Brother UK Cycling Podcast – Episode 46
Timothy John
“If your passion lies in elite British road racing and you want an inside line on the teams, riders, organisers and sponsors that make this sport such a compelling spectacle, you’re in the right place.
“I’m Timothy John and joining me for every episode is my co-host, the Managing Director of Brother UK, Phil Jones.”
Phil Jones
“Thanks, Tim. It’s great to be here. We’re going to use this platform to talk about all the key issues surrounding the sport. With special guests, deep dives into hot topics and plenty of chat, we’ll keep you informed about all things UK racing. Stay tuned!”
Timothy John
“Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast where today we are joined by a very special guest in the form of Lizzie Deignan, a former world champion, an Olympic silver medalist, four times a British road race champion, a winner of three Monument Classics: I mean, we’re just getting started here, Lizzie!
“Two editions of the Brother UK-sponsored Women’s Tour, three editions of the GP Plouay, two editions off the Trofeo Binda, etc. Thank-you very much indeed for joining us today."
Lizzie Deignan
“Thank-you for having me.”
Timothy John
“The last time we met was at the Rayner dinner. Did you have a good evening? You were, of course, the star guest.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I did. It was really nice. It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to have the time to get to the dinner. We’re living back in the UK now, so there was no excuse. I had to be there and show my face and support the fund. They’ve done a lot of good in cycling over the years, so I was pleased to be there.”
Timothy John
“You go some distance back with Tim and Jos, as well. You’ve been one of the many British cyclists to have been out and stayed at the house in Belgium.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I’m lucky enough to have been on that list. They both really helped me out when I was turning professional.I moved to Belgium when I was trying to make it on the road. Their connections and literally the location of their house: it’s the best place you can go to, I think, if you’re trying to turn professional, particularly as a woman because there are so many races out there, so, yeah, it really suited me.”
Timothy John
“In terms of the Rayner Dinner, and old school club dinners, which I know is Jos’ ambition: that it would have that atmosphere. Was that part of your education, so to speak? Or did you bypass the club scene? You were a performance cyclist almost from day one.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, very much so. I was picked up by the Talent Team to be a track rider. The Talent Team, I should probably explain, is an initiative set up by British Cycling to identify talent in schools, and, luckily enough, they came to my school, picked me up from the school playing field, basically, identified me as somebody who had a bit of talent, and I went straight into the track programme, which is very much about churning out medals on the track.
“I stayed part of that system for quite a while but really my heart lay on the road, so when I decided to move away from track cycling, my education as such was moving to Belgium and being surrounded by people like Tim and Jos, who were supporting Dave Rayner funded athletes. I was Lottery funded, so I didn’t need the extra support of Dave Rayner funding, but I was definitely in and around the environment with other Rayner funded riders."
Timothy John
“It’s an incredible story, and one of the themes I’d like to pick up on later is this explosion in a) women’s cycling as a professional sport, but particularly in the UK where the domestic scene is absolutely on fire at the moment, and it would be interesting to know whether that would have helped you had there been a thriving domestic scene during that part of your career, or did the BC experience, the track experience, the Belgium experience unlock the rider that you’ve become today?"
Lizzie Deignan
“There was the national series, there was the national criterium series in the UK, and they were great race series, but I definitely needed extra support in being able to get around the country. When you don’t have a driving licence at that age, and you don’t come from a cycling family, who are not dedicating their whole weekends to driving you around the country, it can become quite difficult.
“I think I really relied on the system that I was in to get to a good level in cycling, so if there are more races, if there are more local races - by nature there would be more local races to people - then, yeah, I think it’s great that the scene is developing and participation, particularly in the UK has transformed.
Timothy John
“Here we are, Lizzie, in the week before Christmas, and you’re still hard at work. Can you give us an idea of where you are now, and what’s on your immediate horizon?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I’m in Calpe with Lidl-Trek. We’re just on our December training camp. It’s about 12 days long. At the start of the camp, we do a couple of days of sponsor and media-related activity, and then we get stuck into two blocks of training. We do two, three-day blocks and a rest day that falls today, and then I’ll do another three-day block and go home and rest up at Christmas before coming back in January.”
