Dines aims to go one better at Road World Championships

Tired of finishing fourth, Hannah Dines is in positive spirits as she looks to finally make it onto the Para-cycling Road World Championships podium.

The T2 racer is looking to enact a reversal in her fortunes at the competition when she competes as part of a 17-strong GB squad in Emmen next week.

The 26-year-old agonisingly finished one place off the podium in both road race and time trial at the World Championships in Maniago, Italy last summer, an exact repeat of a pair of fourth-placed finishes at the 2015 global gathering in Lucerne.

Dines has used those difficult experiences to redouble her motivation to finally medal at this year’s edition.

“I’ve had a lot of experience of coming fourth,” she said. “I was 23 seconds off bronze in the road race and I could see it, I could see it disappearing before my very eyes. I had it in my grasp.

“I’m not one of those people who gets gold every time so it’s not a given, when I do get it it’s going to be amazing because it is so scarce.

“I’m going to be a multiple hit wonder hopefully but it will not be something I can just laugh away, it will be seared into my memory if I can achieve it.

“Failure makes you a better athlete and a more resilient one. I really pride myself of being able to compete the level I do, but it doesn’t stop myself from wanting the big, bad gold. I do like shiny things.”

With a year of fine form behind her the Scot is looking forward to getting another chance to show her skills off at World Championship level.

But, as she admits, Tokyo and a mightily busy year in 2020 is in the back of her mind.

Dines added: “I’m the most powerful I’ve ever been, currently, so that’s really exciting. I’ve been squatting lots in the gym but we’ll see. I hope that work will pay off now.

“My form this year has been good. I don’t want to go too soon, next year we have another World Road Champs to get through and then the Paralympics three months later.

“We’re going to have to peak twice in one year so I don’t want to be peaking now, I need to save it for next year which should be one of the hardest years of my life so far.”