Welsh cyclist Amy Roberts has recently prolonged her contract with the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling Team for another year. The 20 year old is the second youngest athlete on the British registered UCI team and one of the four British riders on the team with Dani King, Anna Christian and new signing Lucy Garner.
Roberts has been part of Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling since its inception in 2013. Her 2015 season suffered a setback as she fractured her collarbone in Dwars door de Westhoek late April, but the Welsh talent returned at the Great Britain National Championships, where she lit up the race as part of a long, mid-race attack.
After that Roberts finished third in the National Criterium Championship, was part of the winning team in the BeNe Ladies Tour where teammate Jolien D’hoore won three stages and the overall ranking, was part of the Team Time Trial team finishing fifth in the Sweden World Cup and was in the breakaway in the La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta which got caught in the final two kilometres of the race.
“I didn’t have the best of seasons last year, with picking up a virus early on and then breaking my collarbone in April. I was always just trying to get back up to fitness. Towards the end though I was feeling a lot better and was happy with how it finished.
“As a whole though we had a great group of girls this year and achieved a lot as a team. For me it’s still great to be able to learn from some of the best riders in the world.
“I’ve absolutely loved the past three years on Wiggle Honda and am really looking forward to continuing with them for another year,” Roberts said. “Obviously to be one that has been there from the start is really nice.
“Each year we’ve got stronger and next year looks to be even better,” she added. “We’ve got some really exciting new signings who will bring many things to the team. Everyone gets on so well and it’s such a nice atmosphere within it; staff and riders.
“I think 2016 will bring a lot more opportunities for me so I can’t wait for the season to get started!”
Being part of the team since the inception in 2013 Roberts has seen a lot of athletes come and go. Only four athletes from the first year are still part of the successful team which Wiggle Honda has become; Dani King, Giorgia Bronzini and Mayuko Hagiwara.
“It’s nice to be one of the four who have been there from the beginning, I think each year we have achieved more and more not just on the bike but in general as a team too. It’s very rare but each year we have had such a nice group of girls it really helps that everyone gets along and wants to help each other, the same with the staff too. The bond is there and that helps massively with the success of the team. Rochelle has done a great job.
“Being on Wiggle Honda has definitely helped me develop so much, just being around such riders is a real privilege and there’s no better way to learn than from the best. You get to learn different things from different riders but I would say especially Giorgia, with everything she has achieved she is literally one of the nicest people you could meet. So down to earth and really just wants to help others which for me has been a massive advantage. “
With signing Emma Johansson, Amy Pieters and Lucy Garner the Wiggle Honda team has added three more World Class athletes to the already impressive team roster including Giorgia Bronzini, Elisa Longo Borghini and Jolien D’hoore.
“It seems like each year were just getting stronger and stronger, we achieved a lot this year so to step up from that will be great but hard. We’ve got a lot of riders who can win pretty much all type’s of races so will be exciting to see what can happen.
“The new signings are all really strong and I think will bring a lot to the team both on and off the bike. It’s really exciting to have Lucy Garner on the team, we came through the sport together from a young age and we have spent a lot of time together at camps and races, will be nice to have another new but familiar face on the team and am looking forward to working with her again. “
2016
In 2016 Roberts is focusing herself on just the road after having combined road and track in the previous three years.
“For myself I am hoping to have much more of a consistent season which will allow me to be at the top end of the racing throughout the year. With focusing on just the road this year I hope to do a lot more races and show more of what I can do by helping the team as much as possible and also trying to get results myself where I can.
“The Aviva Women’s Tour would be one race I really want to ride! I have not done it before and obviously as its in the UK it would mean a lot to be able to ride it.“
With leaving the track behind Roberts changed her winter program for a major part. The training now includes amongst others more endurance training camps.
“This year is a little different as I’m not having a winter on the track. Few training camps in some warm weather, lots of miles and quite a bit of gym. I am hoping to get to the start of the season knowing I have had a good winter of training rather than having to peak for track races through it and then trying to catch up on road miles once the season has started.”
