Team axe was a shock but we had fitting finale

A couple of weeks ago I got an email out of the blue from the owners of my team, Cervelo, to say they weren't going to continue with a cycling team any more. Basically they said they didn't have any money to carry on in the sport so Sunday marked my last race for them.

It was pretty crazy how it all happened — actually that revelation was out on Cycling News before we heard about it on email — and the result was that the other girls on the team and I were suddenly left looking for new jobs.

It was a bit of a stressful couple of weeks but thankfully it's all sorted itself out and a lot of us have moved across to Garmin, who Bradley Wiggins used to ride for and who are setting up a women's team for the first time.

Everything happened pretty quickly so I assume there was a lot going on behind the scenes beforehand because they suddenly signed me and a lot of the other Cervelo girls transferred too.

As far as send-offs go, we had a pretty good one in the Tour de l'Ardeche in France. I won three stages, finished fourth overall and was named best young rider — afterwards we cracked open the champagne to celebrate for the first time this season.

The racing's normally so intense and you spend your whole time being 100 per cent professional but this race was a little different. Everyone was a bit more relaxed and it was great fun. The only sad thing was we couldn't win the overall race.

That's the end of the season for a few riders but my schedule's still looking pretty hectic. A week today I fly to Australia to prepare for the World Road Race Championships in Geelong.

We'll see what happens but, looking at the course, Emma Pooley will probably be our team leader for that so I'll be working for her.

That race is on 2 October and then I've got the Commonwealth Games road race just eight days later. The course in Delhi is pretty flat and should really suit me so hopefully I can keep my racing legs until then and go for the gold medal.

I'm actually going to stay in Australia until the very last minute as, because of security, we're not able to train outside at all in Delhi which isn't ideal preparation.

A lot's been made about security and I know a lot of athletes have decided not to compete but I'm happy to go. Okay, I'm a little bit nervous but happy nonetheless.

I've never been to India but travelled to Australia once for some track racing where I raced for three of the four days so it will be nice to the chance to do a bit of sightseeing afterwards even with the Commonwealth Games to prepare for.

If not, my boyfriend and I are planning a holiday at the moment. I quite fancy Morocco and I won't be taking my bike.

For more information on Lizzie Armitstead, visit www.mtc-uk.com