Timothy John
“Is it a chore or has this year been a little bit different? You’ve been training on the roads of Yorkshire; training in the terrible UK climate. Has it been a relief to be out there in the Spanish sunshine this year?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I would definitely say I’ve looked forward to this training camp more than I have done previously, because I lived in a good climate before, so going to a training camp, I’d lose training, because you lose a couple of days with travel and things like that, so it was a bit of an inconvenience before, whereas now I try to make the most from it: do the extra volume and things like that. I’m definitely enjoying seeing the blue skies.”
Timothy John
“And is it just the weather, or is it the chance to ride with other professionals? Of course, you’d have been tripping over other pro cyclists in Monaco. Is it nice to be back among the group?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Really nice, yeah. I think you can train as hard as you want to at home, but you can’t replicate what it feels like to be in a professional group because…you get comfortable at home. You ride in your own rhythm. You back off on certain climbs or descents or whatever, so it’s just the change in rhythm and stimulus that’s really good for your body.
“We’re so well looked after here. It’s luxury. We have a chef, we have masseuses, we have osteopaths, we have mechanics. It’s a very nice couple of weeks.’
Timothy John
“And, more generally, how is the return to Yorkshire working out? What was your motivation? To get a better work-life balance? To get some space for the kids? What brought you home again?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Initially, my husband was diagnosed with a form of arthritis, and we just struggled to get the right health care in France and get good consultants and things like that, and we just felt, really, the safety of being in the UK, of being able to speak our own language and being surrounded by family, and he’s now started a treatment programme which has really helped him.
in France long-term? but there’s something about being at home that feels like a blanket! I don’t know. It’s really, really nice.
“We lived in an apartment before and now we have a house, so everyone has their own bedroom and a garden and, yeah, we’re just really enjoying the space and being back around family and friends.”
Timothy John
“That’s great. And have you regained any sense of normality, Lizzie, or do the super-rigorous demands of being a professional athlete preclude the school run and the grocery shop and things like that?”
Lizzie Deignan
“No, no. I suppose cycling feels more and more like a job but not in a negative way. We were in Monaco for a period of time because when Philip was a professional it made sense, and when I was…I mean, I am professional…but it was also focussed on what was best for me.
"It feels nice now that we’re doing what’s best for the family and not just me. I like that the pressure is off my shoulders in terms of the sacrifices of being in a small place and living far away from home. That’s not on my shoulders any more. We’re at home, and we’re doing what’s right for the family, and I’m making cycling work. I mean. I can’t complain. There are worse places to be than Yorkshire.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely. I read an interview with you a couple of years ago now I think where you said you’re very good at compartmentalising. When you’re at work, you’re at work. Your job is difficult and dangerous, but you’re able to get in the zone and block out any distractions.
“Is that the still the case? Do you still need to do that now you’re back in Yorkshire? Or is it a more balanced existence?”
LIzzie Deignan
“I would say training-wise, it’s a little more balanced. Things like the school run. I do the school run in the morning. I’m not totally tunnel-vision in the morning. There is space to be able to be a mum before going out on the bike, but when it comes to racing, I’m very focussed and able to switch off any thoughts about being at home or whatever.
“I’d say training camp is probably the weird one, because, on a rest day, I’m really bored and feeling guilty that I’m not able to do anything at home. When I’m at a race, it makes sense, but training camps can be a bit hard, sometimes.”
Timothy John
“Of course, you have two children now, and you were away for a similar period, I think, on both occasions. Has it been harder to come back this second time in terms of the strength-in-depth of the women’s peloton?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I would say so. It’s hard to be objective because the pregnancy with Shea was much harder as well, and I lost a lot more fitness, so it’s hard to really say.
"I mean also the race programme has changed quite a lot. This year was my first Tour de France and, obviously, the level increases at the Tour de France, anyway, I think. Everyone brings their A-game, a bit like in Olympic year. You felt that everybody at the Tour de France was on top of it.
things like that. It’s evolving really fast.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely, and this year - the coming year, I should say - when you’ll be riding all three Grand Tours, a world championships, and an Olympic Games, hopefully, that is a really full programme, isn’t it? Plus the Spring Classics. Tell me how you’re looking forward to '24.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, when you say it like that, it’s quite a lot. I suppose you don’t think of it like that as an athlete. You think about each goal separately. I think to be able to peak three times is a huge challenge, but it has been done, and it can be done. Obviously, I need to be able to peak in the Spring to gain selection for the Olympics, which is a huge goal of mine, but it falls at the same time as the Tour de France, so whether I’m selected for the Olympic Games or not, I still want to be in the best shape I’ve ever been because of the Tour de France, so that’s a useful coincidence.”
