Liam Phillips

"I'm taking part in the London Bike Show this week but 2010 was by far my best year to date. I certainly regard myself as one of the top 10 BMX riders, which I perhaps didn't in the past. There are 10 or 12 that can get to an event and win. I'd class myself as one of those now. My goal is to go to the Olympics and perform my best on the day and if I do everything necessary, I feel I will be Olympic champion. The goal is gold, without a doubt. I'm training not to be a medal winner but to be Olympic champion. "I've lived up in Manchester for several years now. From an athlete's point of view, knowing you only have to go 10 minutes down the road to the National Cycling Centre makes life a lot easier. You're not spending hours in a car when you should be training or resting. "As soon as it was made an Olympic sport, BMX went from a hobby to a career. I've raced since I was five years old, often against my sister and the sport has always been in the family. "I don't feel I can draw on much inspiration from Beijing but I will be able to look back come 2012 on the lessons learnt. It'll be nothing but good for me when 2012 comes round. I don't need any inspiration or motivation to train for an Olympic Games being held on my doorstep. It's not going to happen again in my lifetime, let alone my career." Key statistics Amateur honours 1999 European champion 2000 World Championships, silver medal; European championships, bronze medal 2001 World Championships, bronze medal 2004 European Championships, silver medal Junior honours 2006 European championships, bronze medal This season UCI Supercross, Copenhagen, second place Main rival Maris Strombergs World No1 and gold medal winner at Beijing 2008 Biography Born 11 March 1989, Taunton, Somerset Educated The King Alfred School, Burnham-on-Sea Hobbies I started to play golf in the summer and that's taking up all my spare time. It's nice to still be playing sport but it poses different questions than riding a bike Favourite band The Enemy If I wasn't a sportsman I'd like to think I'd still be involved in sport but I probably would work with my Dad working for the family company, which was handed down from my grandad and does general road repairs for the council. It would have been a different life, being a labourer Training The 2012 season starts not long after the end of the 2011 season. This means there's not really an off-season. I've known for a while so I've prepared for it. With that in mind, 2009 wasn't really about racing but about building muscle. I've had a really good winter of strength work and now feel I can hold my own against the other guys who will be there in 2012 Olympic countdown 9 April 2011 UCI Supercross - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 28 May UCI Supercross - Papendal, Holland 30 July World Championships - Copenhagan, Denmark 20 August UCI Supercross - London, UK 17 September UCI Supercross - Canada (venue to be confirmed) 1 October UCI Supercross - USA (venue to be confirmed) 2012 World Cup races for the 2012 season and the venue and date for the 2012 World Championships are still to be confirmed Venue BMX will take place at a newly constructed circuit in the Olympic Park in east London In numbers 10 Number of consecutive British amateur and junior titles Phillips won between the ages of five and 14 6,000 Capacity of the BMX circuit for the 2012 Games. The circuit will be open to the public after the Olympics 2 BMX will be making only its second appearance at London 2012, its debut as an Olympic sport was in Beijing