Neah Evans knew that, in so many ways, 2023 would be different for her.
Not only will the season culminate with a home World Cycling Championships, but she’s also navigating this year draped in the rainbow stripes of the world champion.
It is quite a contrast to only a few years ago, when Evans was still fighting hard for merely a place in the GB squad.
Evans’ world championships win, in the points race at the event last October in France, was the pinnacle of what has been a relatively short elite career.
That gold medal, however, has ensured Evans is viewed in an entirely different light this season, where she will defend that world title in Glasgow in August.
That rainbow striped jersey that she now wears as a result of her world title has, the 32-year-old from Aberdeenshire admits, had something of a transformative effect every time she’s donned it, and it’s something that has taken quite a bit of getting used to.
“It has felt different being world champion,” she says.
“More than anything, there’s just no hiding place when you’re wearing the rainbow stripes.
“But also, I feel different because I’ll go to get changed for the race and I come back with this huge smile on my face because I’m wearing the rainbow bands.
“People now always expect you to win but realistically, I’m not going to peak for every single race.
“I feel like I am getting used to it more, but in the best possible way because it’s still good to feel that thrill of wearing the rainbow jersey.”
Evans will not make any further competitive appearances on the track between now and the start of the World Championships on the 3rd of August, which will see 13 cycling events combine into what is being billed as the sport’s first-ever “mega-event”.
And so, these coming weeks are vital in ensuring she will be at her peak when she takes to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow’s east end, where the track competition will be held.
For most with a vested interest in the event, the passing of the 100 days to go milestone earlier this week only served to heighten their excitement but for Evans, who knows how fast the finals weeks prior to a major event fly in, it served as a wake-up call.
A number of successful rides at the recent Track Nations Cup in Canada saw her return home with a gold and a silver medal in the madison and the team pursuit, which suggests her form is good.
However, Evans is quick to point out there is much yet to be done before she’s satisfied she’s ready to race in Glasgow.
“As an athlete, you always want more and although Canada went well on paper, there’s definitely areas in which I can still improve and I need to get my finger out and do that,” she says.
“Everyone’s saying it’s so exciting being less than 100 days to go and I’m thinking oh shoot, that’s not very long.
“It’s a little bit scary knowing I’ll not be racing on the track competitively again till August but it’s about having confidence in the process.
“It’s such a huge opportunity to have a home Worlds and I just hope that physically, I can be in a place to do it justice.”
Evans was speaking at Aultmore Primary School in Easterhouse at the launch of Learning Through Cycling Pack, which aims to “inspire, educate, and promote a life-long love of cycling amongst children” across the city.
It’s well-documented how rarely major sporting events are able to successfully leave a legacy in the host city but Evans is hopeful, optimistic even, that these World Championships can touch even a few children’s lives in the long-term.
“This is a great way to get kids cycling,” she said of yesterday’s launch.
“I like that’s it’s before the Worlds so that by the time that arrives they’ll have already been on their bikes for a while and they’ll be able to connect so much more with the event.
“A lot of major events say they want legacy with lasting-effects and I personally do know about that because if the velodrome hadn’t been built in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, I’d never have tried cycling, I’d not be a cyclist and I’d not be here today. So I do know the opportunities these big events can provide.”
Evans may be finalising her physical preparations for the World Championships but she must also prepare to cope with the demands of being one of the faces of the event, which is, invariably for its protagonists, quite a burden to bear.
With the prospect of Evans riding the madison with her Scottish compatriot, Katie Archibald, looking increasingly likely, particularly after their Track Nations Cup victory earlier this month, Evans knows there is likely to be considerable attention on both herself and her fellow Scot.
The final decision on the madison pairing is yet to be announced – Laura Kenny, with whom Archibald is current Olympic champion, is likely to be considered too – but Evans admits she has allowed herself to imagine the reception the all-Scottish pairing of herself and Archibald would receive in Glasgow.
“We’ve both been joking for a long time about the cycling world coming to Glasgow and how much it means to us,” she says.
“You want to be partnered with the best possible rider and the way things are going at the moment, Katie and I are both in pretty good shape and so it’s definitely on the cards.
“Even though we’ll be riding for GB, it would be very cool to have a Scottish pairing at a Scottish world championships.”
