Dani King has labelled Britain being able to retain the last ever three-woman three-kilometre Track World Championship team pursuit title as just as important as winning Olympic gold.
The 22-year-old joined forces with Laura Trott and Jo Rowsell to win the first ever women’s team pursuit title at an Olympics at London 2012, the British trio setting three world records on route.
However the women’s team pursuit will undergo an extension after this month’s Track World Championships in Minsk with a fourth rider and another kilometre to be added.
That brings the event in line with the men’s team pursuit with King selected along with Trott and junior world road time trial champion Elinor Barker to ride it as it is for the last time at the worlds.
Britain have a fine tradition since its addition onto the World Championship programme for 2008 in line with its Olympic status as of London 2012 winning four of the five titles.
King along with Trott and Wendy Houvenaghel helped Britain reclaim their title in 2011 after Australia pipped the nation to it in 2010 while last year she was part of the trio that defended it.
And King, who won gold with Trott and Barker at the Glasgow Track World Cup in November, is determined to go down in history as part of the last team to win the event as it currently is at a World Championships.
“We’re going to go out there and ride the fastest we can,” King told British Cycling. “We need to go out with a bang to say goodbye to the three-kilometre and three-woman event.
“I am confident. Obviously we’ve got Elinor on the team now, who is very young but has a really good future ahead of her – so it’s a different challenge.
“But I don’t think of the worlds as a lesser competition and I’ll go out to do my best and hope it’ll be enough to get me another jersey.
“We never sit back and relax. Even as world and Olympic champions, we can’t just think we’re the best. If anything, it makes me train even harder because I want to be in the team for every single race.
“I’m excited to go to four-kilometres and four women. It’ll be good to have a new challenge and that’s keeping me motivated after the Games.
“A lot of people can find it hard to be motivated. But because I’m so young and I’ve got a lot to give as a bike rider on the road and track, it keeps me training hard.”
King will also ride the points and scratch races in Minsk and sees it as a perfect opportunity to build her repertoire ahead of the next Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
“I’ll just wait and see what comes out to see if there’s anything I’d like to focus on,” she added. “I’m looking forward to getting stuck into an individual event.
“Laura and I were both competing for the omnium and she rightfully got the place at the last Olympics but I’d love to do an individual event as well as team pursuit.
“I wouldn’t give it to her easily. Even in the team pursuit, there’s always internal rivalry to get selected for the team.”
© Sportsbeat 2013