With the 3^rd day of training done with the team, I made my way to the airport for a quick stop to London before heading back the morning after, as I was off to the Stella McCartney 2012 Olympic/Paralympic kit launch at the tower of London. With over 300 VIP’s, media and guests invited this was a massive event, and I was to be one of 30 athletes wearing the kit for the first time. On arrival from the airport it was straight to the venue for rehearsals, and to meet the other athletes (well the ones that had arrived!). Each athlete had specific queues to enter and leave the stage, I would be taking the stage in the first wave of athletes, entering through the first door with Frazier Cambell from Sunderland football Club and Peter Reed, Olympic Rowing Champion from the Coxless fours in Beijing. After rehearsals it was time to see the kit and try it on for the first time, and crucially make any alterations if necessary for the following mornings unveil. Fortunately the skinsuit I would be wearing for the launch fitted perfectly. The kit looked amazing!! Incorporating a stylised blue union flag at the centre of the design, it was certainly eye catching, and when seen altogether you can see the teams unique identity. With the fitting done it was time for food and then straight to bed, as we were up early the following morning to go through more rehearsals, to make sure everything ran like clockwork.

After breakfast it was on with the kit which we then had to cover with a plain grey tracksuit so we could travel to the venue without the paparazzi outside getting an exclusive peek! Safely into the venue we went through a full dress rehearsal, before heading into hair and makeup. Looking good we were all set, and led to the staging area before the show would start.  As we queued up in the order the nerves started to kick in, then Florence and the Machines, No Light No Light started to blast out of the PA system and the hidden door we were stood behind slid open as we walked out to our choreographed routine to over 300 VIP’s, reporters and a field of cameras. It felt good walking out in the kit to show it off to the world, but standing there I could feel my leg shaking with the nerves. I’m glad I don’t ever feel like that before my races! After the launch it was time to tell the press outside what we all thought of the kit and how preparations for the biggest sporting event we’d ever take part in were going. For my final interview I was invited to sit in with Stella McCartney, to offer an athlete’s perspective on the kit alongside Javelin thrower Goldie Sayers as Stella spoke to some members of the fashion press. As the day drew to a close it was time to hand all the kit back, knowing the next time I’ll be wearing it, all the hard work will be done and the Paralympics are about to start.

An early flight the following morning took me back to Majorca to finish the remainder of the GB training camp I was on. Thankfully on my return the sun had returned, and it was back to training in short sleeved jerseys and shorts! The final day in Majorca was a busy one, taking in the biggest climbs on the island, and also filming with Sky, who had flown out to get a behind the scenes look for an upcoming advert they have planned. On completion of the ride I jumped in a van with the Sky crew to head out to a private road to film some close up images that you just couldn’t do on the open roads. So I rode alongside the cameraman who was strapped to a quad bike as we sped along this short stretch of road. It was good fun, and before long they’d got everything they needed for the advert, except for some shots on the velodrome. However, they’re coming to Manchester to film those sections in a few days’ time.

With the endurance work in the bag its back to the track and gym now, to continue to work on my strength and speed. I’m also off to Herne Hill for the Good Friday cycling meet, the only racing on the track I’ll do prior to the Paralympics, and a chance to race in events that aren’t at the Paralympics. The meet has returned to Herne Hill after switching to Manchester last year, the velodrome is steeped with history being the track used at the 1948 Olympics last time they were in London. However it’s outdoors, so I hope the glorious weather we’ve just had returns, as the last 2 times I’ve raced there the meet has been cancelled due to rain!

Catch you all soon

Jody

Adidas, Official Sportswear Provider of Team GB and ParalympicsGB today proudly presented the British Team Kit for London 2012 that will be worn by the British athletes at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The kit has been designed by British designer Stella McCartney and is the most comprehensive range that has ever been supplied to a national team combining the best in performance technologies and stand-out British style. The design of the kit is focussed on the British flag, breaking down the iconic design and reconstructing it, creating a modern and contemporary twist.

