Motorpoint's rising star Lucy Garner isn't getting carried away about her chances of winning the Johnson Health Tech Women's Grand Prix Series, despite lying in second place overall going into tomorrow's final round in Woking.
Garner has finished third, fifth and sixth in the three races thus far, but remains cautious about the possibility of overtaking Helen Wyman at the top of the standings.
"I'd be happy with a top three overall I guess, that's the aim," she says.
"It will be hard to beat Helen, and Horizon Fitness are really strong right now."
She added: "And we've got Hannah (Barnes, her Motorpoint team-mate) leading the sprints competition too."
She's never raced on tomorrow's circuit, but from what she's heard about it she believes her lack of experience and limited gear ratios shouldn't be a problem.
"It all depends on how I'm feeling, but I've heard the course is like Smithfield (Market circuit, used in the London Nocturne), and I really liked that.
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"The junior gears don't matter as much when it comes to criteriums, as you don't want to be in the wrong gear coming out of the corners, but I could have done with a few more in (the last round in) Oldham!"
Garner hits the front in Peterborough
Garner, a member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme, finished second behind Barnes in Saturday's London Nocturne criterium as Wyman had to settle for third.
The 16-year-old admitted she was a little bit surprised with how the race played out.
"I didn't know what to expect, especially as Emma Trott was racing, and her results have been good recently, and Helen (Wyman) is always strong."
The Motorpoint girls broke clear early on, but Wyman's successful chase up to them forced Garner and Barnes to remain on their guard.
"We couldn't have formed a better group, even though we were always wary of Helen sitting on the back of it.
"Hannah and I agreed we should make the most of the move, so we pressed on and pulled for half a lap each," Garner added.
She continued to say that there were team tactics were not used to decide the winner, stating that the team would rather them have raced for the one-two instead of scuppering someone's chances by asking them to lead the other out.
Barnes (l) and Garner press on during Saturday's Nocturne
The final round of the Johnson Health Tech Women's Grand Prix Series gets underway at 5pm tomorrow evening, and Garner prepared for it this afternoon with some interval training on the rollers.
"I always feel better when I've had a big session the day before," she says ominously.
Related links
Tour Series 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index
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Nick Bull is an NCTJ qualified journalist who has written for a range of titles, as well as being a freelance writer at Beat Media Group, which provides reports for the PA Media wire which is circulated to the likes of the BBC and Eurosport. His work at Cycling Weekly predominantly dealt with professional cycling, and he now holds a role as PR & Digital Manager at SweetSpot Group, which organises the Tour of Britain.
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