'I've changed a lot' - Lizzie Deignan no longer considering retirement as she prepares for 2022 season

ByEurosport

Updated 21/12/2021 at 10:17 GMT

Lizzie Deignan is not planning to retire in the near future after enjoying a successful two seasons following her break from the sport. This year she made history by winning the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes and is aiming for further success in 2022 with her Trek-Segafredo teammates.

Great Britain's Lizzie Deignan says she is not thinking about retirement having previously planned to leave the sport.

Deignan took time out in 2018 after she became pregnant with her first child, Orla, and returned to cycling in 2019.

After revealing she was planning to retire at the end of 2020, she secured victories at La Course by Le Tour de France and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.

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• Deignan on her historic Paris-Roubaix win - In the winners' words
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In 2021 she won the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes after coming 11th at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 33-year-old says she is now not even considering retiring anytime soon.

"I’ve changed a lot," Deignan told Cyclingnews.

"Maturity has a lot to do with it - understanding and being incredibly grateful for the job I get to do. I think maturity helps you understand and appreciate what you’ve got, and I definitely do that a lot more than I used to.

I would say you can stop asking me about retirement. I'll let you know when I'm thinking about it again.

‘I felt I was making history’ – Deignan on historic Paris-Roubaix win

Deignan said the Covid-19 pandemic has made her fully appreciate being a cyclist for a living.

She said: "Being a professional athlete has its difficult times, but you look around and realise that, in the middle of a pandemic when people are struggling, I’m still getting to travel the world and still getting paid to ride my bike.

"It’s ridiculous to think about ever walking away from that because of perceived pressures, or whatever."

Deignan hopes to win the Amstel Gold Race in 2022 but also wants collective success with her Trek-Segafredo teammates.

She added: "If we were back on top of the Women's WorldTour ranking as a team, that would be cool. That would represent a good season."

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