Timothy John
"Does the Olympics feel a little bit like unfinished business? I think you were going to retire in 2020, weren’t you, and here you are in the running for 2024.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I think if anything the fact that the 2020 Olympics was postponed because of the pandemic. Then I raced on until 2021, and we decided to try and have another baby and make another comeback. I’ve kind of given up on thinking too far ahead. I never thought that I would be in Paris, but, if I am, that’s a bonus, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. Every year is a bonus.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely. And have you had a chance even to consider the course in Paris? 158km, 1700m of climbing, a short, 1km climb of 6.5 per cent on each lap. It seems like a course that would suit you.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I really like the course. I think that’s also why I’m motivated. I like to think that I’m realistic and pragmatic about being a leader or a team player or whatever, but I think that in my best shape I would deserve leadership on that course and selection for that course. I think it really does suit me.”
Timothy John
“Leadership I know is something that you’re keen to get back to in the day job as well. 2023 was a slightly different approach, wasn’t it? You were super domestique/road captain. How did that suit you? Was that something that you were able to gain any satisfaction from, or, having achieved so much, is it leadership or bust at this stage of your career?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Oh no, definitely not. No, I don’t have an ego. I don’t have a problem taking on that role. I really like that role. I think it would be a waste of my experience if I didn’t do that. Some people need to retire on top. It’s not that I feel like that. Not that I feel close to retirement either, or that I’m accepting of that role, but I gain a lot of satisfaction out of that role as well; probably more. It’s empowering when you can uplift the people around you and make them believe more in themselves than they do. I really like that.”
Timothy John
“This sort of ever-increasingly youthful peloton, if that’s the right phrase: it’s on fast-forward in the men’s peloton, and it’s happening in the women’s too, isn’t it? There are five 18-year-olds on your team this year, including Izzy Sharp, who’s come from a Brother UK-sponsored team.
“How do you react to that? Does it seem shocking that there are all of these very young riders around, or is it, as you say, a chance to inspire?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I think it’s brilliant. What a time to be a young female athlete. The opportunities that they have are brilliant. I think Izzy is great. She’s come on board. She’s taken everything in. She hasn’t got any preconceptions of what to expect. She’s very open-minded. She’s obviously very talented and strong, and, yeah, I’m looking forward to working with her and the other athletes. I think they’ve all got a great attitude, and it brings a bit more balance to the team when you have different age groups. It’s effectively a development team within a pro team, I would say.”
Timothy John
"I guess that fits into this broader spectrum of the development of women’s cycling. We touched on this at the Rayner dinner, and it would be very interesting to get your thoughts on record: whether you think that parity has now been achieved?
“Certainly, looking at a squad like Lidl-Trek, it does look like everybody is getting the same attention; the same opportunity.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Absolutely. At Lidl-Trek, they’re showing the way, but there are things that Lidl-Trek are still having to do to make up for the shortcomings of other organisations.
“I mean, Lidl-Trek don’t really shout about it, but they give us all a bonus on the women’s team of prize money to match the men’s team; so, say, a Classic doesn’t have parity in prize money, Trek makes up the difference to the equivalent that the men receive. They are doing things behind the scenes that they shouldn’t have to, so, no, parity hasn’t been achieved yet.”
Timothy John
“Given the spectrum of your career, Lizzie: I was reading your book a couple of weeks ago before The Rayner Foundation dinner, and you had an experience at Garmin-Cervelo, I think, which is about as far removed from the approach at Lidl-Trek as can be imagined. The men’s and women’s teams were separate. The women’s team seemed like an afterthought.
experience that you had back in 2011 seem like a lifetime ago, or is there still ground to make up here?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Very much so. I definitely feel that I have equality at Lidl-Trek compared to my male colleagues. That’s why I’ve stayed. That’s why I’ve re-signed. I’m definitely a proud Trek ambassador, and I think the fact that they’ve supported me through two maternity leaves as well shows that they me, and they respect the women’s peloton and what we’re capable of. It’s not about being grateful or anything like that. It’s just how it is. There’s an expectation of parity. It’s not something that I’m expected to be grateful for.”
Timothy John
“Yeah. You wonder how it was ever different or why it would have ever been different.