Stella McCartney said: “The first place to start on a project like this is to look at the Union flag. For me it’s one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it was important for me to stay true to that iconic design but also to modernise it and present it in a contemporary way. Ultimately, we wanted the athletes to feel like a team and be proud with the identity we created.”

The kit was revealed in spectacular style at the Tower of London where over 30 athletes including Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu, Ellie Simmonds and Jody Cundy showcased the performance range including competition kit, training wear, the presentation suit, footwear and accessories.

Speaking about the new adidas kit, Jody said: “It was a pleasure to be a part of the kit launch and an honour to be one of the first to wear it! It is the nicest kit I’ve ever pulled on and I can’t wait to wear it proudly this summer. I think it looks awesome. And if you look good you race fast!”

Adidas will supply over 900 British athletes across the 26 Olympic and 20 Paralympic sports with a total of approximately 175,000 items of clothing. This is made up of 590 individual articles that have been created to ensure the British team will be the best-equipped nation for the Games.

Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive Officer of the British Paralympic Association (BPA), added: “A home Games will be an incredible experience for Britain’s Paralympic athletes. It is something that they have been working towards for most of their lives so they want to know that they have the kit that enables them to perform at their best. The fact that it is also stylish is definitely a bonus and will ensure they stand out.”

To see the whole kit range, please head to http://www.adidas.com/uk2012/

I crossed the line in 4:55.958, some 11 seconds off my best, although in the tough conditions it was good enough to top the leader board. The world champ and bronze medalist from the previous worlds gunned for my time in the final heat to knock me down to 3rd. In the final I would now be riding for Bronze against Roberto Alcaide from Spain.

For the final I dropped my gear again, to hopefully suit the track and conditions, and immediately out of the gate I felt more controlled than in the morning qualifying , and I was on schedule, after 2laps I caught a glimpse of my opponent, and at that point I made the conscious decision to go for the catch. I injected some pace and within 5laps I had overcome my opponent to win the bronze. It was quite satisfying catching Roberto as he had caught me for 2 minutes during the time trial at the world road championships last September!

The final was an cracking pursuit contest, with Carol Eduard Novak taking the title ahead of previous world champions and WR holder Jiri Jezek.

C4 4km Pursuit

1. Carol-Eduard Novak  ROU 4:47.927

2. Jiri Jezek  CZE 4:50.852

3. Jody Cundy GBR Overlap

4. Roberto Alcaide ESP

Following the first series in which 10 Paralympic Athletes including Jody were introduced by someone close to them, in this series we hear direct from each elite athlete themselves. The evocative, visually striking short films make up a series of intimate and exclusive snapshots of each athlete’s personal, often solitary, training worlds – the long days, weeks and months spent training to be the best in the world – showing their incredible determination, skill and commitment as they prepare to compete for their country on home ground at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The films illustrate the athletes’ strong, remarkable and diverse personalities – a group of exceptional Paralympians who are on course to contribute to a medal tally that is almost certainly going to exceed that of the able-bodied competitors in the Olympics.

Jat Sahota, Sainsbury’s head of sponsorship, said: “The truly incredible athletes featured in these films have fantastic stories to tell, which embody everything that is great about the UK’s Paralympians.

Beside Jody, the films also feature gold-medalist and record-breaking swimmer Ellie Simmonds, Team GB football captain David Clarke and Paralympic gold medal-winning archer Danielle Brown. They will air on Channel 4, at 7.55pm from 30 January with Jody’s film being shown on Friday, 10 February. Following this they will be repeated in a range of slots across the Channel 4 schedule and on the Channel 4 Paralympic website.

Jody Cundy MBE: Track Cyclist and 5 x Paralympic Gold medallist

This film explores how the indomitable Jody Cundy MBE, track cyclist and 5 x Paralympics gold medallist, is constantly striving to redefine what his body can do through training, in a sport where 1/1000 of a second can be the difference between winning and losing on the grand stage of London 2012.

