Emma Pooley (Great Britain) was pleased with bronze in the time trial (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Emma Pooley (Great Britain) pulled out a strong ride in the UCI World Championships to secure a bronze medal in the women's time trial. Although she fell short of defending her rainbow jersey, she admitted that she was satisfied with a ride that was run over a similar route to London's 2012 Olympic course.
"For me I'm pleased because London isn't mountainous and this shows to me and gives me a positive boost that I can get a result. Nothing is in the bag but potentially if I'm selected, it's something I can do," she said at the post-race press conference.
"The Olympics are huge, especially for women's cycling because we don't have a Tour de France, it's the biggest event in the world for us."
Pooley has had another successful year on the road, tallying up eight victories, all despite missing a chunk of the season through injury, and the fact that several women's races have been slashed from the international calendar.
"I'm very pleased to be on the podium," she said.
"This time last year I would have been very lucky to have been in the top 10 on this course so maybe it looks like a worse result but last year the course was hilly and that broke it up. I think I've improved my time trialing and done better on a course that doesn't really suit me."
"The result isn't as good but I'm pleased. You can't change your physiology."
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Pooley will headline the women's road race on Sunday but with another flat course on the menu the likelihood will be a sprint finish, something she isn't suited to. However, she stressed that despite the course she would be a more than willing teammate for one of Great Britain's sprinters.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
