Storey’sdesirefor successundiminished

DAME SARAH Storey says motherhood has not dimmed her desire for more para-cycling success as she prepares to head up an 11-strong Great Britain squad at theWorld Championships in Aguascalientes next month.

Storey gave birth to her first daughter Louisa nine months ago during a year-long break from the sport, which followed her extraordinary quadruple gold medal haul at the London Paralympic Games.

But if her rivals harboured any hopes that Storey’s changing circumstances might have diluted her desire to succeed, they are likely to be disappointed when they come face to face with the 36-year-old on the track in Mexico.

Storey told Press Association Sport: “I think every athlete who has been to more than a couple of games wonders if they will still have the drive and having a year out helped me to really think about what happened in London.

“It helped me recalibrate my goals because I produced something that was beyond my wildest dreams and the pressure to perform is no longer there because I have proved myself and can look to the future in a more relaxed way.”

Storey is eyeing careerbest times in the Mexican city, which lies 6,000 feet above sea level and as such ought to be conducive to plenty of world records.

But she admitted she is already looking at her longer-term goal of the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

Storey’s busy year will also include an attempt to qualify for England’s able-bodied road race team for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.