By Rob Cole
One of Wales’ top cyclists has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and won’t be able to start the season with her new Dutch team.
Amy Roberts, 23, who rode for Wales at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as a teenager, has been given an indefinite leave of absence by Parkhotel Valkenburg at exactly the time she was hoping to make her debut for them in the saddle after five years at Wiggle High5.
As a junior in 2012, Carmarthen-born Roberts claimed World Championship bronze in both the points race and team pursuit with fellow Welsh riders Elinor Barker and Hayley Jones. The trio struck gold at the European Junior Championships and she went on to join Barker and Laura Trott in winning the opening round of the World Cup in South America in 2014.
In her most recent profile for her new team she admitted her goal is to become “Olympic and World Champion and to be one of the best riders in the world.” She failed in her bid to make the Welsh track team for the Gold Coast and will instead have to watch her younger sister Jess competing for Team Wales in Australia.
In a honest and open note to her fans on her Twitter account, Roberts outlined her problems and difficulties:
“With the 2018 season kicking off this weekend I thought it would be a good time to update everyone with what’s going on and why I won’t be on the start line of races for a while.
“Recently I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue. For years I feel I have not been at my best, struggling with different viruses and glandular fever last year, but not finding out until too late. My body has been having to cope with everything that comes with trying to be at the top of a sport when really I just needed rest.
“It’s definitely hard when you have a lot of people around you telling you different things and then not wanting to let anyone down. But sometimes you just have to listen to your body. It got to the point where day to day things in life were taking too much out of me, let alone trying to train and compete.
“It has not been an easy time and when it gets to wondering if it’s even worth it any more it makes you realise something had to be done.
“I’m currently taking some time off and away from everything in a hope that it will give my body and mind time to recover. I’m so thankful to have the support of my team Parkhotel Valkenburg, who are giving me the time I need and truly just want the best for my health.
“They believe in me and it means the world to have that. I also want to say a huge thank you Mark Dolan, from Epic Coaching, who has already helped me through bad situations and continues to support me through everything.
“I don’t know how long it will take, but I just have to be patient. I know that when I’m back I will have the best people around me to help me get back to the level I should be at. I can’t wait to be racing with my team and showing people what I can do.”
Despite her tender years, Roberts has been competing at a very high level for the past five years and obviously needs a break to enable her body to re-charge. It is a bold move by her to tell her new team that she can’t give her best in her current state, but their backing looks like giving her the time she needs to ultimately deliver the goods for them in the future.
In one of her profiles Roberts admits to the following being her most inspirational quote: “An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.”
It seems pretty apt at this precarious time of her career, but as long as she keeps aiming she has the talent to ensure the sky is the only limit for her ambitions.