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| Full name | Rebecca Angharad James[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Becky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 November 1991 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales[1] |
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| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 67 kg (150 lb; 10.6 st)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Motorpoint Pro-Cycling Team[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Track & Road | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Sprinter / All-Rounder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amateur team(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abergavenny Road Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional team(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010- | Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Infobox last updated on 7 October 2010 |
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Rebecca Angharad James also known as Becky James (born 29 November 1991) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist specializing in track cycling from Abergavenny, Wales, who currently rides for the Motorpoint Pro-Cycling Team.[3] James was spotted by the Welsh Talent Team, she is now a member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme.[4]
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James attended King Henry VIII School Abergavenny.[5] In 2009 James won the Daily Telegraph-Aviva Sport Matters Female Pupil of the Year award.[5][6]
James also has two younger sisters; Ffion and Megan, who both are keen cyclist looking to follow in her footsteps.
In July 2009, James won the gold medal in both the sprint and 500 metre time trial events and the silver in the keirin at the European Track Championships.[7] She followed this up in August by winning the keirin and sprint at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships, and a silver in the 500 metre time trial, as well as setting a new world record for the flying 200 metres.
James started her cycling career at the Abergavenny Road Club[8] in her hometown, Abergavenny, in South Wales where her outstanding cycling talent made her selected to represent the Wales cycling team at the XIX Commonwealth Games.
In the XIX Commonwealth Games James represented Wales and won the Bronze Medal in the 500m TT Track race and a Silver Medal in the Sprint Track race, she was nominated for the 2010 BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year,[9] only to lose out to Gareth Bale. James is now under contract with the British professional cycling Motorpoint Pro-Cycling Team.
James is being fast tracked to the London 2012 Olympic Games by British Cycling.[10]
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• James stated for her pre-race rituals "My pre-race rituals to get me motivated and in the zone are getting some motivational music blasting usually Electronic dance music like ‘One’ by Swedish House Mafia feat. Pharrell Williams" emanating from her iPod Shuffle which had been brought into service after she broke her main iPod while she was competing in Belarus, James says "whilst I’m doing my roller warm up ". She also stated " My favourite recent song to get me going is ‘On a Mission’ by Gabriella Cilmi, that really gets me going – I’m definitely a woman on a mission when I listen to that! Also, the best way I find to relax at races is to listen to chilled out music like Reggae & Reggae fusion while I’m sitting around, Bob Marley, Sean Kingston and Iyaz are great ".[11][12] • James marks the toughest point in her career to date was just before the European Junior Championships in 2008 when she contracted glandular fever and was so upset she could not could not compete, upon recovering from the illness she stated "When you are ill or have an injury you have to try and move on quickly and concentrate on your next target. The 2009 UCI Juniors Track World Championships more than made up for it ".[11] • James had explained that she loves horse riding, something her sister does but the European Sprint Champion knows that it can also be dangerous so she doesn’t get to ride as much as she used to or get to compete in show jumping events as she once did. Friends of hers have also had to come to understand that going out and doing what teenagers do has to be put on hold from time-to-time which means James now relaxes with friends by going out for coffee or picking up the latest ‘Chick flick’ at the movies. Things which help her relax but don’t interfere with her training during important phases prior to a major competition.[12] |
• James stated her best place to ride her bike as "My favourite place to ride my bike is Pollença, Mallorca. I’ve only been once but I fell in love with it. The roads were absolutely amazing for training, so quiet and so many different routes. I’m not a fan of climbing hills, but when you have scenery like you have there, I couldn’t enjoy them more".[11] • She stated that her most prized possession up to date as "My prized cycling possession has got to be my Rainbow Jersey from the 2009 UCI Juniors Track World Championships in Moscow. I've got it in a frame at home and love the feeling that no one can ever take that away from me ".[11] • James recently stated her role models as "There are many inspiring cyclists out there for me. The two I really look up to are Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton. I’d love to be able to achieve anything close to what they have. They are truly amazing role models ".[11] |