Vicky Williamson will go into her first UCI Track Cycling World Championships in four years insisting everything that comes her way will be a "bonus".
The 25-year-old has been named in Great Britain's 22-strong squad to compete in Pruszkow, Poland this week, a little over a month after she made her return to racing following career-threatening injuries.
A horror crash in January 2016 left Williamson with fractures in her neck and back, a dislocated pelvis and a slipped disc in her neck – and fears she would never walk again.
🚨 TEAM ANNOUCEMENT 🚨 Check out the team for the 2019 @UCI_Track Cycling World Championships ⬇️🇬🇧 27th Feb – 3rd March // Pruzskow, Poland 🇵🇱 Full Story ➡️ https://t.co/hkyUvGJdST pic.twitter.com/tXXHttxo8X — British Cycling (@BritishCycling) February 12, 2019
But while those injuries have now healed after a gruelling rehabilitation process, Williamson's perspective has irreversibly changed.
"I don't feel as much pressure as I would have done because for me everything I achieve now is a bonus," she told Press Association Sport.
"To be even selected for a worlds, obviously I never thought it would happen again. The pressure is still there because I don't just want to turn up to a worlds and I want to compete, but it's about taking a second to find out how far I've come."
The sprinter returned to racing in January, throwing herself in at the deep end as she rode in the Hong Kong leg of the World Cup series on January 25 before flying back to Manchester to compete in the national championships two days later.
I'm thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn't of stumbled across my strength.. Build the belief and anything is possible@UnderArmourUK #IWILL #UnlikeAny pic.twitter.com/jawcVh8Ibj — Victoria Williamson (@VicsWilliamson) April 1, 2018
"I'm definitely more resilient now," she said. "I don't think anyone could have gone through what I went through and not come out the other side more resilient.
"That's to my advantage psychologically. I'm like whatever gets thrown at me, there's not a lot that could be worse than what happened in 2016 so I'll use that to my advantage."
Williamson admitted she was never able to watch video of her crash until she was already back on a bike – doing so might have put her off making a return at all.
"The good thing about when I crashed was, I didn't remember anything," she said. "It was all just a complete blur. So when I got back on the track there was no fear that I was going to crash coming out of turn four.
"My mind was blank. There was no fear because I was blissfully ignorant.
"When I watch it, it's like an out-of-body experience. For me, it was important to gain clarity on what happened."
Williamson won team sprint bronze at her first World Championships in 2013 and competed again in 2014 and 2015 before the crash cost her a shot at the Rio Olympics.
Now she has her sights set on the Tokyo Games next year.
Williamson believes she is back to the level she was at when the crash occurred, but knows much has changed in the meantime.
"The world has moved on. What was considered world-class in 2016 is now probably mid-pack.
"I'm physically around where I was before on the track but there are improvements to be made if I want to get to Tokyo."
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Ian Parker, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'aa97852d-9f4e-435c-a43a-4bb88aae9b26');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:cycling,sport:other');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Williamson relaxed ahead of world stage return after career-threatening injuries'});
