Pfeiffer Georgi’s first memory of cycling was at Herne Hill Velodrome, the origin track for a who's who of British cyclists and a few turned pedals away from where she was born.
The one instruction was to keep on pedalling. At some stage, she got tired, stopped pedalling and flipped over her handlebars, causing cuts to her arms. In tears, she informed her parents she was never coming back.
A week later, she returned — and never looked back, and this weekend Georgi finds herself back in town at the Ride London Classique where, with the three stages likely to favour sprinters, her role is set to be the lead-out rider.
A quirk of the race is that her father, Peter, is part of the podium ceremony team but she laughs at the idea of the pair being reunited at the finish.
"It's not often we get to ride in Britain," said the national champion. "I'm really excited for this, and then the Tour of Britain.
"Our goal is the sprinting here, while the Tour of Britain is a bit more open and there should be a bit more freedom to go for the general classification."
The 23-year-old was inspired by Lizzie Deignan at London 2012. She watched on TV and cheered Deignan to silver.
"I was a proper fan girl, so to go from that to suddenly being her team-mate was surreal," she said. "She's great. I'm always learning from her."
