I wanted to update my website when I was out in china that didn’t quite work out what with going to bed really early and then wakin at 5 am didnt really leave me much time to hit the internet cafe up .

I want to start this update off by saying a huge huge thank you to all my supporters out there , I can not believe just how many cards, flowers, emails, text meassage and calls from people I’ve received - its been unbelievable . Without you guys it would be really hard to pull through this but with each message I read seems to make me stronger.

I am writing this with the mixed emotions of having been part of one of the greatest sporting events in the World, which was an amazing experience, but not coming back with a medal hurts me a lot more than my bumps bruises cuts and torn hamstring! My preparation had been good, in practice I was starting really well and I couldn’t wait to race hard and fast for the Gold that I had set my heart on.

Time trials came around and I went into the first turn faster than I ever had before because i wanted to set the fastest lap and let the girls chase it but, as you all know now, I ended up sliding out through no fault of anyone’s but my own ! Since racing the test event the turns have become a lot more chewed up and it made it hard to come off the turns. Crashing in my first lap around the track knocked my confidence but didn’t effect my will to win! I was placed 2nd for the next time trial , this lifted my confidence as I was really cautious but confident in the knowledge that I was still placed 2nd overall .

On the race day i started to feel more recovered from my crash in the time trial and I was ready to take on the huge challenge I had wanted for so long. I was leading the first race with ease but fell going into the first turn. As I lay on the floor with my legs shaking because I had hit the nerves in the bottom of my back I knew for me to get up from this crash it was going to make life tough ...and guess what it did! I was in a lot of pain going in to the final but I wanted to win so badly that I tried to blank out the agonising pain I was going through. I led the final coming out of the gate but because of my fall in the time trial I drifted out going into the first turn as I tried to take it a bit more cautiously. I have now learnt now that in the Olympic games you don’t win doing anything cautiously, you have to go at 110%. I got passed by Anne-Caroline but no doubts ever set in at the moment that she had passed me to take the Gold away I carried on the fight and went for a do or die move into last turn. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off and I ended up crashing again. Hindsight is an amazing thing (and an exact science!) which we don’t have the benefit of in the heat of competition, but I have no regrets. I went to the Olympics wanting to win a gold medal and gave it absolutely everything I had, but this time it didn’t pay off.

The Olympic Games is where dreams come true! Unfortunately mine didn’t this time around but I am going to carry on my fight in London 2012 . Things happen in life for a reason I have always believed that , and this time round it was obviously not my time to become the Olympic Champion. You can rest assured that I will be doing everything I can between now and London to realise my dream and to get that fairytale ending I have always wanted . I have a few injuries right now, mainly a torn hamstring, but I’m recovering well and while it’s a tough lesson to learn I am confident I will come back a better competitor because of it.

I have to say a huge congratulations to all the Team GB athletes who won medals, next time round I want to be one of them.


Thanks again everyone for your support and times like this you see who your real friends are

Shanaze x

So it's 08/08/08 and the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics is today and it is exactly 1 week before I leave for the biggest experience of my life! I have not been looking forward to anything like this ever. I feel like I'm on some crazy roller coaster ride.... and damn do I like this ride!! - Ha-ha. I got my new bike all painted up and it's ready to go! I've had it done with the red/blue and white combo because I wanted something totally British because I feel so proud to represent my country at the biggest sporting event ever known. The last few weeks has gone from amazing to, well, leaving me speechless - I went to down to the NEC and collected al my kit and I can't believe how well treated and kitted out the British athletes are, it's unbelievable. I've also had a load of well wishes from people on the streets in Crewe and Manchester and I just want to say a big thanks to everyone for their well wishes ¡V it means a lot!

I have wanted the Games to come for so long now and now it's actually officially started and just around the corner for me I couldn¡¦t be more ready for it! I have so much to thank Grant White, my coach, for because he has took me to a even greater level, I don't know about me surprising Grant as he says I do but he definitely surprised me by how much he gets out of me and what great shape I feel in both mentally and physically. Thanks Grant! - I owe you a lot!

So I am a week away from leaving home to travel to this magical place where I hope to make all my dreams I have ever wanted come true, to get that fairytale ending. I am going to go out there and try and do all I can to make my country proud.

