The diminished resources available to women cyclists mean only two weeks ago the Olympic silver medallist had not been briefed or had time to look at this week's Tour of Britain course

Lizzie Armitstead sits high up in the stands at an almost empty Manchester Velodrome as a few amateur riders circle the gleaming track. In a sleepy setting she seems a long way from the cobbled classics and brutal climbs that define her resilience and strength. Armitstead has carved out a huge lead in this year's road cycling World Cup, with a win and three second-place finishes in the opening four races.

The pain surging through her two weeks ago, as she climbed the infamous Mur de Huy for the second time at the Flèche Wallonne classic in Belgium, is only a memory now. "It hurt massively," Armitstead says with a wincing smile as she remembers the 1.3km long Mur, the Wall, which brings a twisting, technical race to its savage conclusion as the gradient rises to 26% on the steepest corners. "I felt pretty strong but I made a mistake by going too early. But if you'd told me at the start of the season I'd finish second at Flèche I wouldn't have believed it. It was quite surprising but very satisfying.

"I'd been hoping not to lose too much of my World Cup lead [with Armitstead 80 points ahead of Sweden's Emma Johansson before the Flèche Wallonne] because it's not a course that suits me and the first part of my season focused on the Tour of Flanders [over cobbles]. But Emma had quite a tough day and I'm now on about 400 points, and she's second on 200 something."

Another evocative race will unfold this week with the Tour of Britain , which begins in Oundle in Northamptonshire on Wednesday and ends in Bury St Edmunds on Sunday. Armitstead, a 25-year-old from Otley, pulls a face of mock regret at the fact the race will miss her beloved Yorkshire but she also says: "This is really significant for all of us."

She nods emphatically when asked if it is true the Tour of Britain will pay its stage winners and overall champion the kind of money their male counterparts can expect. Armitstead jokes that she has not looked at the exact prize money yet as, in comparison, "most women's races don't pay much at all". But this ground-breaking equality in pay, as well as daily coverage on ITV4 and a women's race called La Course on the last day of the 2014 Tour de France, allows her to say: "I feel quite positive about women's cycling right now."

Armitstead's personal quest has been far harder than conquering the Mur de Huy. Talking without a hint of melodrama, she traces the hard road she has travelled. She arrived alone in Belgium in 2009 and, aged 20 in a strange country with two languages she couldn't speak, set about learning to become a professional road cyclist while taking out a lease on a flat and worrying about her precarious future.

Her first three team contracts were all terminated as sponsors disappeared. Every year she fought on and so there is a steely glint when she considers the comparative lack of support for women from her own federation – which is venerated for its progressive thinking.

"I'm fine about it," Armitstead says when reminded that earlier this year, in an interview with Rouleur magazine, she pointed out that in regard to British Cycling's attitude towards the road, "There's no women's programme. There's no women's road academy. There's no pathway for women." Presumably nothing has changed in the intervening five months? "No," she murmurs. "But I'm not really thinking about that. I'm a bit removed from it. My focus has to be on my career."

Does she regret the fact that, unlike British men on the road, she has not received the same level of financial, emotional and psychological support from a powerful organisation that has encouraged Team Sky's £9m annual investment in a men's squad – when only £500,000 is needed to sustain a British women's team? "It's always been like this. I had to find my own path and, in some ways, it's been a good thing. I'm quite a strong person and I've become even stronger."

What about those less resilient individuals who might have been bolstered by British Cycling and Team Sky? "If you're going to succeed in professional sport you have to be resilient," Armitstead says bluntly.

Armitstead knows the bare facts do not need to be amplified by cheap quotes. She even valued "the honesty" of her most recent meeting with British Cycling, when she was told there was no immediate hope of investment in a women's road team. "Their business model is dictated by the Olympics and funding is generated by medals. There are many more medals to be won on the track rather than the road, so I can understand the logic."

As a former world championship-winning track cyclist she acknowledges the backing given to female stars of the velodrome such as Laura Trott, Jo Rowsell and Becky James. Armitstead also once told me she would not want to race for coaches and managers coerced into the role by political necessity. She would rather compete in a team where people believe in her full potential. And so Armitstead is firm when asked what she would do if a British Cycling-backed women's team emerged.

"I couldn't join them anyway. I've just signed a new contract with [the Dutch team] Boels-Dolmans and I'm very happy to be staying with them until 2016. They're a great team."

