Newcomer Northcott is fast making her mark
Northcott, 35, has only been cycling seriously for a year after giving up her previous love, adventure racing, which she admits was taking too high a toll on her body.
Teacher Northcott, who races for Plymouth's Shred team, has written herself out of any chance of making the London 2012 Olympics.
But the cyclist, who is already starting to turn heads at UK level, doesn't intend to give those racers who do go to the Olympics any peace next season.
"It's been a bit of a year for me," said Northcott in a masterly understatement.
For even before she won the Elite women's race at the Newnham Park-based Soggy Bottom mountain bike series, Northcott was forcing her way into the national top 10 in road racing.
She said: "I used to be into adventure racing (a combination of endurance events which can go on for days), but it was taking up all my time and it was beginning to destroy my body.
"I had quite a big knee operation and I suppose I was getting a little obsessed about adventure racing.
"I was looking around for something to do, because I am quite competitive.
"I was watching cycling at the Olympics and thought it was something I could have a go at, probably because I had done cycling as part of my training for adventure racing.
"Being part of the Shred team has been awesome, because they've given me so much support – and one of the other riders, Angie Pike, has made sure I do things right."
She added: "In the summer, I went to the road racing nationals in Wales, racing against top riders like Nicole Cook and Emma Pooley, which was scary.
"But I came 13th in a pretty competitive field, which I was pleased with because I've only been a proper cyclist for the past year.
"I've managed to get a second place in a national race, but last year was all about learning.
"Now I want to consolidate and get a lot closer to the riders at the top."
Northcott tackled mountain-biking – an entirely different prospect to road racing – almost on a whim.
She said: "I thought I'd just have a go at it and I was quite surprised when I won at Newnham.
"Now the team has got me signed up for the national mountain bike series next year in the masters category – it would be great to get a winner's jersey from that as well as the road cycling."
Northcott admitted: "The Olympics are probably out of the question for me because I'm probably too old.
"But I'd like to be up with the guys at the top end of the national field and be a pain in the backside to some of the girls coming through."
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