Lizzie Armitstead said yesterday that she feels every year could be her year and is hoping to turn silver into gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 26-year-old was the first British medallist in the London 2012 Olympics, finishing second in the women’s road race, and went on to win gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

But the silver in London left her feeling unsatisfied and with her two seventh-placed finishes in the Road World Championships in 2011 and 2014, Armitstead is hoping to take that next step over the coming months.

“It’s all I want, to be world champion,” Armitstead said.

“I’m at a stage now where every year could be my year.

“I’m an all-round cyclist and when I’m going well I’m one of the best in the world. Every year’s an opportunity.”

The Boels-Dolmans rider will compete in Richmond, Virginia for September’s 2015 Road World Championships before competing in Rio next August, but given a choice, Armitstead would rather win gold in Brazil than in the States.

“I’d pick the Olympics,” she said, when asked if she would prefer world gold now or Olympic gold later.

“I’m going to do a recce of that in August. At first I wasn’t going to, but having sat down and thought about it, it’s good to get rid of any unknowns going into the race.”

Armitstead also voiced her displeasure when organisers of the three-day Tour de Yorkshire, a legacy of the county’s hosting of the 2014 Tour de France, put on only a short women’s race.

The silver medallist, in a conversation with British track teammate Elinor Barker on Twitter, said of the short circuit race:

“It’s 80k... I’m not a junior.”

On what she had wrote, she added: “I was really jealous.

“I think Yorkshire did a fantastic job, so it was a really positive thing for cycling in Yorkshire.

“(But) it was a support race, it’s not a women’s race. I can’t say to my professional team ‘sorry, I can’t do a UCI race because I want to do a criterium’. It’s not really worth talking about as an option.”