Dame Sarah Storey is a road and track cyclist who has won multiple gold medals at the Paralympic Games. Along with her husband Barney she runs Storey Racing

The Northern Echo:

Great Britain's Sarah Storey on the podium after winning gold in the Women's C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Rio Olympic Velodrome during the first day of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Picture: PA

Why do you cycle?

I really enjoy it! And currently it’s also my job. I feel fortunate to be riding as a job though, and I think my enjoyment is one of the reasons I’ve been an athlete for so long.

What do you ride?

I ride Boardman SLR, Air and TTE on the road, as my training, race and TT bikes. On the track I also have a Boardman TRK for bunch races. If I’m riding pursuit then I’m riding my UKSI track bike. I love how each of these bikes feels, the Boardmans have been developed with expertise from Chris so have all the performance qualities needed.

It’s difficult to explain just how good the UKSI bike is, I’ve got the Mark 2 version and it’s served me well over a significant number of years!

Tell me about your favourite route?

This is a tricky one as I have a few! If I’m racing it’s the lap of Lake Tahoe ridden during the Tour of California. If it’s training then I’m a fan of the route traverses the mountains on the north east of Lanzarote. When at home it always involves the Goyt Valley!

Tell me about your best cycling memory?

Competition wise it’s a close call between London and Rio. Rio because my daughter was experiencing her first Games and London because it was a home Games and Barney and I won gold within hours of each again - this also happened in Beijing.

None competitive memory would be completing the End to End. I’ve done the route twice going north to south and I don’t think I could do it any other way, finishing with a Cornish pasty and cream tea was the icing on the cake.

What do you consider your most important piece of cycling equipment?

Probably my helmet. Racing incidents can result in offs, so you want to make sure your head is protected. I use the KASK range and they are the most comfortable I have found.

If you could cycle anywhere where would that be?

I’d love to do more riding in the USA. I've done the Tour of California twice and done training and racing in a few different locations. Big Bear Lake was beautiful but it snowed and we had to relocate, so that’s definitely on the list along with South Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains. I enjoy training at altitude!