With the Commonwealth Games just weeks away, we caught up with England's Lucy Hall, 22, shortly before she left for some altitude training in St. Moritz...
220: How's your season going so far?
Lucy: Things are going pretty much to plan so far. It's my first year racing WTS, which is very different to European and World Cup racing and there is also a lot more travelling to cope with. So far this season I've raced in New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and the UK, now I'm taking a month out in St Moritz to experience training at altitude, which is also something new for me.
You’ve been pushing really hard in this year’s WTS races, particularly on the bike leg in Cape Town! What work have you been doing to improve your cycling?
I moved to Leeds at the beginning of the year to broaden my training environment. The cycling there has been challenging, Yorkshire is much more hilly than Leicestershire but I've fallen in love with the countryside.
I train with a great bunch of girls from the World Class Programme and the University and also get the opportunity to do chain-ganging with local club members and pro cyclists. It has given me the confidence to be more proactive in a group and to take control to keep things moving at a pace, if necessary.
And the running, is that a big focus for you in training?
Certainly, I'm work very closely with my coach, Rob Harvey and I have accepted that it will take time to get where I want to be with my running but I'm happy to be making slow, steady progress.
What have you made of the other female performances so far?
I suppose, Gwen Jorgensen is the athlete to beat, with her incredible run speed. If she is in the first group going into T2, then it's game over. However, Jodie and Helen are so strong in all three disciplines they they have shown how Gwen can be beaten.
Also, Sarah-Anne Brault (Canada), Alice Betto (Italy) and Pamela Oliveira (Brazil) have put in impressive all round performances this season. I think women's triathlon is getting more exciting as the bike leg gets stronger.
What would it mean to you to be selected for the Commonwealth Games?
Selection for Glasgow is my number one goal for 2014. After the Olympics, it has to be the most important event for any athlete living in the Commonwealth countries. I would be honoured to be selected to race for England.
What would be your aims for Glasgow?
To put in my best all round performance of my career so far.
(Main image: Janos Schmidt/ITU)
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Lucy was speaking at the launch of Tri Liverpool 2014, which will host this year’s British Triathlon Championships on 10 August. For more info head to www.triliverpool.com