Neah Evans’ friends urge her to stop being pessimistic. But she would not have it any other way.
With her first Commonwealth Games on the horizon, the Aberdeenshire cyclist has not got to where she is by being satisfied with what she has achieved. There is always something extra that can be gained.
Evans said: “I would say it’s the best mindset to have. My friends grumble at me and ask why I can’t be happy with my results. But it’s working for me and there will be time to be happy in the future.
“Overall results have been good but there’s parts of my performance I can improve on. I don’t spend much time looking back. There’ll be time to do that at the end of my career, which hopefully isn’t any time soon.”
Her call-up for Team Scotland’s Gold Coast squad was not un- expected, given Evans had hit the required standards for qualification, but her confirmed place brought reassurance that last year’s life-changing decision was the right one.
She gave up her work as a veterinary surgeon last year to focus full-time on cycling, which has thankfully paid dividends. Evans said: “It was an easy decision to make from the point of view that I’d been offered a place on the British podium squad, so would be paid to ride my bike. I’d worked very hard on my career and I was fortunate to have a brilliant boss, so it was daunting in some respects.
“I miss the surgery but definitely not being on call. I’d come back home and try and fit in a training session before I went back out to work again. I have a lot of downtime now where I feel I should be doing something; there’s a lot of twiddling my thumbs and watching Netflix.
“The dream would be to make a lot of money from cycling then be able to go back to being a vet part-time, for the enjoyment.”
Considering she only started cycling in 2013, her ascension has been remarkable. Evans won the women’s elite points race at Glasgow’s Revolution Champions League, before claiming further victories in the madison time trial and the elimination scratch race in December. She secured her first gold medal for GB Cycling at the Track World Cup in Manchester in November as part of the women’s team pursuit.
The 27-year-old acknowledges the competition level will be intense in Australia, not just from other countries but from within her own team. She has developed a friendly rivalry with Katie Archibald, her team-mate for GB and Team Scotland, and is looking forward to going head-to-head with her on the track.
Evans said: “Since I started she’s always beaten me – but I make her work for it. I think it’s about time I got a couple of wins on her so hopefully that comes at the Games. Katie is a very strong competitor and takes the race on.”
Doubling up is not an issue either for the former runner, with Evans hoping to combine the scratch and points races on the track with the time trial and the road race outdoors.
Her parents Ros and Malcolm live just outside Cuminestown and Evans expresses regret at not getting more opportunities to visit home.
She said: “The roads are so much nicer up there. The surface is good and undulating and while it can be hard training, you feel like you’ve had a good workout.
“The one disadvantage is the wind. I’ve gone out with a tail-wind and then just thought ‘nope, I don’t fancy this’. I got stuck in the snow once and my dad had to come rescue me. When I was home over Christmas I was looking for a gym to train in. I messaged the guy from Turriff Strength Training and they said I could use their gym, no problem, and gave me the access code that I could use any time. It’s the kind of thing you never get in Cheshire but there’s a different mindset in Aberdeenshire.”
Evans has a fair bit of that mindset of her own, which should stand her in good stead for a memorable Games.
She said: “If I perform to the best of my ability and don’t get a medal, then fair enough. If I feel I’ve missed out and don’t get one then I’ll be disappointed.
“If you think you’ve done the best you can there’s limited ability to improve on. If you’ve got a decent result by not being at your best, I think that’s quite exciting.”