Going to work every day loving your job is a pleasure that many wish to be reality, but few manage to achieve.

No such dreaming is required for 21-year-old professional road cyclist Lizzie Holden of Tromode.

Now entering her third year in the pro ranks, Holden can look back and reflect on the exciting early stages of a rapidly-flourishing career.

Having shown distinct talent riding as a junior for RST and then Ford Ecoboost, Lizzie caught the eye of Team Drops who subsequently offered her a contract at 18 years of age. Although it was a significant leap into some of the brutal, fast-paced World Tour races, Lizzie said: ’Drops helped me so much in all regards and made the whole experience really enjoyable.’

She then began the difficult task of migrating to Girona, tempted by terrain and temperature, commenting: ’The amount of English speakers there really helped, and there are loads of cyclists to train with, although my Spanish hasn’t improved much!’

With women’s cycling expanding and developing at a rate of knots, I was interested to know if Lizzie had a particular female idol. She immediately mentioned another Lizzie, Lizzie Deignan (formerly Armistead), saying: ’It’s pretty inspiring for me that she wasn’t always winning when she was younger but has battled to become one of the best in the world.’

While still in the infant years of her career, Holden has, despite uncertainty regarding team sponsorship, re-signed for a third year with the Drops squad, even though she was told that she would not be paid for the coming season.

’I think the vibe is really positive and encouraging,’ said Lizzie when I asked her about her obvious loyalty to the team. ’I think it helps that we are all young and have similar ambitions which I guess drives us to improve.’

It was evident from her 2018 results that Holden has bags of talent and the work ethic to match. So, I was interested to know her ambitions for this year and beyond.

’I would like to improve on my result in the time trial championships and try to maybe take the Under-23 title.

’Qualifying for major internationals like the Under-23 European Road Race Championships is also a big target and generally improving on last season’s results,’ she added.

It is difficult to predict where Lizzie could be in the coming years, with her career showing such fantastic promise.

’I would love to be riding for a Women’s World Tour team, maybe as a domestique, and I love team time trials so a team with that in mind would be cool. A team like Boels-Dolmans perhaps.’

The upward trajectory of Lizzie’s career is impressive and eye-catching. She is motivated, and I’m excited to follow her journey through the coming season and beyond.

World watch out, Lizzie Holden’s about.