She may not be in action at this weekend’s British Rowing Indoor Championships but Jess Leyden admits she will be an interested spectator as the best of Britain battle it out at the Lee Valley Park Velodrome.

With less than a year to go until the Rio 2016 Olympics, Great Britain’s rowers are already hard at work trying to earn their spot on the team.

The latest challenge comes this Saturday at the British Rowing Indoor Championships in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – scene of the London Olympics three years ago.

Rio 2016 hopeful Leyden will not be in action but with so many of her fellow teammates taking to the indoor rowing machines, she will be looking closely at the results to determine where she is in terms of her own progress towards an Olympic debut next year.

“I won’t be competing this weekend but I am really excited to go down and support such a good competition and meet some juniors and support them,” said Leyden, who has been working with SAS to create a Perfect Rowing Programme which highlights the intense daily routine that Olympic athletes go through in the gym.

“The British Rowing Indoor Championships is really important because it is a chance for us to do an ERGO test in a competitive environment. It gives it an edge in your performance."

“London 2012 is a part of all of our lives and so to get the chance to go in and compete somewhere we usually wouldn’t is a brilliant opportunity."

“It would be amazing to go to an Olympic Games and it is a step towards the dream of winning Olympic gold one day."

“Just to experience all that comes with it would be amazing and it’s the pinnacle of our sport so nothing gets better than that.”

Jess Leyden was speaking on behalf of SAS – the leader in analytics software and services. SAS is the Official Analytics Partner of British Rowing and the GB Rowing Team at www.sas.com