Success stopped me being seen as a weirdo, says star Dani King

Matthew Beard30 July 2013

Olympic cycle champion Dani King said she is no longer viewed as a “weirdo” after her success at London 2012.

The 22-year-old will be back in the spotlight as she takes part in the RideLondon weekend, the UK’s biggest cycling festival, as part of an Olympic gold-winning trio with Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott.

King, whose raw talent was spotted by cycle scouts while she was at school in Southampton, said: “Before I was looked at as a weirdo for doing what I did and now it’s almost cool to do it, which is great.”

Although government statistics show the growth in cycling went into reverse during Olympic year, King trusts the evidence in front of her eyes.

She said: “It’s been incredible to see the effect the Games has had. I went back to my old school and club and it’s great to see the enthusiasm of the young kids wanting to start, especially the girls. When I was riding at my local club in Portsmouth I was one of two girls and now there are tens of them, which is amazing to see. There’s definitely been a legacy for my sport — we just have to keep it going now.”

The growth of cycling —as a path to medal glory or a means to get to work — is seen as a key part of the legacy, and it has been the main reason RideLondon was supported by Mayor Boris Johnson.

King, Rowsell and Trott, the three who won the London 2012 team pursuit, will compete for the Wiggle Honda team in a women’s sprint around St James’s Park on Saturday evening.

King will be among the 20,000 starters for Sunday’s 100-mile “marathon-on-wheels” which traces the route of last summer’s Olympic road race course — from London into Surrey. She will make it a family affair, riding with boyfriend Matt Rowe and parents Lynn and Trevor, a former biathlete who competed in two Winter Olympics and took up cycling to keep her company during training.

The mass ride starts near the Olympic velodrome where she won gold. But, a year on, she is swapping the cauldron-like atmosphere of the track for something more sedate.

King, raising funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, said: “I won’t be getting competitive, I will be enjoying the scenery and chatting. Joanna [Rowsell] lives around [the part of Surrey on the route] and she has warned me it gets pretty hilly.