Q & A: Lizzie Catlow (Team 22)

The Q & A quiz with Team 22’s Lizzie Catlow who chats about her team, her highlights and her goals for 2017!

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Q & A: Lizzie Catlow (Team 22)

Lizzie Catlow is a member of the Team 22 team who are kitted by Bioracer UK and she says of the team, “the best thing about being a part of Team 22 has got to be my team mates who I will race with in the coming season. The group dynamic is really good, and they’re all really nice!”

When asked how she got into cycling, Lizzie says “My dad has been fond of cycling since I could remember so I have always been around the sport but one night in 2013 he took me down to Sheffield for a ‘surprise’. Little did I know I was getting a bike from Planet X which I would later come to love.

Lizzie says her favourite discipline has to be road racing. “That’s because of the tactics involved which means that the fastest ones don’t always win. I like how the terrain is always going to be different, but always going to be challenging and difficult. It’s just great.”

1. What was the highlight of 2016 for you and why?
Lizzie: My highlight of the 2016 season has to be the National Championships (Youth) at Redbridge where I managed to bag the silver medal.

2. What was your favourite/most fun race of 2016
Lizzie: The most fun race of the season was the North West Youth Tour on stage 2 as it was filled with action as well as racing with my old Bourne Wheeler’s team mates.

3. What was the toughest race of 2016 for you and why?
Lizzie: I would say that the toughest race was National Madison championships. We got dropped after a little crash and that meant we suffered for the rest of the race, just trying to make it back to the bunch.

We were really gutted because we had been training for that, but lessons have been learnt that will hopefully help me with the future.

4. If there was one thing you learned most in 2016 to help you go faster/better, what was that?
Lizzie: What I learnt about 2016 was how much a good team makes a difference to moral and performance as well as not putting that much pressure on myself so I can carry on loving my bike racing.

5. What is the best piece of equipment (clothing/bike/gadget) to do with racing you are proud of most?
Lizzie: I’m really proud of my club kit as I was very proud to ride for the club that helped me so much with my development as a person and a rider.

6. What is your warm up routine for races – rollers or turbo? Music or no music?
Lizzie: My warm up is on the rollers. I like to do the 20 minute British cycling warm up as I feel ready to go on the start line. I don’t listen to music so I can focus and chill out.

7. Will you stay in the UK to prepare for next season during the winter or get in a training camp or two abroad to get in some serious miles?
Lizzie: I’m very fortunate that I am going on a training camp with my team mates in the Easter half term. I can’t wait to go and spend a week in the sun with my friends getting some mountains and tan in my legs

8. When will you start training for 2017 and what comes first – long steady miles or a mix of miles and efforts?
Lizzie: I started my 2017 training in late October/ early September. I try to do the long miles in the weekend with a mixture of efforts throughout the week.

9. What are the goals for 2017?
Lizzie: My goals for 2017 is to experience and learn what racing on roads is like as well as the Lincoln GP as I have grown up watching this race from the top of Michaelgate

10. Does winter training consist only of riding the bike or running/swimming/gym work (cross training)
Lizzie: I try to do some home gym work throughout the winter to strengthen the core and power in the legs, other than that it is all biking.

11. Finally, what have you learnt over the years to best deal with the winter months on a bike!
Lizzie: What I have learnt over the years of winter training is that it’s worth doing it so that the summer is filled with success. The turbo efforts on cold nights results in podiums in the summer!

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