Lizzie Deignan: Cycling is only part of who I am

Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) wins OVO Energy Women's Tour in 2019
Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) wins OVO Energy Women's Tour in 2019 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lizzie Deignan will embark on an important year ahead where she will devote her training, race schedule and focus toward a singular goal of winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. In an interview with Cyclingnews from the Trek-Segafredo training camp in Italy, the decorated British cyclist reflected on her first year of motherhood, breaking down barriers for other athlete-mothers, and the Olympics.

"It's been life changing," Deignan told Cyclingnews about what it's been like as an athlete after giving birth to her daughter Orla just over a year ago. "It teaches you to … well, I'm not the priority anymore. As an athlete, previously, I was the priority but I prefer not to be. It's taken the pressure off me. I prefer it that way. It's not the be-all and end-all whether I win a bike race or not. 

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.