'Some athletes need to be fully-focused... I'm not like that'
Scotland has a rich history in producing track cyclists who have become big names. Lauren Bell may be yet to achieve that, but she believes that could soon change.The Forres racer has made a blistering start to 2025, winning a European Championship silver and three golds at the British equivalent.The 25-year-old is reaping the rewards after deciding to recalibrate her work life balance following the "blessing in disguise" of missing out on selection for last summer Olympic Games."I was just putting too much pressure on myself," she told BBC Scotland. "Some athletes have to be fully focussed, and don't do anything outside their training."I am not that type of athlete. I really need to go and see pals, go out for dinner, go and do things. But I was restricting myself from doing that extra-curricular stuff and it wasn't good for me because I wasn't very happy."This year I have completely switched it. I'm making sure I do the things that keep me happy and, although that might mean maybe I will miss a training session, the results are so much better."
Bell already has two world championship medals to her name, a silver in 2023 an upgrade from bronze the previous year, and will look to take another step up the podium in Chile in October.What makes her story even more intriguing is that there were few signs her future lay in the sport growing up in Moray - "I just didn't like cycling," she said. But Bell swapped athletics for cycling in her late teens after her potential was spotted on a talent transfer day in Manchester."There were looking at track sprint, skeleton and kayaking, and I really wanted skeleton, but I got picked for cycling and actually started to enjoy it."Even after that, Bell's journey has been bumpy. She had to leave the British programme but was invited to train with Scottish Cycling."It gave me time to really learn how to ride my bike and made me a better rider in the long term," she said."They got me to a level where I went down to the nationals in 2020, won the Keirin and the 500m, and did an incredible time trial lap, and then British Cycling asked me to come back on."While Bell is hoping to scratch her Olympic itch at the 2028 games in Los Angeles, she has also got next summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in her sights."That is actually a big goal of mine so all eyes are set on that," she said. "Since I was really young I have always wanted a Commonwealth Games medal and to hear Flower of Scotland on the podium."And Bell is juggling that quest with another target – to learn Gaelic, and perhaps even do a post-medal interview in the language."It is difficult but I can see I am getting there," she said."I can say where I live , how I am doing, what the weather is like so I need to still learn my bike language to be able to hold an interview, but it is really good."
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