06 January 2020

Lizzie Deignan to build 2020 season around Olympic road race victory

Britain's former world champion Lizzie Deignan has said her main goal for the 2020 season is to win the Olympic road race in Tokyo.

The 31-year-old, who returned to racing last season after a year out giving birth to her first child Orla, was left disappointed in September when she failed to win a second world road race title in front of a home crowd in Yorkshire.

But Deignan has not been deterred by her inability to win a medal in Harrogate last year and maintains she is still one of the best in the world.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, she said: “With hindsight, tactically I wasn’t the smartest (at the world championships), but I was going for the rainbow and I wasn’t interested in silver or bronze and I got nothing. 

"But to be honest, basically I was in really good shape, where I was one of the best in the race.

“The Olympics will be my biggest goal of the season next year. My season will be tapered around that really, I went to see the course in Japan in July and I really liked it so I’m excited about that as well."

Deignan suffered at the hands of the Dutch team in Yorkshire, who doubled over the Brit to secure a one-two finish for Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen.

And while the Otley-born rider acknowledges overcoming The Netherlands' firepower will be a tricky task, she feels being the solo leader in the British team could actually work to her advantage.

“They’ll (The Netherlands) have the strongest team, absolutely no doubt,” she added.

"But sometimes in the Olympics it’s an advantage to be racing on your own, it’s a totally different race, the peloton’s really small, so I think the team aspect will be lessened.”

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