“How far ahead of the game were Cervélo Test Team?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Cervélo Test Team was definitely before its time. I had a great experience there. It’s a shame that it took a couple more years before other people followed suit, but it certainly paved the way in terms of how a professional men’s and women’s team could coexist.”
Timothy John
“Do you think that parity is in some way being encouraged by the brands? It’s hard to imagine corporations like Lidl or Trek as corporate entities treating its female employees differently from its male employees. Is that part of the mix here?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I think it’s about recognising that your customers…you have a 50 per cent customer rate of women. At the moment, more bikes are being sold to men, and to make it 50-50, you don’t lose male customers, you just bring in more female customers, right? So there’s a massive market and opportunity there.
and exposed more quickly than it ever has been, and I think that has been a good thing in our fight for equality as well.”
Timothy John
“We’re talking about these big teams with big corporate backers and yet SD-Worx, a team, of course, that you know very well, is still an independent team and still the strongest team.
established pattern?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Well, I think you have to look at the male side where there are still a lot of established male teams who are missing a female team, if you see what I mean, so yeah, it does work. It’s proven on both sides that it works but whether those teams are missing a trick is up to them to decide, I suppose. Maybe SD-Worx need a men’s team.”
Timothy John
“Yeah! Gosh, if it was anything like as successful as its women’s team, it would be a formidable outfit.
party?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I’ve been asked this question for the last 15 years and the chance to ride or race for them has never materialised in 15 years so it’s a question that they need to answer not me, if you know what I mean.”
Timothy John
“We touched earlier on the level in professional cycling and I mentioned was it harder to come back from the second pregnancy because of what seems like a rise in quality, and yet when we look back at the 2015, 2016 era, a lot of the riders, like yourself, like Elisa, were at the top of your game then, The field had real strength-in-depth almost ten years ago.
“What’s your take on that, Lizzie? Is the women’s peloton getting stronger year-by-year, or has it been at a very high level for some time now?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I would say it’s a mix. If I look at inspirational athletes from when I first started, people like Judith Arndt or Emma Pooley or Ina Teutenberg. They were winning everything. Do I think those athletes would be capable in modern cycling of winning everything? Yes. Absolutely.
“Things have changed around the sport but the exceptional athletes of the past would be exceptional athletes now, because training methods have adapted, professionalism has adapted. The difference now is really the strength-in-depth.
changed. The attacks are not as destructive as they used to be because more people are able to follow and the dynamics of the racing has changed.
“But yeah, the best athletes would still be the best athletes today, I think.”
Timothy John
“Tell me about the big changes in women’s professional cycling: the Tour de France Femme avec Zwift; the formation of a UCI Women’s WorldTour.
“Has the development of women’s cycling been incremental, or has it been those big step changes that have really made the difference?”
Lizzie Deignan
“It’s been a mix. It’s a chicken and egg situation. What comes first? The media coverage, the minimum wage, all of those things?
really thinking about.
“Things like the Tour de France Femmes have been huge because they’re a headline maker, and that’s important. Societal change, like I said, social media not accepting inequalities and being able to call things out more.
“I think it’s important that there is sustainable change, and it’s not always easy to express that because we’re asked for a tagline or a headline or that is pulled from an interview.
France.
“It’s not about physical ability; that’s obvious. Any athlete on the Women’s WorldTour could compete in a three-week Tour de France. It’s about making sure, like I say, that the infrastructure is there and that it’s sustainable change, because the last thing that we want is to change too quickly and blow up.”
Timothy John
“The transformation is almost hard to keep up with and nowhere more than at home. Brother sponsors two domestic women’s teams and has done for some time now. There are rumoured to be as many as seven UCI Continental teams registered in the UK next year, which is absolutely extraordinary.
“Do you get a chance to follow the UK scene or is that someway off in the distance?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I suppose I will do more now that I’m in the UK. I was chatting to Izzy a little bit earlier about whether I knew any of the juniors who were coming through or any of the races and honestly I don’t at the moment. I’ve been concentrating on myself and my team but I would hope to in the future be closer to that because women’s cycling and developing women’s cycling in the UK is something I’m definitely passionate about and want to be involved in.”
Timothy John
“I was speaking to some of the young riders at The Rayner Foundation dinner who were pretty awe struck that you were there, and I wondered if you had any sense of legacy?
