Friday 20 February 2015 15:41, UK
Joanna Rowsell is convinced that Great Britain’s women’s team pursuit squad will bounce back strongly from their first defeat in over four years.
Rowsell, Laura Trott, Elinor Barker and Katie Archibald had to settle for silver at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Paris after being comprehensively beaten by Australia, who smashed Britain’s world record by three seconds with a blistering time of 4min 13.683sec.
The margin of the result has blown the race for gold at next year’s Olympic Games wide open, but with next year’s World Championships being held in London, Rowsell is adamant that Britain will reassert their authority before Rio.
She said: "Definitely better [to lose] this year than next year. I was thinking [on the podium], 'Enjoy that while it lasts, girls. It's only going to last a year'."
Britain had won six of the prior seven team pursuit world titles on offer in the women's discipline, which was contested with four riders over 4km for the first time in 2014.
The exception was in Copenhagen in 2010, when Australia won and Britain claimed silver, but since a UCI Track Cycling World Cup loss in Colombia in December 2010, Britain had swept all before them.
Rowsell was in the team in Copenhagen five years ago and believes positives came from the loss.
She added: "That was just over two years out from London [the 2012 Olympics]. At the time it was the best thing that could have happened to us.
"I think there was maybe a bit of complacency in the squad at the time and getting that silver in 2010 completely changed our training as a team.
"Yes, there is work to do, but I think it's a good position to be in. Maybe we won't be as complacent going into next season now. We are hungry and we don't want silver again."