The respect with which Armitstead talks about Boels-Dolmans and its sporting director, Danny Stam, is striking. "I worked with Danny at AA Drink [another Dutch-based team] and he's an important reason in me extending my contact another two years. Danny has helped me a lot because, in some ways, I find it hard to form a working relationship with people in cycling. He's one of the few who've made it easy for me. He understands the way I think and he gets my ambitions. With a lot of people it feels like hard work but Danny makes everything easy. It's a huge help having him, Boels-Dolmans and my sponsors like Adidas."

When she races for Great Britain in the world championship she does not have the same backing or empathy. Last season Armitstead struggled with an undiagnosed hiatus hernia and at the world championship, in Tuscany, she finished 19th. Her support team consisted of three inexperienced riders who failed to complete the hilly race. The most talented of the trio, Lucy Garner, who had just turned 19, is more a sprinter than a climber.

Without a road academy or programme for British women, only the gifted maverick or extraordinarily determined can succeed. Yet it seems curious that, in Olympic terms, British women have done better then the men. Nicole Cooke's gold medal in the 2008 road race was followed by Armitstead's silver in a memorable battle in the rain against the great Marianne Vos at London 2012. Emma Pooley also won Olympic silver in the 2008 time trial and two years later became world champion.

Armitstead's immediate focus is the Tour of Britain. Beyond the important financial parity the five-day race offers, the diminished resources available to even Boels-Dolmans are apparent when Armitstead admits that two weeks ago she had not been briefed or had time to look at the course herself to decide whether "it really suits me or the team. It's not the case that we'll be like Bradley Wiggins in really preparing properly."

Boels-Dolmans, unlike most of their rivals, offer extended contracts to even their domestiques – but they are still not Team Sky. Their attention could only turn to the Tour of Britain after a two-day race in Luxembourg last week. "It's difficult but I want to do well in my home race. All my family and friends are coming to support me."

The race is not part of the World Cup series but it features the best women on the road, including Vos, who finished sixth (one place ahead of Pooley) at Flèche. Armitstead smiles when I lament the fact that the women's race in Belgium did not feature on Eurosport – with the broadcaster focusing exclusively on the men: "I'm confident we'll get on Eurosport one day."

After London 2012, the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation reported a stark statistic. According to their study, women's sport received 5% of the media coverage and 0.5% of the commercial sponsorship invested in men's sport. Brian Cookson, the UCI president, based a central plank of his election manifesto on a commitment to improving the status of women's cycling.

I remind Armitstead that, last September, Cookson and I discussed the attitude of British Cycling (of whom he was then president) towards women. Cookson is a decent man but he used the word "difficult" when considering elite athletes such as Cooke. Victoria Pendleton, Pooley and Armitstead have also been described as "difficult" in voicing their dissatisfaction with British Cycling. "I read that," Armitstead says of Cookson's comment, "and it was disappointing but I like Brian. He's a good person."

Cookson has since approached Armitstead and promised that his commitment to women's cycling is "not just manifesto talk". Has Armitstead seen a difference since he became UCI president? "I have. The UCI are now live-streaming the World Cup races and Tracey Gaudry [one of Cookson's three vice-presidents and the first woman to be elected to such a high role in cycling's governing body] has been at every race. I like her and so there are some positive changes."

The larger battle, to earn equal rights for women road cyclists, as female tennis players have done, will take years to be won. Armitstead, however, needs to remain consumed by her own career. It's a measure of her intense commitment that she laughs lightly when I ask if it's too early to consider her plans for the 2016 Olympic road race. "I think about the Olympics every single day – in terms of what I want to achieve and the kind of athlete I'll need to be. The course looks tough. And if it's hilly as it appears I'll have to start thinking soon about my weight."

Armitstead is a lean and supremely fit athlete. But she might have to lose "around 5kg" to win gold on a climber's course in Rio. "I'll just have to stop eating chocolate altogether."

She is admirably clear when outlining her primary ambitions: "To win Flanders, become world champion and get Olympic gold." And so Armitstead's only disappointment this season has been her second place at Flanders . "It's been a dream of mine to win it so long – and to finish second, behind my team-mate [Ellen van Djik], felt a bit strange. We had a strong plan and Ellen went at the right time. She deserved her win with a solo breakaway. But Vos only won it for the first time last year – so I've still got time."

We look down again at the velodrome where she might have found a much easier life as a track cyclist. But Armitstead sounds like a supreme racer who knows where she belongs – conquering even the steepest wall of a road and taking the lead for herself and women's cycling. "I miss racing on the track," Armitstead says, "but not anything else. I'm much happier on the road."

Lizzie Armitstead is wearing the new adidas Supernova range available at adidas.co.uk/cycling. Join the conversation at @adidasUK #ridemore