IT'S fair to say that 2013 has been an annus horribilis for Kayleigh Brogan:
one blighted by illness which led to her being sidelined from racing and her Commonwealth Games aspirations put temporarily on hold.
The 21-year-old from Paisley is bouncing back from a savage bout of glandular fever that laid her low for much of the year. "Frustrating" is the word she uses, but she would be forgiven for choosing one a little stronger.
For Brogan it is an all-too-familiar feeling. She missed out on a place in Delhi three years ago after the debilitating effects of anaemia derailed her efforts. Yet she exudes a steely determination, insistent that she does not intend to let the same thing happen twice.
Having been left on the bench for the British National Track Championships in September and their Scottish equivalent a month later, she will be back in action at the Revolution Series in Glasgow on Saturday. Brogan could hardly have chosen a more high-profile platform for her comeback, but is keen to show she means business, and hopes to bag some valuable UCI points into the bargain. She joins a strong Scottish line-up at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome including Charline Joiner, Eileen Roe, John Paul, Callum Skinner, James McCallum, Ross Edgar, Evan Oliphant and Andy Fenn.
Glasgow will host the second of five rounds and inclusion on the UCI calendar for the first time means that riders will compete for ranking points which in turn count towards qualification for World Championships, Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
"I do feel a lot more pressure because it's the first time I'll have raced for ages, but I'm looking forward to getting out there," said Brogan. "I want to perform well and show I'm back to full strength."
Her woes began back in February when Brogan struggled to regain her fitness following a chest infection. "I just didn't feel myself," she said. "Knowing how important this year was ahead of the Commonwealth Games, I tried to push on because I wanted to get the qualification standard as early as I could. I went for blood tests in April and May but they all came back fine."
Putting her concerns to the back of her mind, Brogan flew to the United States to spend a month in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, racing and training at the famed "T-town" Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Yet illness continued to niggle. "I ended up in hospital due to a sinus infection and on another course of antibiotics," she said. "I felt constantly drained of energy and was running on empty. It was a horrible feeling.
"When I got home to Scotland I felt worse than ever. I saw a specialist at the sportscotland institute of sport and was told I had glandular fever, which I'd probably been suffering from for quite a long time. By then it was mid-August. I was told to take eight weeks off then reassess the situation."
Having been given the all-clear to return to training, Brogan describes the past 10 months as "massively stressful", not least because she could not defend the Scottish national road and criterium titles she won in 2012. "Being ill has ruined my whole year and plans to qualify for the Games," she said. "Sitting back and watching it slip away from me was so hard, but I feel I've come back from it stronger and even more focused."
Competing at the Games is a dream that first took root almost a decade ago. Brogan fell in love with cycling at 13 after a family holiday to watch the Tour de France. Her father was a member of a local club and she began joining him on training runs.
Such was her rapid progression, Brogan soon landed a spot in the British Cycling talent team. After a two-year hiatus from the sport in her late teens because anaemia was misdiagnosed as asthma, she made the switch from sprint to endurance disciplines in 2011. She is currently coached by Mark McKay as part of Scottish Cycling Performance Programme and rides for her home town outfit Team Thomsons Cycles.
A Team Scotland campaign representing the 17 sports of the 2014 Commonwealth Games may feature her image, but Brogan is taking nothing for granted when it comes to her place next summer.
"Every time I see the posters I get the same feeling in my stomach: a mixture of nerves and excitement," she said. "It definitely gives me fuel for the fire to work harder. It's easy to get carried away thinking about the Games, imagining what it will be like, but you've got to get there first. It's only eight months away now and, after being ill, I'm aware of making sure that every day counts."
Revolution Series is at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow on November 30
www.cyclingrevolution.com
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