“A lot of them named you directly and said, ‘Well, I’m riding a bike because I grew up watching Lizzie Armitstead.' Again, is that something that enters your bubble?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Slowly it does because there is a generation now that was watching television when I won that London 2012 medal, and they remember it and they were only kids then, so, yeah it’s quite surreal to think that I inspired them as kids to get on a bike, and I suppose that’s only going to happen more and more as the years tick by.”
Timothy John
“And what about the British riders that you see on a day-to-day basis: Pfeiffer Georgia, Anna Henderson, Abi Smith - riders of that quality. Do they impress you? How do you respond to that?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, they really impress me. I think we had a real opportunity at the world championships, had luck gone a bit more in our favour. Pfeiffer unfortunately had a bad day. Anna crashed out having just got fourth in the time-trial, and, had things gone a little bit differently, we would have had three GB riders in the real final of the world championships, and it’s been a few years since that’s happened: since it was me, Emma Pooley and Nicole Cooke. So, to know that there’s this real next generation knocking on the door, it’s really exciting to be a part of it, yeah.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely. That world championship road race was unbelievable; probably the race of the season, I would suggest. Just how hard was it from the inside? This crazy course that before was derided but afterwards everybody was saying, ‘That’s the best world championships we’ve had in years.’ How was it for you?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I loved it. I loved everything about it. I mean, it was as close to a home world championships as I’m ever going to get after Harrogate world championships. I just loved the course. It really suited me. Tactics played a huge part in the race, and those kinds of races are usually those that suit me.”
Timothy John
“Did it push you to a higher level, Lizzie? Probably your best performance this season.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yes, definitely, yeah. I normally perform well under pressure, and I just loved the course, I loved the fact that my family were there. Yeah it did. I really felt good that day.”
Timothy John
“Tell me about the spectrum of your career. It’s unimaginable if you consider it only on paper. 2009: track world championship; Paris-Roubaix winner 2021. It’s a huge amount of time, and it covers an exponential growth in your sport. Does it sometimes amaze even you, just the sheer spectrum of your career?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yes, very much so. It’s quite surreal when I think about my achievements but also like as you say, the diverse achievements, starting on the track and being where I am now. I have to pinch myself that I’m still able to be a professional athlete however many years later.
“I think I was counting my seasons the other day and it’s my seventeenth season next year, which sounds surreal, but that’s what happens. Life happens to you in the blink of an eye. It’s really surreal, but I’m sure it’s like that for lots of people in lots of different careers, but I just feel very grateful to the Talent Team for coming to my school that day. It really was a crossroads moment in my life, and I owe so much to the people who introduced me to cycling because my life would have looked very different without it.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely. You mentioned the diversity of your achievements. Has that in some ways been - I’m trying to find the right way to phrase this - but because you’ve grown up, you’ve developed as an athlete, your career has progressed through this period of exponential change within the women’s sport, have the two things gone hand in hand? Would you have had fewer opportunities, for example, in the male peloton where things are a little more rigid, a little more routine?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I don’t think so. I mean, if you look at people who are a similar age to me and who I went to track championships with when I was younger, people like Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe, people like that, they all started on the track in a system similar to me and have gone to do similar things. No, I don’t think so.”
Timothy John
“Would you expect another rider to experience the same breadth of achievement, or has a template now been established within the women’s peloton? Again, not a particularly well phrased question, but, for example, in the men’s peloton it’s now very cut and dried. Riders go to altitude training camps, they race. It’s decided fairly early on whether they’re a Grand Tour rider or a Classics rider etc, etc. and it’s all quite homogenised. In the women’s peloton, there seems to be a greater freedom. I don’t know if that’s an incorrect perception.”
Lizzie Deignan
“No, that’s the case, but I think if you look a the history of men’s cycling, you would also see that it’s developed into the sport it is now. However many years ago, Sean Yates, Eddy Merckx, they could do it all, but then actually so can Pogacar, you know? He can do it all. There are still exceptional athletes who can do it all.
“I think there definitely is more freedom in women’s cycling because, as we’ve talked about, we don’t have…I mean a there-week Grand Tour is very different to a week-long stage race. There are men who can win Paris-Nice who cannot win the Tour de France.
"Our opportunities, things like Gaia Realini on our team: she is an absolutely phenomenal climber. She hasn’t had that many summit finishes yet to showcase what she is. If she were a man with the same abilities, she would absolutely be pigeon-holed as a climber.
