Reade in right condition to claim Olympic BMX gold

Posted: Friday 15th June 2012 | 18:15

BRITISH BMX superstar Shanaze Reade believes she is in peak condition to claim an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.

READY: British BMX rider Shanaze Reade feels ready to perform at this summer's Olympic in London

The Crewe-born rider is entering her second Games as one of the favourites to win the BMX title next to the Velodrome in the summer.

But Reade is not allowing herself to be complacent about her rivals and is concentrating on making sure her mental approach matches her physical condition.

"I'm feeling fantastic. If the Olympics were tomorrow, I'd feel ready," said the three-times world champion.

"I feel that everything I've been doing is leading in. Sometimes when you're training, you think ‘I'm tired, how am I going come to peak fitness'? But everything is coming together - it's like a jigsaw puzzle, everything is coming together and I can start seeing the bigger picture.

"My coach, Grant White, keeps reassuring me that there's still more to come and I'm seeing that through the weeks as we're getting faster and faster

"You should never think that the competition is going to be easy by any stretch. You're going to the Olympic Games - everybody is going to be at the top of their sport.

"There's some promising countries coming through and there's been some really good racing from the girls this year. I've been keeping my eye on that when I've been injured and not racing this year, but I just think about myself."

Reade made her Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing under an intense media spotlight, but this time around she says she does not feel pressure.

In fact, the 23-year-old is looking forward to the level of expectation that comes with being the star name that will attract people to watch her perform.

She said: "In 2008, there was a lot more expectation and pressure, I felt, as I'd never entered an Olympic Games.

"I didn't actually know what it took to be an Olympic champion. I had a lot of media and press and that was all new to me, but now this is normal as this is all I know because, at the last Olympic cycle, this is what I experienced and went through.

"You stand on the start line and if people are in that crowd and bought a ticket, and I'm 1% of the reason why they bought that ticket, then that's amazing because I'm there to do a job and please the crowd, in a sense.

"I like to have that loyalty to the fans. They've come along and I think it's my duty to do my best and put something back into that - it was amazing to have everybody cheer when my name was announced.

"I don't feel that there's any pressure at all, it just adds to the excitement of it.

Reade claims she will stay on in BMX, if even if she wins gold, but admitted that she has considered a future elsewhere from the sport.

"I had a time where I thought I'm not going to do BMX racing anymore," she said.

"If I win a gold medal, I've done everything I want to achieve. I've been world champion, junior Olympic and everything, so I thought what is the point?

"I'm all about doing something I haven't done before. But after the world championships in Birmingham, I got such a great feeling and vibe from my race that I'm going to continue on."