I’M A RIDER NICOLA ADAMS Britain’s 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medal-winning boxer on her first major sportive and the day she blasted around a velodrome

The best thing a cyclist can learn from a boxer is to use your determination and willpower to get you through

I am taking on the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 sportive this year. It is going to be really exciting and a totally new challenge for me to do that kind of distance (46 miles/74km). I haven’t cycled that far before so I don’t know how sore I’m going to be the next day. But it is going to be cool and will be great to visit the Olympic Park again. I already do a lot of cycling as part of my boxing training. I’m just doing a bit extra on top to make sure I can get through the distance. Since turning professional this year, I’ve moved over to the United States for my training, near San Francisco. I ride or run in the morning, but I also ride for extra fitness on my days off. The hardest part of the course will be the climbs. I won’t be savouring them at all. I’m just glad that on the 46 we will avoid climbs like Box Hill and Leith Hill! I started out doing spinning classes at the gym. It was really to boost my fitness but also to help me through the back and ankle injuries I was suffering from. I still do a lot of cycling in the gym and I know how good it can be for keeping in shape and keeping your legs strong. Wattbike sessions are one of my favourite parts of my training routine. They are brutal because the effort can be so concentrated on one area of your legs, like your quads. When you are out running you can move your whole body and even the pain out a little bit, but on a bike it’s not so easy to do that. Sprinting keeps me sharp. It’s a part of my boxing training to do a lot of sprint efforts when I’m running or on the bike. It’s great for creating the fast-twitch muscle fibres in your body, which help you move in and out on your feet during a fight, so you really notice the difference. I’ve met Olympic cyclists like Sir Chris Hoy at the Olympic Games and other events. It’s always inspiring to see how other athletes train. It’s amazing to see what they go through and how different their training techniques are to my own. I’ve watched a few of the British cyclists race in the velodrome and it’s awesome to see the speeds they ride at. I know how difficult it is to ride on the track. I did an event for Sport Relief in the London velodrome a few years ago. I got to pull on a helmet, ride around the track and race. It’s tough and it was quite scary for me because I had seen people fall off and seen the scrapes you can get. My aim was just to not fall off. I kept saying to myself: ‘Whatever happens, do not fall’. Whenever I am training, my clothes all have to match. If I am colourcoordinated, everything is cool. The best thing a cyclist can learn from a boxer is to use your selfdetermination and willpower to get you through. That is what you draw on during hard times in any sport. If you have determination, desire and confidence you’ll make it. When you train hard, it’s good to treat yourself. After a fight, and all the hard training beforehand, I always go out to a Brazilian restaurant for a nice meal. And I like collecting watches so I always buy myself a nice little victory watch too. One day I might take on the full 100mile RideLondon route. I like cycling a lot already so I’m up for taking part in a few more events one day. Anything is possible. Nicola Adams will be riding Prudential RideLondon with the educational charity Teach First as part of the PruGoals programme. For more details visit prugoals.co.uk