Olympics-Cycling-Armitstead seeking sanctuary in Rio's mountains

By Martyn Herman RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Lizzie Armitstead has had better weeks. That is why, after being embroiled in an anti-doping saga days before one of the biggest races of her life, the British world champion will be happy to suffer in the saddle. Even for a cyclist who readily admits mountains are not her forte, tackling the lung-burning Vista Chinesa climb in Sunday's 136-km Rio Olympics road race will be a blessed relief from the scrutiny she has faced in the past few days. "It's what I love doing and it's the place I feel calm and happy. I think when I get a number on I'll be okay," the 27-year-old from Yorkshire, northern England, said after reaching Brazil. "The one thing that's kept me going through this whole process is being able to ride my bike." That process is a tangled one. In June, Armitstead missed a third anti-doping test in 12 months due to "traumatic" personal circumstances. It prompted UK Anti-Doping to call for a ban, possibly as long as two years, for the 2012 Olympic runner-up. Armitstead appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the basis that she was blameless for the first whereabouts failure, in Sweden last year, because the testers had not contacted her in the proper manner. A second violation in October last year, caused by a filing failure, she admits was her fault. Luckily for Armitstead CAS struck off last year's mix-up in Sweden, freeing her for Rio - a decision that produced some bemusement in the cycling world and beyond. Admitting she had been naive in allowing the situation to escalate so far, she wrote an emotional and candid 1,275-word statement to clarify her version of events - hardly the best use of her energy days before flying to Rio. "To any of the 'Twitter Army' reading this, do yourself a favour and go for a bike ride. It's the most beautiful thing you can do to clear your mind," she said of some of the reaction to her predicament on social media. CLASSIC BATTLE The whispers continue though and Armitstead admits some will view her with suspicion - win or lose on Sunday. However, she will seek sanctuary in trying to win gold, having been edged out by Dutchwoman Marianne Vos in 2012. Speaking to reporters this week, hours before the controversy became public, she said everything has been geared to improving her skills as a climber in readiness for a Rio course that could produce a classic battle on Sunday. At her training base near Monaco, Armitstead has been grinding up the same mountain roads used by Team Sky's Geraint Thomas, preparing for the 8.9 km Vista Chinesa ascent which she says will "blow the peloton apart". "It's unlike any course that I've ever ridden on before," she said of the Rio circuit that ends near the Copacabana beach. "It's a pure climbers' course, which isn't who I am but it's what I've focused on for a couple of months. "I've been suffering in the mountains day in and day out. "I've definitely seen some improvements so I'm as confident as I can be really." Armitstead is seen as one of the favourites for gold along with Vos and another Dutch rider Anna Van Der Bruggen but she says this is far different to the course for the World Championship road race in Richmond, Virginia, where she took the title in September. "The peloton know it's not ideally suited for me," she said. "I won't try to dominate and dictate the race, but there are sections where I can try to leave my rivals on the back foot." (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Alison Williams)