cyclist will look to help teammate Lizzie Armitstead conquer the women’s road race.
Training and competitive action on the road have both featured heavily during Trott’s early-season training, a slight change of emphasis from previous years.
And two years out from Rio 2016, Trott believes her performances at Glasgow 2014 will be a great reflection of whether or not her preparations were a success.
“I was super happy when I got selected to ride in Glasgow for the Commonwealth games,” said Trott, who was speaking at a cycling boot camp ahead of this year’s Prudential RideLondon, for which she is returning as an ambassador.
“Obviously, it is always a great privilege to be able to ride for your country and it is the one medal I don’t actually have.
“I won the Europeans, I have won the World Championships and the Olympics. The Commonwealth Games is the one missing out of the set so I would like to go there and try and win a medal.
“First and foremost I am going to be concentrating on the track. That is where my heart lies and that is where my best medal prospect is.
“But I will be helping Lizzie Armitstead on the road and while a lot of my training will be based on the track.
“With the Commonwealth Games being every four years it makes it really special and also it is a two year barrier for the Olympic Games so you can actually have a test run for your training and what you would do before the Olympics.”
Four years ago in Delhi a then 18-year-old Trott recorded a seventh place finish in the pursuit and came ninth in both the scratch and points races.
Olympic, World and European gold medals have followed since but Trott is still seeking improvements, particularly in the points race which she admits is an event she struggled with.
“My training so far has gone pretty well, my road season finished like end of April so I got that out of the way and in the bank, which obviously just sort of helps have a little bit of base,” added Trott, who competes in the British Championships this week.
“I have just recently been back on the track. It has gone well so far and it’s been nice to spend a lot of time back in Britain because I am always travelling her there and everywhere.
“On the track it is the individual pursuit, the scratch and the point. They are not Olympic events, they are just three individual events.
“But some of the races I am looking to improve on in the Omnium are actually some of the races in the Commonwealth Games.
“The points race, for example is the one which always lets me down so it will be nice to test what I have learnt and see where I have got better.”
Prudential are proud to sponsor Prudential RideLondon, the UK’s biggest cycling festival on the August 9 & 10. Visit www.ridewithprudential.co.uk
