SHE may currently be sidelined with injury but Oldbury triathlete Jodie Stimpson believes a refreshed approach to racing can pay dividends for her going forwards.

Double Commonwealth Games champion Stimpson has endured mixed fortunes during the last 12 months, with an Achilles injury bringing an end to her season last year after just missing out on selection for the Olympic Games in Rio.

A winter of hard work followed, which included a switch of training bases to be with the British team in Loughborough, and the early results were promising when she marked her return with a second-place finish in the opening race of the 2017 World Triathlon Series, in Abu Dhabi.

Unfortunately the identification of the early stages of a stress fracture in her leg last month put her back on the sidelines temporarily, but the 28-year-old is remaining positive, confident a fresh outlook on racing can help her as she aims to finish the season on a high.

“The recovery is going really well. I’ve been cycling and I’m building up my running so I’m looking forward to pushing on in the next couple of weeks,” she said.

“I would like to get back to how I started the year to be honest. I started so well. The winter was a bit of a period of unknown with a new coach but I came out and put in a really good performance in Abu Dhabi.

“I’ve tried to move forward with my racing, be bold and prepared to gamble and basically just try and compete without restrictions on myself.

“Essentially it’s a new mental approach I have tried to develop. I’m trying to be more aggressive and to take the race by the horns. It’s been exciting to have that mental shift.

“Once I get back from this injury, that’s how I will be trying to attack the rest of the year."

Next year could well be a busy time for Stimpson with the Commonwealth Games in April and then the European Championships in Glasgow later in the summer.

For the first time ever, a new multi-sport event will combine the existing European Championships for aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon, along with a new golf team championships, from August 2-12 in Glasgow. The 2018 European Athletics Championships, meanwhile, will be held in Berlin from August 7-12.

More than 3,000 of the continent’s finest athletes will descend on the Scottish city over 11 days of action for the biggest sporting event in the country since the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, with tickets now on sale – and Stimpson can’t wait for the action to unfold.

“I think it’s fantastic to have different European Championships in the one place next year, I’m all for it. Hopefully it will grow and grow,” she added.

“Triathlon has shown that it is one of the fastest growing sports and it’s great to have that spotlight on it again.

“There is a respect among athletes from different sports, everyone wants to compete at the highest level.”

Tickets for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships are now on sale at glasgow2018.com/tickets, starting at £10 for adults and £5 for under-16s and over-60s.