Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning cyclist Alison Shanks
reflects on the year that was. Photo by Jane Dawber.
If pushed for an answer, Commonwealth Games gold
medallist Alison Shanks would give herself "about an eight out
of 10" this year.
That might seem a modest assessment, considering her haul of
medals. But then Shanks sets the bar high.
The former netballer shocked the cycling world with her rapid
progress from enthusiastic amateur to world champion in four
short years.
Her gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 2009 world
championships set her on a course to follow in the footsteps
of New Zealand's golden girl Sarah Ulmer and win Olympic
gold.
That path was suddenly cut off when the event was dropped for
the 2012 Olympic programme - a decision Shanks says she will
probably never get over.
Rocked, but determined to stick with the sport she loves,
Shanks pushed on with training and reset her compass.
Perhaps the disappointment took more out of her than she was
prepared to let on, or maybe she just had an off-day, but the
year did not get off to very good start.
"It has been a bit of a mixed bag, I guess," Shanks said.
"It started off with a fourth place at the world champ's,
which I was pretty disappointed with, really. When you go in
as defending world champion you always have high
expectations.
"But that disappointment helped kick-start things for Delhi
[Commonwealth Games] and helped stimulate that real
motivation to go and get the gold there."
Fresh from her Commonwealth Games gold-medal ride, Shanks
beat the same rider - Great Britain's Wendy Houvenaghel - in
the final of a world cup event in Colombia last week to round
out the year nicely.
There were also some impressive rides with the New Zealand
women's pursuit team.
The team won bronze at the world championships in a
world-record time and won gold at the world cup meeting in
Cali, Colombia.
Worth more than eight out of 10? Shanks demands more out of
herself.
While happy with her gold-medal ride in Colombia, her winning
time was not quick enough.
Shanks was desperate to dip under 3min 30sec.
The 28-year-old recorded a time of 3min 29.8sec when she won
the world championship in 2009 and has not been able to
better that time since.
And it is grating on her. "I was pretty disappointed not to
beat that time in Cali.
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