Dani King: “I wanted to prove I could handle the pressure”

Dani King has revealed she needed to prove she could handle the pressure of the omnium and even called on Sir Chris Hoy and Ed Clancy for advice throughout the Kazakhstan round of the Track World Cup.

In her first ever World Cup omnium competition King finished second overall, scoring personal bests in every timed event in her final race before the London round of the Track World Cup in February.

Speaking of her result in Astana the Team Pursuit World Champion was upbeat about her achievements and optimistic about an opportunity to ride the omnium at the Olympics.

“I was very happy with the result; I knew my first ever World Cup was going to be a step up, but I had no idea by how much. The biggest challenge after winning the first event was keeping my feet on the ground and taking each event as it came. All I wanted to do was prove I could handle the pressure.

“If the opportunity to ride the omnium at the Olympics presented itself, I’d take it with both hands, but my main aim remains the team pursuit. Between now and the Games I won’t be focussing on the omnium, my training will be all toward the pursuit and if I’m in good shape then selection will take care of itself.”

Between now and February, King will embark on an intensive period of training but is not concerned about a lack of racing prior to the Olympic test event, World Championships and Olympic Games.

“I am definitely a racer, but this little break from racing will be good for me. I love Manchester and training here and I have some very clear target times, all leading in to London.”