2011 started with a training camp in Majorca, this was part of my preparations for the World Track Championships, and we were treated to some great weather which was especially welcome as the day we left the UK it was snowing. I managed to get some quality miles in during the camp, these miles would prove to be valuable to the rest of the season, especially as I’d added the 4km Pursuit to my racing program.

With 2 training camps back to back in Newport on my return to the UK, preparations for the world champs were almost complete. So it was off to Italy, and a chance to race again on the world scene. First up was the 4km Pursuit, an event I’d only ever ridden 2 or 3 times before, and never really mastered. However with all the extra endurance work of the previous year, I pulled out a massive 20second PB in qualifying to make it to the gold medal ride off against Jiri Jezek. I got a little too excited in the final starting off way too quick, and soon paid for my fast start, but a silver medal at the world championships in a new event put a smile on my face. The following 2 days of racing were business as usual as I returned to the events I know and love, the kilo and team sprint. I surprised myself in the kilo, breaking my WR by 3 tenths of a second, which considering a lot of my focus had been on pursuit in the run up to the competition, it was a welcome surprise.

The final day of competition was the team sprint, and with the rules changing regarding composition of the team almost at every event I was part of a new line up. This time, myself, Darren Kenny and Terry Byrne lined up against the Chinese team in the final. With both teams breaking the WR in qualifying it was always going to be a good race, and sure enough the level of competition pushed us to another world record. Although this only stood for about 2 weeks before the rules were changed once again by the UCI.

So track worlds were a success, I came away with 2 WR’s 2 gold medals and a surprise silver, it was a great way to start the year especially with the London Paralympics just over a year away.

Upon returning home from the World Championships I had my first race in the colours of Para-T, the team I’d set up with my girlfriend. It was a great debut for the team, and really helped raise awareness to the standard of Para-Cycling.

With no break in training my focus switched to competing on the road, as I travelled to Sydney Australia for the first round of the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup. I was there to score qualification points for GB, these points are essential as without them the team may have to make tough decisions on who they take to the Paralympics next year. The racing in Sydney was a shock to the system but an 8^th in the road race and a 6^th in the time trial were all valuable points.

On my return from Australia the road miles started to build up, as did the competitions. Next up was a block of racing in multiple countries as I continued my qualification points quest, first up was Piacenza in Italy, with a 5^th place overall and one of my favourite races of the whole year, then it was a quick drive to Switzerland for another 2day race in Gippingen. Before then joining up with the GB squad and heading out to Segovia in Spain for the 2^nd round of the UCI world cup, although I struggled in the road race I scored more important points in the time trial. With my little road trip almost to an end it was a quick flight over to Glasgow, where I joined a few other members of the GB squad to take part in the middle 4 days of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain.

With all the travelling and racing, my body was getting pretty tired, but it was all important miles in my legs, and I hoped that these would prove valuable for 2012.

With a quiet period without any races for a few weeks I could get on with a few other things that had come my way, first up was a photo shoot for Sky, as I’d just been signed up to their Sky Sports Scholarships program, they were going to offer financial and media support in the run up to 2012.

In the same week as the Sky photo shoot I made my way down to London, where I was meeting with Fiona Banner, a Turner Prize winning artist. She had been commissioned to produce 1 of 12 posters for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and I was to be the subject of her poster. It was quite a daunting process as Fiona has a technique were she paints with words, and I was to model nude (only slightly scary!). But I thought about the posters that you still see from Olympics past, and thought it was definitely worth being part of history, so that was it, there I was stood naked in Fiona’s studio! To be honest after the initial shock it wasn’t so bad, and by the end I was pretty comfortable, however I don’t think I’ll be turning to life modelling anytime soon, although at least I know what’s involved now!

The next challenge for me was the National TT Championships, and although the event was undersubscribed it still proved a tough test as it took in a few climbs which were 14-16% in gradient, not exactly what you want in the middle of a time trial, and definitely not suited to me, but I came out with a 4^th place, which although isn’t great, I couldn’t give anymore.

