Rhianna Parris-Smith: “my confidence and self-belief has come into play"

“Athletics was always my thing, I did running,” she said. “I knew that wasn’t really going to go anywhere but I stayed in it for about seven years, just to be social as I really enjoyed doing it.  

“I went to a sports college in Hertfordshire that had sports academies, one of which was athletics and one of which was cycling. On open days I spoke to both the coaches from both the academies. 

“I knew athletics was on the way out as I had quite a few knee issues, so I thought I might as well talk to the cycling coach. He offered me a trial, and from then on really that’s when it started. 

“Running and cycling are very similar. I was a sprinter but when I joined the sports academy at college I ended up doing a lot of longer rides that I wasn’t used to. 

“That hurt a lot but when I started going into the more sprinting side of cycling, it was apparent that the two were very similar, similar muscle groups - there’s definitely a translation in abilities.” 

The physical similarities between the two sports may have helped Rhianna’s eventual move to the velodrome, and there was early success. 

A string of strong finishes at the Junior National Championships highlighted her potential, though her momentum was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“When COVID hit it was my last year as a junior,” said the 19-year-old. “That was going to be my best year so that almost knocked me back. When I went back into seniors I had to start from the bottom again. 

“The first Junior Nationals I think I got third, fourth and fifth - that was a great achievement. Honestly just getting into the sport and sticking at it, that’s been pretty good and one of my highlights. 

“These results give me a massive amount of confidence. The potential was always there, not that I believed it originally, going forward I feel like there is potential there to go further.” 

Rhianna candidly admits she has struggled with confidence since entering cycling - though more experience in the velodrome has boosted her self-belief. 

She said: “It’s a new environment, different socially….more closer interactions compared to athletics. It was such a slow burner at the start. I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. 

“I thought: ‘How the hell am I going to get it anyway?’ as you need a load of equipment, you need to get to track. My confidence definitely dropped. 

“Athletics was my safe space. It was such an easily accessible sport, you can get a lot of different personalities. I just had fun in athletics, while cycling was a lot harder to get into. 

“As I’m getting a little bit older and as certain things start to fall into place after COVID, the confidence has grown, self-belief has come into play. It’s about getting comfortable in new settings. 

“I definitely feel more confidence within the sport, knowing what it’s all about, knowing what I’m doing and knowing how things are, what you need, where you need to go. 

“I’ve definitely increased my confidence. It’s probably not the same as athletics was, but I’m hopeful it will come.” 

Having grown up idolising athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Jessica Ennis-Hill - Kadeena Cox is now the biggest sporting influence on her career. 

Rhianna trains as part of the Paralympic champion’s academy and like Kadeena, she is passionate about improving diversity and inclusivity in cycling - having seen little change during her time in the sport. 

“It’s nice that she’s [Kadeena] fully involved in the academy, it’s not just something she’s set up and lets everyone run it,” commented Rhianna. “It’s so nice to see, she’s incredibly passionate about it and just across all spectrums, there’s a lot more that needs to be done. 

“We really want to get participation levels up and increase diversity in cycling. It’s important to get more people who look like us so people can think ‘if they can do it, I can do it.’ 

“I think the London scene has really increased but we want to see that across England and the UK. In terms of track cycling, there’s not really any difference since I’ve been in. 

“On the road you can see more people. We’re looking at it and other people are looking at it so hopefully we’ll see more progression.” 

Commonwealth Games England has appointed SportsAid to lead on the development, management and operational delivery of Team England Futures at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The programme, supported by Sport England, will reinforce the importance of the Commonwealth Games, particularly one hosted on home soil, as a developmental opportunity within the talent and performance pathway!