Jess Varnish: Focused on a Golden Future

The selection demonstrated the huge potential Jess possesses and the belief British Cycling have in her.

“Getting selected was amazing as it was a year earlier than I thought! I remember getting the phone call whilst on holiday in Hong Kong; asking me to ride for GB for the first time, that was very exciting and I had to get over my jet lag really quickly!!”

She made her debut in GB colours at the Austrian Junior International in January 2006 and despite Jet Lag impressed with two fourth places in the 500m TT and Sprint and fifth in the Keirin.

“I was really proud to represent my country and treasure my first GB Skinsuit”

Jess was quickly fast tracked into the ODP setup and given access to the resources and coaching expertise that helped Victoria Pendleton become World Sprint Champion.

“My current coach Iain Dyer is great, as he really drives me along and helps me to improve and get where I want to go. The equipment such as the Pinarello Bike that I got given as part of the ODP setup is superb and my specially adapted Nike Poggio shoes are really cool!”

2007 is a big year for Jess, as she aims to repeat her victories in this year’s Junior Nationals and also extend her success to an international level at the European and World Junior Track Championships. This may seem a tough task but going on past performances I won’t be betting against her.

2005 saw a 14 year old Jess beat riders two years older than her to claim victory in the U16 National Sprint and Track Omnium Series, as well as the Silver medal in both the U16 500m Time Trial and Scratch race. She then went on to repeat all but the Track Omnium Series result last year.

“This year I aim to get selected for the European championships in Cottbus and then later in the year the Junior World Championships in Aguascalientes”

Consequently she is in for a busy year in 2007, and already Jess’ life is very hectic in comparison with other sixteen year olds.

“My training plan varies depending on the time of year, however most week days are usually made up of going to school and doing coursework, which with my GCSEs coming up in summer, is going to get even busier!”

“Then throw in my gym sessions, yoga, eating, sleeping and obviously on the bike training it makes for a very hectic life, but I love it that way, and have to plan to ensure I get everything done”

Without such organisation Jess wouldn’t be where she is today, and she considers this to be one of the reasons for her success.

“Without the dedication and hard work that I put into my cycling, there is no way I would be able to live my dream. However most of all; my love for the sport really motivates me to achieve my goals”

Jess also lists her old coach Nick Yarworth and of course her father Jim as being instrumental in her success.

“Dad is always there for me and puts up with me during my ups and downs, without him I probably wouldn’t be a cyclist”

From the age of four Jess was addicted to cycling thanks to her father, who himself is a cyclist.

“My dad is a cyclist, and I used to go with him to MTB events and race the ‘Pee Wee’ category, with him running alongside me. I was 4 years old and used to win! I loved it and carried on from there. I joined Halesowen as a Freewheeler and fell in love with the track”

Having a cycling background within her family, Jess had access to a wealth of knowledge and comments on how incredibly supportive her family are.

“My family are very supportive and enjoy watching me race as much as possible, obviously my dad is usually with me. My friends sometimes think im crazy, especially when I train out in bad weather conditions, and when they are out partying etc, but I get my kicks out of racing, and have made some truly great friends!!”

She also comments on how much she enjoys the training routes that her Dad introduced her to, around Worcestershire’s country lanes and how she loves the flapjack that her Gran makes for her every time she goes away on training camps.

Such a close family with a cycling background draws similarities with another British Sprinter, Victoria Pendleton, whose father Max is also a cyclist and like Jess and Jim, Vicki and Max can regularly be seen together at cycling events.

“Vicki is obviously somebody that I admire, as she is an awesome sprinter and a really nice person, and its fantastic to train with her”

However, despite the success of Vicki, Jess and the rest of the British team, cycling is still seen as a minority sport in the UK, and a lot more needs to be done to get cycling into the British mindset.

“I think more cycling in schools, rather than just the mainstream sports like Netball and Football would be a great concept, as every kid rides a bike”

“If track cycling was given more exposure on TV with the simple so the general public can understand and get more interested, it would provide a huge boost to our sport”

Jess recently travelled to Alkmaar in Holland to compete in the Junior Interland competition with the rest of the Olympic Development Programme.

Despite recording a time of 12.98s in the 200m qualification for the Sprint, Jess battled through the rounds to face old nemesis Becky James in the final.

The pair recently met in the final of the British National Junior Sprint Championships, and as you know Jess took that title, it was the same result in Alkmaar with Varnish again proving too strong for Becky, who rides for Abergavenny RC.

Varnish also claimed victory in the 500m time trial, again beating James into second place with Yasumitsu Schlapp rider Jo Wilman taking the bronze.

Whilst not cycling Jess holds the life of a typical teenager and enjoys shopping and watching ‘chick-flicks’ at the cinema with her friends and sisters. She also enjoys listening to Dance music such as the Prodigy and Basement Jaxx.

Jess is also interesting in Sports Nutrition, and if cycling wasn’t a career option would consider employment in this area.

On that note I thank Jess for taking the time to talk to me and let her return to work and her hectic schedule of GCSE coursework followed by yet more training and wish her luck in attaining her goals for the rest of the season.