Petersfield cyclist Joe Truman is aiming for gold medal glory in the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
The championships – which start today (Thursday) and run until Sunday, August 13 – also provide an opportunity to seal qualification for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
“All of the hard training has been done for the championships and now it is about maintaining the levels and being in the right place for Glasgow,” he said.
“I’ve won silver medals before, but the next step is to get that gold medal.
“The margins between success and failure are so small at the elite level – it can be hundredths of a second.
“You’ve got to put the work in at training – but I absolutely love training, pushing myself and challenging myself.
“I started with i-Team.cc in Portsmouth and then managed to get into the GB system.
“I still have that enthusiasm and love of cycling. It’s different to when I started – now the love is about pushing the boundaries and seeing how far I can go.”
Truman has suffered his fair share of injuries in his career – including a horror crash in the keirin at last summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – but instead of seeing injuries as setbacks he has tried to find a positive side to them.
“I see injuries as a chance to work at something and to come back stronger,” he said.
“Obviously it is frustrating, but you have to see the positive side to it and use it as an opportunity to improve.”
Truman – who has won team sprint silver medals at the 2018 World Championships, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 European Championships – is hoping to make his mark at Olympic level in Paris next year.
“The first job is to seal qualification for the Olympics, but when that is done I’ll be able to think about Paris,” he said.
“Selection is so tough, so I can’t take anything for granted.”