Cuminestown cyclist Neah Evans is happy to remain a student, in more ways than one.
She had not long completed a wildlife and livestock management degree at the University of Glasgow and decided to add another Masters to the list.
The Team Scotland cyclist has enrolled on an animal nutrition course, ahead of her second Commonwealth Games.
These are distance-learning courses and provide Evans with a different challenge away from the Velodrome. But it is on the track where she still feels she is learning, too, having come to the sport later than most after giving up a career as a vet to become a full-time athlete in 2017.
“I did my dissertation last year and went to the Olympics,” said Evans. “After that I felt a bit bored, so I decided to do another Masters.
“It was unfortunate timing because there was a bit of a lull post-Olympics and I felt I needed something to do. It’s quite holistic and good fun.
“Whenever I’ve got a deadline I always think it’s a stupid idea, but, when it passes, I realise how much I’m enjoying it.”
Evans burst on to the scene at the Commonwealth Games four years ago on the Gold Coast. She was far from an established rider in 2018, but came back to the north-east with silver and bronze medals in the scratch race and points race.
Since then she has made herself an important cog in the British Cycling machine. Evans has been part of teams who have won medals at World Championships, European Championships and Olympic Games.
The pressure will be different this time around.
She said: “It’s definitely a very different shift. Last time I knew I had the capabilities to come away with a medal, but not many people would have put money on me. I was a long shot.
“You just have a bit more flexibility within the race to move about, without somebody being glued to your wheel waiting to see what you’re going to do.
“In some sense I’ve started putting pressure on myself, thinking: ‘I’ve got a bronze and a silver medal – I really want to get a gold’.
“There was a realisation that it’s not the target; I’m always happier if I feel I’ve performed well, even if I don’t get the result I want.
Name: Neah Evans
D.O.B: 1/8/1990
Home town: Cuminestown
Previous CG experience: 2018
Event(s): Individual pursuit, points race, scratch race
“It should be the icing on the cake. It can be easy to get sucked into the result and hunting it.
“I get my best results when I don’t think about it and relax and have fun.”
Evans will once again ride alongside fiance Jonny Wale, who was confirmed in the Team Scotland squad towards the end of June – nearly a month after the rest of the squad was announced.
“Not many people get to have that experience together,” Evans added. “It’ll be stressful because we want each other to do well, but we also have to focus on our own events.
“Last summer I was getting ready for the Olympics and he was helping out, doing extra dog walks so I could focus on recovery a bit more. It’s nice for him to have the opportunity to come out and compete, too.
“I’m probably the most competitive out of the two. He’s much more process-focused, whereas I’m more ‘try hard and see how it goes’. It annoys him a bit, but it works.”
Opportunities to represent Scotland are rare these days, so Evans is keen to seize the moment.
She has spent the last four years donning GB colours and thriving on the world stage. Now it is time to repay those who got her started on this journey.
Evans said: “To go to a second Commonwealth Games is brilliant. I very much enjoyed it the last time and I hope to have even more fun this time.
“It’s become normal that every time I race, I race in GB colours, so it’s been quite nice to take a step back and say I’m riding for Scotland this time.
“I started out with the support of Scottish Cycling, so it almost feels like I’m repaying them by going back and showing them how much I’ve improved.”