FOR most people, being tapped-up for some free professional advice is an inconvenience but for Neah Evans, she can’t get enough of her friends and family asking her for advice on veterinary matters. That is because that 27-year-old gave up being a vet at the start of the summer to move to the home of British Cycling in Manchester and become a full-time cyclist as part of the lauded GB training programme.

While being paid to do sport is many people’s dream, including Evans’, she admits she does miss the day-to-day thrills and spills of being a vet.

“The vet stuff has been put completely on the back burner,” she says. “I miss it more than I thought I would and whenever any of my friends and family mention to me that they have a vet question I’m like yes, fire away! I had considered trying to continue to do bits and bobs of vet practice but it’s just so difficult because we’re away racing or on training camps so often that’s just not possible. And I feel like I’ve worked so hard to get to this position in cycling that I need to really give it everything rather than try to do other things at the same time. If I was to do vet work I know it would take away from my cycling but that doesn’t stop me missing it.”

Concentrating solely on her sport is certainly working out well for Evans. Last month, she claimed a stunning victory at Six Day London in the madison alongside her GB team-mate Emily Nelson before following that up with her first World Cup gold medal this month, winning the team pursuit at the Manchester World Cup with fellow Scot Katie Archibald along with Elinor Barker and Nelson.

The Aberdeenshire rider hopes to take that form into next weekend when she returns north of the border to race in the Glasgow leg of the Revolution Champions League, which takes place on Saturday and with few chances to ride at the highest level in her home country, Evans is relishing the opportunity.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Revolutions normally attract good crowds and Glasgow crowds tend to really stand out,” she said. “They love getting behind the action and they take any excuse to scream and shout which makes for such a great atmosphere. When you walk into the velodrome in Glasgow, it really is electric and it certainly gets the adrenaline going.”

Evans’ ascent through the ranks has been remarkable. After a distinguished career as a hill runner, she took up cycling in 2014 and has quickly become one of Britain’s top track cyclists. Her recent move to Manchester, where her compatriot and rival on the track Archibald is also based, has brought further progress and this despite breaking her clavicle and scapula in the summer, which rendered her “utterly useless” for a few weeks.

The upside of being a full-time athlete is that the increased free time has enabled Evans to make a dent in her reading list, although she reveals that Archibald is not exactly banging on her door to borrow her books.

“It is quite bizarre to be a full-time athlete and every so often I get annoyed at myself because I’m sitting doing nothing - but then I remember that it’s actually OK to be just resting,” she said. “It’s such a contrast to how I was when I was a vet but I do still like to keep my brain occupied. Katie was laughing at me the other day because I’m currently reading a neuroscience book - it’s more like a doorstop than a book and it’s not exactly a page turner.”

Evans and Archibald are likely to be spending a considerable amount of time together over the next few months; with the 2018 Commonwealth Games now just over four months away, the friends are, subject to their selection for Team Scotland being confirmed, going to be two vital members of what is shaping up to be an extremely strong Scottish cycling squad. It will be Evans’ maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games and she is relishing the prospect.

“There are a lot of riders who will be going not only to represent Team Scotland but who will be competitive there so it’s really exciting to be a part of that,” she said. “It’s such a good target to have because it will be my first experience of an event like this and so for it to be in the Gold Coast is amazing. At this stage it still seems far enough away that you can train hard and make a difference but it is also close enough that it's getting very real and that’s just so exciting.”