With only a few weeks to help fine tune my preparations I was on the way to Roskilde Denmark for the World Road Championships, in the pursuit for more qualification points. First up was the time trial, and 2 laps of the 15.2km course. I tried to measure my effort over the course so I would have enough left in the 2^nd lap, but as I crossed the finish line on the 1^st lap I was overtaken by my minute man and was starting to struggle and lost my rhythm. By the time I managed to find it again, I was well on the way to finishing the course! 12^th place in the end, not too disappointed, but would have been nice to make it to the top 10 and score a few points. After a day of rest and recovery it was an early start for the road race. 5 laps of the TT course, as the course was relatively flat it was difficult to make the break and get away. However a small group of C5 athletes did just that along with one C4. The race came down to a bunch sprint for 2^nd place, and although with my speed I was in a good place to get a result, with less than 1km to go I struggled in the bunch for position. I really didn’t want to risk crashing and ruining my 2012 preparations, so I pulled out of the bunch and let them go. I think if I was an out and out road racer it would have been a no brainer and I would have been in that sprint for the finish, however I’m not at the moment, but who knows in years to come.

Off the bike I was busy again, doing some filming and photo’s for Alexander Mann Solutions who have agreed to support and sponsor me in the run up to the Paralympics, and beyond. Another project I’ve been involved in is with Sainsburys & Channel 4. I was one of 10 athletes they decided to profile in the run up to the games over 3 short films. The first went out in the summer and the remainders go out in 2012. They were good fun filming, and I can’t wait to see the outcome as the first film looked great.

With the Worlds over it was time to get back to the velodrome, and a few weeks of preparation before the National Track Championships. The first part of the preparation was a 3day block of training on the Olympic Velodrome in London, it was a valuable experience and I now know what to expect come the Paralympics.

The Nationals were a great start to the track season, I placed 5^th in the open kilo in the fastest time I’ve posted at a season start. I also had a great ride with Jon-Allan Butterworth and Terry Byrne in the Open Team Sprint coming in 5^th place also. However the highlight of Nationals was my flying 200m WR in the Open Sprint Qualification, a time of 10.805 and good enough to place me 11^th overall.

I finished my year the way I started it, on a training camp in Majorca. I made the best of the good weather and got all my endurance base miles in prior to the World Championships which are early in 2012, everything went well apart from the flight home, which got cancelled, but made it back the following day with a little help from my brother and dad!

The finale to 2011 ended with me being named the BBC East 2011 Disability sports personality of the year, something I’m very proud of.

2011 has been a busy year filled with a lot racing, travelling and promotion, and 2012 promises more of the same, plus the added bonus of a home Paralympic Games, something to get really excited by!

Thanks to my sponsors, friends, family and especially my girlfriend Christina, who have helped make it happen. Here’s to 2012!

Unfortunately Jody could not receive the award for Disability Sports Personality of the Year in person as he is currently on a training camp in Majorca, but he joined the award ceremony in Bedford via a live video uplink.

It is the second time that Jody has won this award, having previously won it in 2008 for his success at the Beijing Paralympics. Jody said “I feel honoured to receive this award and being names BBC East’s Disability Sports Personality of the Year. It’s always nice to be nominated let alone win, and having the recognition from a whole region for my sporting success is always a good feeling.”

Jody will return to Manchester before Christmas to spend the festive season with his family and friends before continuing work on the track in the build up to the Track World Championships in Los Angeles in February.

