GB’s Banks aiming high ahead of UCI Road World Championships

Lizzy Banks will have her eyes on the Paris Olympics when she competes for Great Britain in today’s time trial at the rearranged UCI Road World Championships in Imola.

The 29-year-old is perhaps not a noted time trialist but she has set herself the challenge of changing that in the next four years – and she is aiming high.

“I k n ow I h ave th e raw power, I need the time and the investment on the aero side,” Banks said.

“It’s really a learning experience. I truly believe that i n 2 02 4 , I s e e n o rea s o n I wouldn’t be one of the riders competing at the highest level at the Olympics.

“For me it’s about taking the small steps to get there. Every time you go to a major championships it’s a huge learning experience.”

Having come to the sport late, Banks is still in only her third season as a professional rider. The Equipe Paule Ka rider has made up for lost time rapidly on the road, collecting a second career stage win in the Giro Rosa last week to add to an already impressive collection of results.

The art of time trialling is not an area in which she has invested much of her time yet, but it is one where she sees the potential for significant growth.

“Time trialling is all about aero gains, testing and working and practicing in that position so it’s really simply about dedication,” she said.

“I t’s r e a l l y a p r o c e s s I haven’t started at the moment, I’ve not done aero testing, my position is guesswork and because of that I know I probably have a lot to gain.

“I know I have the power, I know I have the mental strength to be one of the very best. I really believe I do, and I believe I have a lot more to gain physiologically over the years as well having only recently started racing professionally.”

T h oug h th e we e ke n d ’s road races will involve significant climbing, the 31.7km time-trial route is largely flat. Banks and Alice Barnes will race for Great Britain in both events, with Lizzie Deignan,

Hannah Barnes, Anna Henderson and Anna Shackley also in the squad for Saturday’s road race.

The worlds were relocated at short notice after the AigleMartigny region in Switzerland announced only last month it could not host the event due to the coronavirus pandemic. Imola has stepped in with a series of routes designed around the famous motor racing circuit.