Lizzie Deignan: I’ve changed my views on sporting mothers

There were times in the past when Lizzie Deignan professed her forthright view in interviews that it was impossible to be a mother and a professional sportswoman.

Now pregnant and due to give birth in September, the views of the cyclist who shot to fame as Lizzie Armitstead, have shifted. The cyclist already has a post-childbirth target of the 2019 World Championships, which aptly reach their conclusion in Harrogate, just three kilometres from the marital home she has set up with her Team Sky cycling husband Philip.

There have been no shortage of cyclists — Dame Sarah Storey and Laura Kenny — or sportswomen generally — Jessica Ennis-Hill and Serena Williams — who have returned to elite sport after becoming mothers. But for Deignan, the role model is British distance runner Jo Pavey.

“It’s important I seek advice from those who’ve done it but, while what Sarah and Laura have done is impressive, there’s a subtle difference to being an endurance athlete, so Jo Pavey is a more like-for-like comparison,” said the 29-year-old.

Deignan is still training out on the roads in the south of France, although the outings have become shorter and less intense, the pedalling a way of fending off the feelings of nausea.

In her first interview since announcing her pregnancy last week, Deignan said: “Riding my bike is the only thing that’s made me feel better.” That and consuming salty and fatty foods, usually a no-no for elite athletes but the cravings she has had to manage. “I couldn’t look at a vegetable,” she admitted

Now into her fourth month of pregnancy, the sickness has abated a little, the desire to eat badly not so all-consuming. “It’s not like I’m sitting on my Wattbike with a bag of chips around me,” she says, her training in the next few weeks set to shift on safety grounds from the road to training in the comfort of her home.

On medical advice, she will be allowed to ride for three hours indoors but not get her heart rate over 135 beats per minute, in contrast to her peak of 183.

Deignan is well aware of her previous outlook on parenthood and pedalling professionally. “I know there are quotes out there saying I’d never combine being a mum with cycling, but I’ve come to understand things better,” she said. “I want to be a working mum — and my work is being on my bike.”

She has the backing of her Boels-Dolmans team, with whom she plans to ride out the rest of her career on her return. “My main focus coming back is the World Championships in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympics,” she says. “I don’t know the route in Yorkshire but the finish in Harrogate is near to where we’ve bought a house so, hopefully, I can cycle home when I’m done.

“And the Olympics is the other big thing for me. Still, my favourite memory is winning Olympic silver in 2012.”

The Games was also the backdrop to her worst time on two wheels: the furore that erupted around three missed doping tests prior to Rio 2016.

Deignan understands her desire to get back to the top will not be without its challenges. “Our lives will change and our cycling will be affected, but it won’t have to be in a negative way,” she said. “I feel motivated about getting a world or Olympic medal as a mum.”

The cycling gene pool is rich for the impending arrival, but one debate remains: nationality. “The discussion will be British or Irish,” she said. “I’ve won the argument on living in England. We’ll have to see how this one goes!”