Road rage is all part of the hunger for success

13 April 2012

I'm hungry. Having switched from my track cycling part of the season to road racing, I have to shed about three kilograms, which means doing the first hour of my morning training ride without any breakfast. It's the best way to burn fat but it makes me really grumpy and, at times, you end up seeing double on the bike.

There are different ways to lose weight but I don't do anything silly. Some girls I know have pure fruit days but I did that once and by four in the afternoon was so hungry I ate three packets of crisps!

It's important to be sensible so I'm in peak shape for the National Championships in June.Also competing will be a couple of girls from my Cervelo team so, at the moment, I'm helping them as much as possible to get a few brownie points so they'll help me there.

I've done two events on the road in Holland and our sprinter Kirsten Wild won both of them. In the first, I was her last lead-out woman which meant peeling off with about 200metres to go. In the second, the finish was more technical so I had to guide the lead-out train before pulling over.

It basically means you ride like your finishing line is 500m from the end by which time you're completely spent. Some people find it hard to get your head around the idea that you sometimes give up your own goals for other riders. But I've had my go at glory with the track stuff and I have to work for other people right now.

It's a few weeks since the World Track Cycling Championships and there was a slight sense of frustration with only winning two silvers.

Every time you get on the track in a British jersey, everyone expects gold. Finishing second in the team pursuit was disappointing as I felt a bit like I was the weak link. I was told I was the best technically but physically I didn't have it on the day. I felt I let down the other two girls - Wendy Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell - but they both said: "Don't be so ridiculous".

It wasn't helped by the fact that, no joke, I turned out to be allergic to our hotel room in Copenhagen. I had a semi-asthma attack one night before the team pursuit and the doctor thought I was allergic to the product used to clean the carpets there.

I moved hotels before my next event, the omnium, and felt so much better. It's the first time I've done it and loved it. I've now got rivals for the omnium spot in the squad at London 2012 with both Rebecca Romero and Nicole Cooke having put themselves forward to do it this week. Thankfully, reputations don't matter in the British team and only the rider with the best results gets picked.

After the worlds, I spent a week at my parents' place although, from a riding point of view, it's better being back at my home in Belgium.

Cyclists get treated like Premier League footballers there whereas in England you're lucky not to get ridden off the road. On one of my last training rides in the UK a bunch of kids in a school minibus pelted me with bottles. In contrast when I'm training in Belgium, people stop in their cars to take pictures.

For more information on Lizzie please visit www.mtc-uk.com

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