Armitstead plans to visit Rio ahead of Olympic road race

Armitstead claimed road race silver at the London 2012 Olympics as Marianne Vos took gold but the Rio 2016 course, revealed this month, is expected to favour British riders. The 26-year-old was crowned road race champion at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games this summer but couldn't deliver at the World Championships in Ponferrada in September. Armistead was one of the favourites for gold but admits to tactically getting it wrong as she finished seventh, something she doesn't want to be doing at Rio 2016. And such is her consummation to upgrade Olympic silver to gold in Brazil, Armitstead plans to visit Rio to experience whether the road race course is indeed suited for her. "I was in the shape to win it {the worlds], I was in really good shape and tactically I didn't get it right and that makes it harder to get over," Armitstead told Cyclingnews. "I think about it [winning Olympic gold] all the time. It's ultimately the biggest goal of my career. I would like to try and see the course before I go to the Olympics in order to see how much of a climber I need to be before I go." � Sportsbeat 2014