Thanks for everyone¡¦s support but to name a few key people:

- The BMX manger Keith Reynolds who has supported me for many years and made a lot things happen for me and kept a quiet eye on all the important things in the background.
- My manger Duncan for getting my name and the name of BMX racing out there to British press and handling all my sponsors and their requests
- Iain Dyer, the BC Track Sprint Coach, who's added the spice to the programme
- Mark Simpson my strength and conditioning coach who keeps getting me stronger and stronger
- My mechanics Spike and Martin for always keeping my bike in tip top working order
- My old coach and best friend Jeremy Hayes for just always being there for me through thick and thin!
- My sponsors for supporting me and making my life¡¦s dreams be achievable, and
- Of course my Nan and Granddad, Mum and Boyfriend for all the love and support they give me

This list could go on but all those people that I've missed I apologise to but also they know who they are and it takes a team to get you to the Olympic Games without all the people above and a whole bunch of other people, well wishers and people behind the scenes at BC and my sponsors I would not even be going to the Olympic Games - I can't say thank you enough andIi hope my next update will be with that fairytale ending A GOLD MEDAL!!

I have an inspirational quote that I'm taking to the Games with me - "pressure is the shadow of opportunity" and I'm going to really try to take this opportunity with both hands
Catch you all soon

Shanaze

Well where do I start?

It’s been such an amazing year so far and I still have the biggest event of my life to look forward to. I started off the season in the same way I did last year by training hard and regaining my fitness from the break I had after the Beijing test event at the end of last summer. I focussed hard on my riding and my weights programme overseen by my coach Iain Dyer from British Cycling. But this year it all feels so much more special to me because it’s the biggest year of my life so far - it’s the Olympic year !!

My first global competition was the Track Cycling World Championships held in Manchester in April. I managed to retain the Team Sprint title that I won with Victoria Pendleton in Majorca last year and it was super special for me because my Mum was able to be in the stands watching me. We had an extra bonus in that in the heats we managed to beat the World Record that we set the year before and I pulled out my best ever lap leading Vicky through.

We were completely focussed on beating the time again in the final but there was a problem with my start gate in that the countdown beeps stopped with 3 to go so I couldn’t time my start to perfection – we were a little bit down on the Chinese at the end of lap one but Vicky stomped round lap 2 and we won clearly in the end. To retain the title on it’s own was unreal but add that to the superb performance of the GB Team winning 9 Gold’s and completely crushing all our opposition made it all the more special. It also would not be right to not say a massive thanks to the amazing crowds that came to the Manchester Velodrome and  left you feeling like you weren’t even pedalling the bike because support and cheering the gave the British riders just helped me to float round the track!

British Cycling really has put a lot of support into me this year and I am so grateful to the whole team in Manchester. They secured the services of my new BMX specific coach Grant White who is from Australia. He is without any doubt the best technical coach in the world and with the help of Iain Dyer the track sprint coach we seem to have found a winning formula! Grant has helped me to focus on being a cleverer rider and turning some of the power that I generate into a more smooth style that helps me keep the speed throught the technical sections of the race – jumps, manuals etc.

After a few months of riding the European and World Cup BMX rounds to get myself back into the swing of things on the little wheels after the track phase it was time to focus on my second global championship – The BMX Worlds in China. The event was doubly important as not only did I want to retain the title I won for the first time last year in Canada but this was also my qualification opportunity for the GB Olympic Team. The coaching team of Grant and Iain ensured I was in great physical condition and Dr Steve Peters, GB Cycling’s team phyciatrist, had ensured I was fully focussed and confident for the job in hand.

We flew to China quite late, 4 days prior to the racing, but this seems to work for me. I really wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d heard that Tinyuan where the champs were to be held was a pretty polluted place. The conditions weren’t the best but they were the same for all the riders and I guess it is something we’ll need to be aware of heading out to Beijing for the Olympics. I must say that the volunteers at the event were awesome and they couldn’t do enough to help all the riders and they made us all feel very welcome.

My first impressions of the course were that it really suited me and my strengths and I couldn’t wait to get out there and ride it. In practice I felt fantastic and felt like I was floating because I was in such great shape. I headed to bed that night very confident that I’d do a great ride and be in with a great chance of defending my World title. My first aim was to make sure I got through to the semi-finals as that was what I had to achieve to be guaranteed my Olympic slot on Team GB – The GB BMX Team Manager Keith Reynolds reminded me of this but I was feeling so good and so confident that all I could think about was winning the whole thing and retaining my title!!

I did qualify comfortably for the semis (Team GB here I come!!) and the final and it was now time to focus on the job in hand and win the final. The final was all the world’s top BMX’ers and should pretty much be the line up for the Olympic final later this year. I sat on the gate at the top of the monster start hill, took a deep breath and said to myself “enjoy the challenge”. I was so relaxed and so confident that it is close to being the most perfect lap I’ve ever ridden – I got a fantastic start, got the jump on all the other girls and literally floated round the course. Coming into the home straight I allowed myself to relax a bit as I had a clear gap over second place and enjoy the moment.

I crossed the line having achieved all my objectives, punched the air and immediately thought “BRING ON THE GAMES!