Cycling - Best all-Rounder faces Asperger's challenge (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cycling - Best all-Rounder faces Asperger's challenge

1:00pm Saturday 18th October 2008 in Sport By Gazette Sports

CYCLIST Lynn Hamel (pictured right) looks back on a year to remember after becoming the British Women's Best All-Rounder - a title for which thousands compete annually.

The BAR is won by the rider setting the highest average speed over the three distances of 25, 50 and 100 miles at selected time trials throughout the season.

The 23-year-old from Oxenholme, who rides for the thegreenroomgroup.com team, was pipped to the title last year, but has shown brilliant form all season.

It has also brought her individual silver and team gold medals at the National 50-Mile TT Championships at Dishforth in Yorkshire.

To complete the set there was a bronze, slashing six seconds off her pb, in the National Individual Pursuit Track Championships at Manchester Velodrome.

Not content with those achievements, she is still competing and it would be no surprise to see her finish 2008 with a flourish at the National Hill Climb Championships at Matlock in just over a week's time.

But the sporting achievements tell only half the story for an athlete who hopes to progress to become a candidate for the GB cycling squad for the London Olympics in 2012.

Lynn suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a type of mild autism that affects those who have it with high anxiety levels.

She does not feel withdrawn and uncommunicative and enjoys socialising, though admits to struggling a bit in large groups, and it is harder for her to predict others' thoughts and actions.

She and her coach Neil Lawson know that there is still a lot of work to be done to fully realise all her sporting ambitions.

"Lynn is a really exciting fast-developing rider. She has had an awesome year and winning the BAR is something special. It's a strong and difficult competition and she absolutely conquered it.

"Physically as an athlete she is 100 per cent there - she surpasses all the set-figures required in the Team GB tests, but she knows that because of Asperger's there is work to be done on the psychology and tactical skills."

Lynn, who writes children's stories in her spare time which she hopes to have published, has reflected on her challenge of Asperger's: "It can be positive because it means I have the drive and concentration to be very focused. My hope is to continue progressing and work hard to try to overcome any anxiety and fears I might have."

(Picture ref: D8I222GG04)