BBC East SPOTY Winners:

Outstanding Achievement: Chrissie Wellington, triathlon (Norfolk)
Sports Personality of the Year: Alastair Cook, cricket (Essex & Beds)
Sporting Legend: Tim Foster, rowing (Beds)
Unsung Hero: Dawn Barnard (Essex)
Disabled SPOTY: Jody Cundy, Paralympic Cycling (Cambs)
Team of the Year: Red Bull F1 (Bucks)
Coach of the Year: Graham Westley (pictured), Stevenage FC manager
Volunteer: Sam Robinson (Cambs)
Club of the Year: Norwich Canoe Club
Young SPOTY: Charley Hull, golfer (Northants)
School of the Year: County Upper School, Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk)

Earlier this year Jody stood model for Fiona Banner in order to create one of the Paralympic posters – “Superhuman Nude” and he feels very honoured to be part of the campaign. Jody said: ” I was over the moon when I was told that Fiona wanted to work with me for one of the London 2012 posters and I am absolutely delighted with the final product. The feedback has been fantastic so far and I can’t wait to have it hanging in my house now!”

A set of the images has been given to the Queen for the Royal Collection and to other important British art collections, including the Government Art Collection (which will be displaying the images in 10 Downing St in 2012) and the British Council (which is planning on exhibiting the images across China in 2012 as part of ‘UK Now’, the largest festival of British arts ever to be shown in China, as well as displaying the posters in British Council’s across the world).

The images will also be available to buy as both posters and limited edition prints.  The posters (at a cost of £7) and a small number of limited edition prints will be available to order on the London 2012 online shop. The limited edition prints will also be for sale individually and as a special boxed set from Counter Editions, the publisher of the prints, who can be contacted on london2012@countereditions.com and on 0207 684 8888.

Fiona Banner – Superhuman Nude
Fiona Banner creates nude studies from life, transcribing physical scenarios into verbal descriptions.  These ‘wordscapes’ define the shapes and forms of the body as well as fleeting moments such as the tension in a second of shared eye contact, or a nervous finger tapping. Banner’s print is described as a nude study of a Paralympic Athlete. The title alludes to the extraordinary physicality of his body. She focuses on strength and physicality but also on the fragility of a human  awaiting competition.  Banner says ‘I liked the idea of comparing the athlete to a superhero, with some extraordinary prosthetic gift. Looking at an athlete naked made them powerful and vulnerable at once.’

See all the Olympic and Paralympic posters

Jody has been named as one of 11 athletes on the revolutionary Sky Sports Scholarship Scheme, designed to help Britain’s and Ireland’s most exciting prospects fulfil their potential on the international stage. Sky Sports Scholarships extends Sky’s long term support of sport through programmes such as British Cycling, Sky Sports Living for Sport and the ECB Coach Education Programme. Sky Sports is preparing the athletes with funding for coaching, training and competition and with mentoring support from Sky Sports News presenters who will partner with them to follow their stories and share their experience of being in the public spot light.

Cycling is a financially demanding sport due to the state-of-the-art equipment that is required in order to compete at the highest level. Sky Sports’ support of Jody has enabled him to have access to this essential equipment. It has also enhanced his training schedule by allowing Jody to attend high-performance training camps, based outside of the UK, that offer better training conditions. The funding is giving Jody access to the best possible preparations ahead of competitions. Jody has been teamed up with Sky Sports News HD presenter John Paul Davis and you can follow his progress on Sky Sports News and skysports.com in the coming months here.

Find out more about the Sky Sports Scholarship Scheme and why it has Jody dreaming of greater cycling glory!

The next update will definitely be along sooner than the last!

Click on the newsletter to download.

Catch you all soon.

Jody

Over the next year, Alexander Mann Solutions will be harnessing ‘Spirit in Motion’ by sponsoring a global team of exceptional sportspeople representing a selection of key sports. They will be supporting the athletes with a combination of funding, professional training and knowledge sharing. All of this will help them to reach their full potential in what promises to be one of the most important periods of their sporting lives. It’s also an important part of the project that Alexander Mann Solutions will be extending their support past September 2012, to ensure a lasting legacy with each of the athletes on Team AMS.

Jody said “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alexander Mann Solutions for inviting me to become a mentor and ambassador for Team AMS. It’s a great honour and a privilege to have been asked and to be involved in this programme. I’m looking forward to welcoming on board the other team members comprising of numerous aspiring disability athletes.”

To find out more about Team AMS and Jody’s involvement visit Team AMS !