Burke eyes golden games (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Burke eyes golden games

12:40pm Saturday 1st October 2011 in Cycling By Andy Cryer, Blackburn Rovers reporter

STEVEN Burke insists only Olympic gold will do as he looks for Great Britain to get back into the winning habit at next month’s European Championships.

The Colne cyclist, East Lancashire’s only medallist at the last Olympics, started his track season with a gold and silver week at this week’s national championships in Manchester – but admits London 2012 preparations will now really step up a gear.

Burke, 23, won the open pursuit on Wednesday before following that up with silver in the one kilometre time trial on Thursday but has opted out the rest of the championships with his focus now on the task ahead.

training starts for the Europeans in Holland on Monday and, with the World Cup and Melbourne World Championships ahead, Burke believes it is time his team started laying down the gauntlet to their rivals.

Burke is expected to be part of Britain’s four-man pursuit team for next year’s showpiece event but, despite his predecessors winning gold in Beijing, Australia have dominated the event for the last two years.

Gold in next month’s Europeans will mark Britain’s intentions.

He said: “We start training for the Europeans on Monday and of course it is a huge event for us because there are only really big three competitions before the Olympics. This is important.

“We need to start winning again and the Europeans will be a very good challenge for us because we know the Russians are going to be tough to beat.

“Obviously the Australians have been the ones to beat over the last couple of years but it is all about peaking at the right time and we know it is all about getting in the right condition for the Olympics.

“Don’t get me wrong they have a very, very good team but come London 2012 we know we are going to be very close with them. The next three events is our chance to show them that because I don’t think they have seen us at our best and that is to our advantage.

“Olympic gold is what it is all about. We would be disappointed with anything but a gold medal. I’m sure the rest of the team would say exactly the same thing.”

Burke’s surprise Beijing bronze medal came in the individual pursuit, an event that has now been scrapped as an Olympic discipline, but he hasn’t ruled out competing in two events next year.

He hopes to qualify for the omnium, which includes a selection of events, but had to opt out of Sunday’s national omnium championships with bigger things ahead.

“I would still like to throw my name in the hat for the omnium,” he said. “There was the thought of competing in Sunday’s event but the coaches were not really in favour because training starts for the Europeans on Monday.

“I will have to test myself in a World Cup in the winter and see how that goes because it is a hotly contested one. The national championships were different to the Olympic event anyway.”