 World champion cyclist Lizzie Armitstead shares the work and life tips that made her a global success…

<p>Nothing seems to faze world champion cyclist Lizzie Armitstead. She won the hearts of the nation when she became the first Brit to scoop a medal at London 2012 (she won silver in the road race) and now she&rsquo;s expected to win gold at Rio 2016 this summer. 'I enjoy pressure and I thrive in a competitive environment', she told Good Living, continuing: 'I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it'.</p><p>Lizzie, 27, who will take part in the Asda Women&rsquo;s Tour de Yorkshire from 29th April until 1st May, only tried cycling because a boy at her school told her he could beat her. British Cycling&rsquo;s Olympic talent team were visiting their school in Otley, Yorkshire, and Lizzie cycled faster than her male adversary. She&rsquo;s now the reigning world, commonwealth and national road race champion.</p><p>Here Lizzie shares the secrets of her success:</p><h2>Whenever I&rsquo;m nervous before a race…</h2><p>I try to override my emotion with logical thoughts. I&rsquo;ve seen a team psychologist in the past but I haven&rsquo;t used one personally. I&rsquo;m quite straightforward I suppose and don&rsquo;t feel I need coaching through it.</p><h2>I always find motivation...</h2><p>Cycling is my job so if I was missing training or not motivated, it would have repercussions. I&rsquo;m always reminding myself that everything I do has a consequence. The only person who is going to suffer if I don&rsquo;t train is me. I&rsquo;ve always been conscientious.</p><h2>It&rsquo;s important to have balance in your life…</h2><p>If a race or training doesn&rsquo;t go so well I ring up family and friends and talk about something else. Even in a normal job I think it&rsquo;s useful to switch off and realise there are more important things in the world.</p><h2>I do have superstitions…</h2><p>I have silly rituals like wearing new socks on competition days, but I wouldn&rsquo;t let it put me off if I didn&rsquo;t have them.</p><h2>Everyone needs a mentor…</h2><p>My first coach was a guy named Phil West, who really introduced me to cycling. It&rsquo;s quite a difficult sport to get your head around if you&rsquo;re new to it. He guided me through all the technical aspects, the cycling talk and the tactics. He saw my potential, without him I wouldn&rsquo;t have got to this point.</p><h2>The book that I can&rsquo;t forget is…</h2><p>Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. I don&rsquo;t read many books but that one is quite inspiring from a feminist point of view.</p><h2>I&rsquo;m disciplined before a competition…</h2><p>The night before a race I don&rsquo;t look at social media or speak to anyone really. I just watch rubbish TV or read a book, try not to think about what&rsquo;s going to happen the next day &ndash; and I always make sure I get a good night&rsquo;s sleep. I look back on races and think, ‘those were the days when I was completely in the zone without distraction&rsquo;. It&rsquo;s like tunnel vision; you go into a space in your brain where you focus completely.</p><h2>You have to make sacrifices to succeed…</h2><p>I&rsquo;ve missed weddings and all sorts but luckily I have very understanding friends and family. The upside is that they get to do things like come and watch me compete in Rio. They know it&rsquo;s not forever and it&rsquo;s a sacrifice that&rsquo;s worth making.</p><h2>I want to use my profile for good… </h2><p>I&rsquo;ve spoken about sexism in sport in the past and I don&rsquo;t want to just tow the media line and say what everyone expects you to say. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m delighted that the Asda Tour de Yorkshire race will offer women and men an equal winner&rsquo;s fee. Hopefully, things will start changing in the future.</p><p><em>Pick up your perfect cycling kit from George at <a href="http://direct.asda.com/george/collections/womens/D28M2G2C1,default,sc.html?utm_source=goodliving&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=family" target="_blank">Asda&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s sportswear collection</a>.</em></p>

Can this pro cyclist's tips for success help you?

By Asda Good Living,27th April 2016

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