Nopesport

So Matt, how is your preparation going? Has it gone as planned?

Good! I´ve had a really good winter´s training with a good quantity and varietyof training. I´ve a couple minor illnesses and niggles but that´s behind me nowso I´m raring to go now with no excuses!

What would be typical week of training for you?

There haven´t been any ´typical´ weeks for a while now! I averaged around 11hours/week from October-March, but that ranged from 4 hours weeks (nice andeasy) to 16 hours (ouch). I like to do a good mix though to keep me interested,and the road bike has been a welcome addition.

Has you’re preparation/approach for this year been any different due to you being pre-selected?

Yes, it´s made things much easier for me in terms of preparation. For example, Iwas ill before the Spring Cup so missed a few pre-planned hard weeks oftraining. But by missing the squad time-trial, and not being overly worriedabout my performance at the JK, I was able to do 2 really hard weeks from theBritish to the JK.

Your medal-winning result last year was very impressive, good to see another Brit on the podium and definitely warranting a pre-selection. Has this given you more confidence going into these races or do you feel more pressure to perform now?

I definitely feel more confident as I now know what I´m capable of andimportantly what a medal/top10 run feels like. I don´t really feel pressure toomuch but I´m aware there may be a higher expectation of me now - but that´s agood thing to have to deal with!

What are the goals for EOC, you going to add another medal to your tally?!

Ha, I guess it´s fairly unlikely, but I would have said that before Italy too.I´m capable of performing well in all 3 individual races, so I´m aiming for atop 10 and 2 top 20s. I´m really looking forward to the relay too and of coursewe´ll be aiming for a medal in that. But the main thing to do is to make sure Iperform as best I can and see where that puts me. Tired I expect!

What do you think of the EOC GB teams’ prospects as a whole? Any inside info or tips on who to look out for?

No real inside information! I´m delighted that Rob´s made it into the team, although obviously losing BJ is a real shame. As a mens team in particular, I think we´re looking stronger than ever and it´s certainly possible that we´ll pick up some medals and a good handful of top 10s and 20s. I think Estonia will be a good ´neutral´ venue in that it´s a mixture of Scandinavian and Continental terrain.

Finally, what are plans beyond EOC?

Recover for a couple of weeks, then I´ll start training specifically towards WOCin Denmark - I´ll be looking towards getting a top 10, and thinking more aboutthe middle - and the relay team will have a good chance of a medal, but I´m not putting my eggs in any baskets yet and I´m not going to put myself under pressure to get top 10s and medals every year!

Cheers for giving up your time to chat to us and on behalf of Nopesport good luck at the European Championships!

Cheers!

Matt speaking to Nopesport