Deignan having to 'push through' pain in bid to make Olympics

Lizzie Deignan has revealed she is learning to “push through certain levels of pain” in an attempt to be selected for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 35-year-old suffered a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders last month.

The incident left her with a broken arm, but with only three months to go until the Games get underway, time is of the essence as she looks to get back into the saddle as quickly as possible.

“I’ve been told to push through certain levels of pain, particularly because of the injury I’ve had,” she said.

“To get full mobility back, I have to push myself to straighten my arm more than I want to. I am struggling to know what is a good level of pain.

“So I’m figuring out my limits in terms of pain of a broken bone. I’ve not done that before.

“I’m already on the turbo doing the hard yards in the garage – the limiting factors are holding brake levers, gearing. I don’t have strength in my hand yet.

“The main problem is Olympics selection time, I missed a good chunk of races I was peaking for in terms of getting selected – there’s actually plenty of time for competing.

“But selection is harder than it’s ever been. So that’s bad timing for me.”

Deignan has enjoyed a remarkable career, which includes a Road Race silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics, before winning World Championship gold in the same event three years later.

Since then, she has given birth to two children, but the podium finishes have continued, most recently tasting victory at 2020’s La Course by Tour de France, followed by the inaugural Paris-Roubaix in 2021.

She hopes to be back in action in June when the Women’s Tour of Britain takes place, and has been receiving help from her husband and former professional cyclist Philip Deignan.

“I’ve come back from two pregnancies, so I know the process of getting fit again,” she added. “It’s about being patient.

“I’ve never broken a bone in my life before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, my husband has broken several. So he has been guiding me through it.”