How pedal power has got her competing again
the 5km run, so the biking was hard.” Possessing Olympic levels of fitness doesn’t hurt when you’re doing aerobic exercise, but neither does it translate directly. “People might think you’ll be fast on a bike because you’re a runner but it’s a whole new set of muscles,” says Holmes. “If I go on a bike in the gym, I sweat like billy-o. I don’t sweat much when I run, so you know the difference. It’s hard to make the transition.”
Might she have been a Team GB rider if she’d taken another route in life? “I don’t think so. Road cyclists are really lanky, so that wouldn’t have suited me. If you look at the track cyclists, they’re not so tall, so maybe I could have done that — but not at Olympic level. I was suited to running. But maybe I could have been an OK cyclist, because with anything, if you put your full effort into it, you can become good.”
Holmes sees the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 challenge as competition with herself. “I still have that competitive mindset, so I’ll be looking to ride as fast as I can. I’ll not be competing with others; I’ll be competing with myself. I haven’t trained a lot, so I won’t expect too much. I’m also starting the sportive off, so I’ll probably be getting on my bike after the crowds clear.”
Holmes is aiming to raise £250,000, split across five charities, all of them close to her heart. “Both in Tunbridge Wells, there’s the Hospice in the Weald, where my coach Dave Arnold passed away, and the Pickering Cancer Drop-in Centre. The lady who runs it was told that she’d survived cancer for the second time as I was winning in Athens — she calls that her own ‘double gold’. There’s Myeloma UK, which supports sufferers of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, like my mum. There’s Mind, which I support as someone who has suffered from depression, and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which helps disadvantaged young people.”
With Prudential RideLondon taking place the week before the festivities kick off in Rio, it’s inevitably a time when memories come flooding back for Holmes. “I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since Athens — that makes me feel old!” she says.
“It’s gone so quickly. I do a lot of travel and motivational speaking and meet lots of people who were inspired by my performances. It’s always nice to hear. I enjoy telling my story, about how tough it was to get to where I did.
“I’ll be in Rio for six days and I’m really looking forward to seeing as many sports as possible. Team GB’s target of having the best ‘away’ games ever is doable, and maybe we’re even underestimating our potential.”
Until then, Holmes is saddling up and concentrating on the road. “It’ll be great being out in the country, feeling free,” says Holmes. “The atmosphere at the marathon is great and hopefully this will be similar. It’s incredible how we support sport in the UK.” virginmoneygiving.com/team/
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