Jessica Roberts claims HOY Future stars title and targets international success in 2016
	February 19th 2016           In her fourth and final year racing the HOY Future Stars as part of the Revolution Series Jessica Roberts sealed the overall title with a consistent performance across the five rounds. Having come close the previous two seasons Roberts had high expectations and let that be known with two wins and a second place in the opening round in Manchester last October. Having taken the early leader Roberts was determined not to let go and was again in fine form in Glasgow and again in Manchester taking four wins and three second places from the seven events in the two rounds giving her a 62 point advantage over closest rival Rhona Callander. By no means was the victory sealed but Roberts was in the box seat ahead of the final round. A third place finish in the points race at the final round again in Manchester sealed the title for Roberts ahead of Sophie Williams and Rhona Callander. The younger sister of Amy Roberts who rides for Wiggle Honda on the road is hoping to further her development on the track in 2016 as part of the British Cycling Junior Academy with her eyes on the European and World Junior Track Championships. But like her sister she has ambitions on the road as well and making the Great Britain squad for the Road World Championships in Qatar is also on her radar. How did you start cycling and how old were you? My two older sisters and I used to do triathlon when I was about seven, and we wanted to try and get better at cycling so we joined my local cycling club Towy Riders. We loved cycling so much that we stopped the triathlon and just went in to cycling, I was about nine when I started racing and have been doing so ever since. Your sister Amy is a few years older how much of a benefit is it having her also racing in the sport for support and advice? It's a great benefit. If I ever have anything I need to know I can just ask her. She's been a professional for three years now so she's got quite a lot of knowledge, which I can learn from. After finishing third overall in the Revolution Future Stars last series what were your goals heading in to the 2015/16 series? I was really motivated to try and win the Future Stars 2015/16 Series. I had come quite close to winning in previous years, so that gave me the confidence that I could be up there this series. It was my last year in the Future Stars series so my main goal was to try and win. At the opening round you won the 6 lap dash and points race while finishing second in the scratch race strong way to start the series? I needed to get consistent results through out the whole series to be up there in the overall series, so to get two firsts and a second at the first round gave me good confidence. Six wins over the series and another six top three finishes overall are you happy with your performance? Yeah I'm really happy with my performance. I needed to be consistent throughout which I managed to do, so I'm really pleased. What is your best memory from the series and the biggest challenge you faced? My best memory was probably the moment I knew I had definitely won the series, it's a competition I have always wanted to win so I was really happy. Also being on the presentation stage with Chris Hoy was really cool. The biggest challenge I faced was trying to get consistent results to try and maintain the overall lead. Five rounds over three months how did you handle the busy block of racing? I didn't find it too bad, this was my fourth year doing the series so I was sort of used to doing it. Join an impressive list of former winners including Peter Kennaugh, Emily Kay, Simon Yates, Ellie Dickinson and Owain Doull what does winning the Hoy Future stars mean to you? It means a lot. To have my name next to all those amazing riders is really special. Have raced the series for the last four seasons how important is it having such a high level series for your development? The series is great for my development as it gives me a chance to get some good track racing in and gives me the opportunity to try out different race tactics. It's also great to be able to race in front of such big crowds the atmosphere is amazing! What are your goals for 2016? European and World Junior Track Championships targets for you? Yeah the European and World Junior Track Championships are definitely a big goal for me, I would really love to race at one of these events. My other goals for 2016 are to get some decent results on the road, gaining lots of experience from my first year as a junior. I also want to do well at Track Nationals, to win a jersey would be great. Finally I'd like to be selected for the Junior Road Worlds. Part of British Cycling's Junior Academy how important is this for your ongoing development? The Academy is really great for my development. The training camps we have throughout the year definitely help me work on my weaknesses, which is helping me progress as a rider. Looking further ahead where do you hope your cycling career takes you? I hope to progress through the British Cycling Pathway and see where that takes me. Long term, my dream would be to win a Senior World Championship and an Olympic gold medal.