Lizzie Armitstead fed up of second as she targets Olympic title

Armitstead has her sights on the Tour of Flanders in Belgium

British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead wants to shed her "bridesmaid" tag by winning Olympic gold in Rio.

Armitstead finished second in the road race at the 2012 Olympics in London.

She told BBC Sport: "I think about Rio every day. Every day in training it's something that drives me forward. I want to be Olympic champion.

"I've got a lot of silvers. Second seems to be something I end up being. I don't want to be the bridesmaid forever."

Armitstead, 26, who finished behind the Netherlands' Marianne Vos at the London Games, also finished second in the 2010 Commonwealth Games road race before winning gold in Glasgow last year.

She is also targeting a road world title after admitting getting her tactics wrong at the World Championships last year and finishing seventh.

Armitstead, a world champion and three-time silver medallist on the track, said: "A world championship medal on the road is something that I'm missing from my CV.

"I wouldn't be happy to retire until I've achieved at least a medal anyway."

The Commonwealth champion has admitted to finding it difficult to appreciate just how talented she is.

"To think that I'm one of the best in the world at something is still hard to get my head around," she added.

"I do have to give myself a kick and say - when I'm surprised at podium results - why am I surprised? I am one of the best in the world and it's a position I should get used to being in."

Armitstead won the overall women's World Cup title last season but said it was not a main priority to defend it this year.

She has started the season well, winning the Tour of Qatar, ahead of the first World Cup race the Ronde van Drenthe in the Netherlands on Saturday.

However it is the Tour of Flanders in Belgium on 4 April which is firmly in her sights. It is a tough course, partly over cobbles, and one that she is relishing.

"Flanders is an iconic race. When you win Flanders you're one of cycling's greats," Armitstead said.

"It's just a hard person that wins it. A Yorkshire lass should win it," she added.