"That will come in women’s cycling; not yet, but in the future I see that the sport will go in the same direction.”
Timothy John
“Again, looking ahead to 2024. Lidl-Trek’s Classics squad is arguably the strongest in the sport. Would you hope to ride Paris-Roubaix again?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, absolutely. I really want to go back there.”
Timothy John
“The victory in 2021: absolutely extraordinary. What are your reflections on that particular win?"
Lizzie Deignan
“It was just a surreal experience, really, I went into it hoping to be a supportive rider. I never expected to come away with the win. Never expected the win to blow up in the way it did.
Cup, for example, I did that in pretty emphatic style and did a great job, but it’s a Tweet or a result on Cycling News. It wasn’t something that people could watch live or engage with.
“Roubaix was special because people were able to watch me going away solo and winning it. Things like that are also changing: the way people see my wins. I could feel that it reached so many more people than another win had ever done before.”
Timothy John
“I heard a podcast recently with Damon Hill, Lizzie, the Formula One driver, who won in 1994 in Suzuka in the most appalling conditions, under huge pressure. He had to win that day to keep the championship alive and carry the fight to Michael Schumacher in the final round of the season.
consciously. He pushed himself into a completely different space and produced the performance of his career.
“I was thinking of your win at Roubaix, when you were absolutely on the ragged edge for however many kilometres. Does that seem like a fair comparison? Could you go there again?”
Lizzie Deignan
“Yeah, I mean, physically and mentally it was unlike any challenge I’d faced before because of the conditions, because of the cobbles, but it wasn’t an Olympic Games. It was a new race. It wasn’t a world championships, so I did go into that race with a different sense of calm. It wasn’t that I’d pulled off the performance of my life in the most pressured environment. I really was there in my mind to help Ellen Van Dyck win the race, so it was not a conscious overcoming of stress, I was just really reactive that day and everything just flowed.
“I would say that of all the days on the bike I’ve had, you’re searching for a flow. I found the flow that day, but in terms of physical exertion and depths of suffering, I mean Roubaix wasn’t the hardest race I’ve ever done.”
Timothy John
“Do you have a favourite season, Lizzie? You’ve got a few to choose from here. 2015: world champion, World Cup winner. 2016: Flanders, Strade Bianche, Nieuwsblad. 2020: La Course, Liége-Bastogne-Liége; 2021 Tour de Suisse, Paris-Roubaix.
“Was there a particular season where you felt, ‘everything has come together this year’?"
Lizzie Deignan
“Hmmm. I’d say probably my fist season with Trek, 2019, because I’d made the comeback from having my daughter Orla, I didn’t know what to expect, and I was in a new team, and that’s always a risk. I just felt instantly that I had made a really, really good decision by coming to the team.
myself and other people, I guess.”
Timothy John
“And how do you retain your motivation, having achieved so much, with two small children, with your husband, and yet, here you are at a training camp in the depths of winter, getting ready to go again? Where does that motivation come from?”
Lizzie Deignan
“A very different place to where I first started. My motivation when I was younger was absolutely just about being world champion and being able to wear the rainbow jersey. But now my motivation comes from a sense of perspective that I am incredibly lucky to do this for a living; that I get to support my family by being a professional athlete.
“I’m surrounded by people who are on the limit of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. It’s not easy. I realise that the grass isn’t greener, and I’m incredibly privileged to do the job I do, so I want to make the best of it and make every ride count because I am sacrificing time with my family, and I am pushing me and my husband to the limit of what balance looks like for a family, so I want to make it count, and that’s my motivation.”
Timothy John
“And finally Lizzie, how’s Christmas looking? When do you finally get a chance to put your feet up?”
Lizzie Deignan
“I go home on the 22nd, so just in time for Christmas, but I’m really looking forward to it this year. My daughter’s five, so she really believes in Santa, so I’m really looking forward to doing that whole show: obviously Santa’s real, in case any children are listening! And, yeah, just spending time with my family.
"Normally, Christmas is a very hectic time of year for us because we’re travelling between England and Ireland and trying to fit lots of things into a short space of time, so I’m quite looking forward to not having to go through the hustle and bustle of an airport with young children and just try and enjoy it.”
Timothy John
“Well, very merry Christmas, and thanks very much indeed for joining us today. Much appreciated.”
Lizzie Deignan
“Cheers. Thank-you.”
OUTRO
Phil Jones
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