WHIPPET ME INTO SHAPE
Evans didn’t let training go to the dogs during lockdown
I loved being a vet but I’m in no rush to go back. I’ll be a full time athlete for as long as possible My parents helped me through everything and are always there for me. It was nice to have a chance to help them for once
Using the family tractor as a squat rack with her whippet Figaro for a training partner isn’t how Neah Evans foresaw the run-up to her Olympic debut.
But the track cyclist believes her tilt at Tokyo will benefit from the detour – so too her peace of mind for helping her parents during lockdown.
The double European champ was visiting parents Ros and Malcolm’s house in rural Aberdeenshire when the UK was brought to a standstill.
With both hunkering down due to their age, picking up messages rather than medals became the priority for one of British cycling’s top talents.
The 29-year- old is now back in Manchester – home to the National Cycling Centre – after lockdown restrictions were eased in England.
And as one of six on the women’s endurance programme she isn’t slowing down after seizing silver at February’s World Championships in Berlin.
She’s relaxed, knowing she made the right decision to stay and help her parents. The qualified vet said: “They helped me through everything – university, cycling, whatever it is – and are always there for me.
“When you’re away competing you can’t do anything so it was nice to have a chance to be there and help them out for once.
“My parents are in the at-risk category because of their age so I did the shopping so they didn’t leave the house.”
Evans still managed to rig up mak e shi f t t ra ining equipment – and benefited from having no other distractions.
“Lockdown has hugely affected targets and competitions but from a training point of view it has actually been pretty good,” she said . “I borrowed a bar and som e weights f rom a local gym and rigged up a squat rack using an old tractor – a home gym with farm equipment.
“It was a rare opportunity just to train ful l- time with no interruptions. No racing, no other distractions.”
Evans admits the decision to postpone the Olympics left her feeling “a little bit lost”.
She said: “I worked so hard to get there. Then you find out that it’s not happening and it’s a huge disappointment.
“But I’ve told myself that it is for the best, that it’s actually going to benefit me and
I could be in an even better place next year. I’m putting all the positive spin on it that I can. “I’m still relatively young and I’ve a lot to learn and the time to apply it. “I definitely don’t feel t ha t I ’ve achieved all I want to. And even if I do go to Tokyo, there is a lot more I want to achieve. “I’ve experienced having a proper job and loved being a vet – but I’m in no rush to go back. “I ’ m happy to continue the f u l l - t i me athlete life for as long as possible. It is awesome’.”
For someone whose career is defined by hundredths of a second, Evans seems intent on not letting a single one of them slip by. Which explains why, despite 20 hours of training each week, she is study ing for a Masters in wildlife management at Glasgow University.
Many have found lockdown boring – but the two- time Commonwealth medallist doesn’t have time for it. In fact, learning to do nothing has been the biggest adjustment going full-time.
She said: “I used to live with Katie Archibald and on a rest day she’d sit and watch Disney films and not do anything.
“I was going: ‘But I’ve got this whole day, I can’t waste it.’ This Masters has given me a huge outlet. I focus on that to work my brain while my body recovers.
“You train really hard but the most important bit is allowing yourself to recover so you can train even harder the next day.”