The voice inside your head. We've all got it.

Erinne Willock's spoke loudest before she made her move. "In a road race you're on a team of six women and you're working together to win the day," she says from her home in Victoria.

In Willock's career as a GC rider, the collective focus of those five teammates was to set her up for the some of the most daunting climbs in the cycling world. "When the hill does come and it's your turn you're kind of excited for it because you've waited in the saddle for three and a half hours and it's like "It's my time".

Erinne Willock's time as a cyclist began as a junior in the 90s in Victoria. Riding with Canada's elite mountain bikers like Roland Green, Alison Sydor and Geoff Kabush made Vancouver Island the ultimate high-performance training ground.

"The national training centre was here, and those guys were all five to ten years older than me and I got to jump into training rides with them." Willock represented Canada at the Junior Mountain Bike World Championships, but soon realized her strengths were on the road. She rode for Team Rona Esker in 2003, earning a pair of top three finishes that season. She continued her pro career from 2005 to 2010 with Webcor Builders Cycling Team and produced the top results of her career. Those included a silver medal in the 2006 Pan-Am Time Trial Championships and a Top-20 finish at the UCI World Championships in 2007.

In 2008 she qualified for the Beijing Olympics, finishing a gruelling race in 37th place. During those games she had a special boost through a family connection. "My dad was a cyclist and went to the '84 Olympics. He helped me with the voice in my head," she recalls with laugh.

The following season she was the top North American cylist at the UCI World Championships, crossing the line in 7th place.

With a career spanning the globe, Erinnie Willock's experiences are open to Canada's next generation of cyclists. "I really believe in this. To keep the athletes coming to Victoria and to have them tap into the expertise from this amazing group of athletes, now mentors to help them."

Erinne is the mother of two children and continues to call Victoria home. She mentors young cyclists with the Global Relay Bridge the Gap Fund, and is eager to help athletes find their paths on Vancouver Island.