Rochelle Gilmore, team leader of the Lotto Honda Ladies Team, sprinted to victory and a gold medal in the Road Race at the 2010 Commonwealth Games on Sunday.
Entering her first BMX race at the age of three, Gilmore now combines world-class cycling with a successful business career, which includes her own clothing label. In the summer months she works and trains in Italy, competing across Europe with her Lotto Honda Cycling Team.
On a course perfectly suited to a road race sprinter, Gilmore was determined to secure the top spot at the Games, held in Delhi, India. Her success followed silver medals in both the Manchester Games in 2002 and the 2006 Games on her home turf Down Under.
Rochelle Gilmore said: “I’m thrilled to have won a Commonwealth Games gold medal. It’s been a long, tough season and I’m delighted that all the hard work and dedication has paid off. The Australian team did a fantastic job keeping the race together for a sprint finish and I felt fresh and ready to win the sprint after riding for 110km.
“Looking forward, the 2011 World Championship course will be relatively flat so I have a great chance there and the Olympics in 2012 are also on a sprinter’s city circuit so hopefully it will be a good couple of years.”
Gilmore forfeited a place at the recent World Championships to avoid post-event fatigue and make sure her preparations for India were perfect. Her training regime included time in the Alps.
“Some of the most famous Stages in cycling history have taken place in the Alps and the mountains are a fantastic training ground,” said Gilmore. “I spent three days in Chamonix with the Lotto Honda Ladies Team to prepare for the Commonwealth Games. As a wannabe racing driver, it was also a treat to test the Honda CR-Z on the mountain passes.”
High resolution images of Rochelle Gilmore are available upon request.
At a young age, Rochelle Gilmore was discovered by Australia’s revolutionary Talent Identification Program and within three months was the under-15 National Champion, later going onto win both junior and senior World Cup and World Championship medals on the track, before turning to professional road cycling as a sprint specialist.
Gilmore is an accomplished businesswoman. Studies in Sports Journalism, Sports Science, Fitness & Advanced Resistance Training, Business and the Italian language has lead her to becoming manager of her two cycling teams (Lotto Honda Ladies Team and the Honda Dream Team) and set up her own clothing label (rmgsport.com).
The Honda CR-Z is the world’s first sporty hybrid coupe. It combines the advantages of a clean, efficient petrol electric hybrid system with a 6-speed manual transmission and a stylish coupe body, challenging preconceptions of hybrids while maintaining low fuel consumption and exhaust emissions.
It has an innovative 3-Mode Drive System: ECON, SPORT and NORMAL.
The CR-Z has also recently proved itself one of Europe’s safest cars. It was awarded a maximum five star rating by the independent crash testers, Euro NCAP.
Find out more about the Honda CR-Z at www.hondanews.eu
