IT'S fair to say Kayleigh Brogan has earned the nickname of comeback kid.

 

After the disappointment of missing out on a place at the Commonwealth Games last summer, the 23-year-old from Paisley is bouncing back.

She has signed to a new team for 2015 and has a sparkle in her eye that has arguably been missing in recent seasons.

Brogan, the reigning Scottish national circuit race champion, will be in action at the Crit on the Campus in Stirling on Sunday.

The one-day race is shaping up to be among the most exciting events on the cycling calendar with what is said to be the largest ever field for a women's road event in Scotland outside of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2013 British National Road Race Championships.

Brogan (Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire) will be joined on the start-line by Charline Joiner (Team WNT) and the British national circuit race champion Eileen Roe (Wiggle-Honda).

It marks a new chapter for Brogan whose preparations for the Games were blighted by illness and injury.

Her aspirations were knocked off course in early 2013 when she suffered a series of chest infections followed by a nasty bout of glandular fever which laid her low for the best part of 10 months.

Brogan was unable to defend the Scottish national road and criterium titles she won in 2012. As the clock ticked down on the qualification period for the Games, she found herself edged out of contention.

Poignantly, it mirrored a similar scenario four years earlier when Brogan missed out on a place for Delhi after the debilitating effects of anaemia derailed her efforts. As her Scottish team-mates packed their bags for the Athletes' Village in Glasgow, there followed a familiar sinking feeling.

"It was a big disappointment to not go to the Games," she says. "I did everything I was asked, I ticked all the boxes but in the end I wasn't selected. Picking myself back up again after that was hard.

"I didn't go to any of the events or even watch it on television. I had given it everything and if I'm honest I felt it was unfair how things unfolded. But there is no point in looking back. I can only move forward from here. I think it's given me a bit of extra fire in my belly and a new focus."

In the aftermath, rebuilding her health was the biggest focus and following a relapse of her glandular fever symptoms last September which kept her off her bike until November, Brogan decided she needed to overhaul her approach.

"It's not something that is going to go away and I have to manage that as an athlete," she says. "I've had to go down the road of less is more when it comes to training. The moment I start becoming over-fatigued, I have to recognise that. It's frustrating at times but I know it's the best approach. I have to listen to my body and learn to trust myself."

For 2015, Brogan is signed to Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire, working under Rene Groot who was previously her sports director with the Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team.

"I'm enjoying cycling again," she says. "Last year I wasn't. The stress was huge. Looking back on 2014 it was madness. Now it feels like the pressure is off and it's down to me. I'm controlling the majority of my race programme this year which is fantastic.

"I have built up a good relationship with Rene and he's been a great support as I've come back from my illness. Being offered a place in the team was a boost for my confidence after having such a rough year."

Brogan works full time at the Thomsons Cycles bike shop in her hometown of Paisley. She professes to be thriving on that work-life-cycling balance far better than when her focus was solely in pursuit of podium places and medals.

"A lot of people say they would love cycling to be their life but I've had that and it became too stressful," she admits. "I think it would be amazing if you were on the GB programme, but trying to compete at a high level when you don't get paid a salary as a rider is tough. I'm glad that I have other things going on in my life instead of it all being about cycling."

Her main goals for this season will be the 2015 Matrix Fitness Women's Grand Prix Series and Scottish National Road Race Championships. She will then turn her attention to the Scottish National Track Championships in August and their British counterpart a month later.

Nor does Brogan rule out making it third time lucky with the Commonwealth Games. "They come around every four years so if things go well and I take the right steps to build towards that, it could be a possibility," she smiles. "Right now, though, I'm taking it a few weeks and months at a time. I'm just happy I have my health. That's the most important thing."