Cycling Shorts Sponsors Team Jadan – Official Launch

TeamJadanCyclingWeb

Saturday saw the launch of a new women’s cycling team – Team Jadan, hoping to change the image and progression of how women are involved in road racing. Team Jadan had its official presentation in the historic East Yorkshire town of Beverley at the eponymously named Beverley Arms Hotel.

As you may or may not know the Cycling Shorts collective has taken it’s first foray into cycling team sponsorship. We are very proud to announce our Official sponsorship of the new women’s Cycling Team – Team Jadan.
When I met the women on the team I knew they had the right attitude and mindset that I like to see in sportswomen. Cycling Shorts had to be involved!

I’m really impressed with the team’s attitude towards promoting women’s racing to all levels of riders. They are a great group of strong focused women. The team are out to prove you can have a family, career and study but still be part of a structured cycling team. As we all know the cycling world is male dominated and it’s a place where women are still not given equal standing, it needs these ladies to shake it up a bit from the grassroots!
I should also point out we have a vested interest because our Sub-Editor (and women’s cycling game changer) Heather Bamforth will be one of the team’s key riders this season. So no pressure Heather!

AnnaBel Sill & Frankie White - Hull Thursday 2-Up TT - ©TeamJadan / chrismaher.co.uk

AnnaBel Sill & Frankie White – Hull Thursday 2-Up TT – ©TeamJadan / chrismaher.co.uk

Team Jadan is the brainchild of Victoria Hood who believes that the perception of what women of all levels can achieve in cycle road racing needs to be changed.
The concept behind the team is to provide a stepping stone for women to progress through the racing categories, keeping the experience friendly and supportive. The goal of the team is to break down the barriers for non-elite riders and to prove that road racing is accessible for women and that they have other options than just breeze rides and charity events if they want to gain more experience.
This year’s team is made up of a variety of levels of experience, all very strong cyclists in their own right, but the riders have also been selected for their attitude and because they are good ambassadors and role models for women’s road cycling. Team Jadan are here to prove you can have a full time job and family life as well as competing at a high level in what is a tough competitive sport.
The team will play a key role in the new Yorkshire Women’s Road Race Series (promoted by Victoria Hood) and the successful CDNW RR League (promoted by Team Jadan rider Heather Bamforth), both of which exist to provide a springboard for women’s cycling talent without the intimidating atmosphere of some of the traditional events on the race calendar.

Victoria Hood & Pam Wainman - ©Team Jadan chrismaher.co.uk

Victoria Hood & Pam Wainman – ©Team Jadan / chrismaher.co.uk

When Victoria was looking for sponsors she chose the more continental style of sponsorship by including local businesses as well as international sports brands. The principal sponsor is Jadan Press, a Hull-based digital printers. The owner Pam Wainman was approached by Victoria and the two clicked immediately. Pam’s mother was a keen cyclist in the 1950’s and she sadly passed away just before Pam and Victoria met. When Pam heard Victoria’s plans for a women’s cycling team to encourage development of riders she decided she had to be part of it, “I know my mum would have been proud of the girls”.

The Sports brands on board are:
Bioracer UK who provide the women’s team kit.
Cycling Shorts an online cycling magazine who are providing the team’s website and PR.
Torq Fitness provides the team with performance nutrition products.
Vankru Cycling have fitted the team’s bikes.
Cycling Photographer Chris Maher who is the team’s official photographer.

Yorkshire Sponsors:
Jadan Press – Printers.
Neil Thompson Strength & Fitness a personal Trainer – Neil wants to promote strength training for women as it helps fight off osteoporosis.
Riley’s – a designer clothes retailer in Beverley.
Prestige – an East Yorkshire company specialising in damp proofing, fire and flood restoration.
Hugh Rice Jewellers – A Jewellery retailer with stores across the North of England.

The team aims to give back to its sponsors too. The team will all write about their training and racing experiences during the season. Through the www.TeamJadan.com website, sponsors are also encouraged to share their latest news.
The team is packed with personality, with different skills and backgrounds; A-level students, trainee teachers, mums and career women. They are out to prove that women can be involved in cycling with the same level of commitment and professionalism as their male counterparts, organising themselves as a dedicated competitive team with quality sponsors.

VictoriaHoodTeamJadan600x800Meet the team:
Victoria Hood – Team Captain – East Yorkshire
Victoria is a qualified ride leader and an NSI cycle instructor.
“The team I have is amazing they are all really strong riders but the important thing to me was that they had to be friendly and approachable, cycling is tough but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at the same time as racing. I want to promote women’s cycling, make it more accessible and help to bring more girls into the sport.”

 

 

 

HeatherBamforthTeamJadan600x800Heather Bamforth – Manchester
Heather has over 20 years’ experience of cycling, and has raced at both national and international level on the road in the past. A qualified cycling coach, Heather has proved to be one of the key people in bringing about a change to women’s competitive cycling by making it appealing to all levels of female cyclist.
“Victoria asked me to join the team as she wanted to set up a similar level of racing in Yorkshire to what I helped to instigate in the North West. 2014 sees the inaugural Yorkshire Women’s Road Race Series which I hope will prove to be as successful as the North West races. I am looking forward to being part of the team and we have a beautiful kit from Bioracer, which definitely helps us look the part!”

 

OliviaTomlinsonTeamJadan600x800Olivia Tomlinson – East Yorkshire
Olivia is the youngest member of the team and is in her first year as a senior rider.  Olivia had some great results last season and is looking to build on her success last year.
“I have been riding since I was 14 – I took part in a local club’s time trials and joined in on their Sunday rides. When I was 16 I began to enter races and really enjoyed taking part in the events. For this year’s season I am looking forward to racing in a women s team, I’m hoping to progress and learn from the other more experienced team members”.

 

 

AnnabelSillTeamJadan600x80Annabel Sill – Hertfordshire
Annabel has been riding for 6 years. “Cycling and racing has been a big part of my life since university, and my current housemates put up with me having four bikes in the house and a turbo in the corner of the kitchen. I’ve been time trialling for five years, and started doing a mix of crits, road races and TTs in the 2013 season – and that’s how I met Victoria, she asked if I would like to join the team. I’m keen to promote women’s racing and I’m currently doing a British Cycling Level 2 Coaching course to help bring on youth and junior girls at my cycling club Welwyn Wheelers. I’m really looking forward to building on my strengths, and being able to race with and support the other girls on the team this year!”

 

LaurenBrownTeamJadan600x800Lauren Brown – Carlisle
Lauren is a feisty rider, who has a number of local victories under her belt over the last few seasons.
“Having raced for Abergavenny WCT last season, I’m looking forward to racing with the girls in National Series events and the CDNW women’s road race league and the new Yorkshire road race league. I’m from a sprint and track background then two years ago I switched to road. I’m a Level 2 British Cycling Coach and I help little kids improve their skills… well I certainly hope I do!”

 

 

FrankieWhiteTeamJadan600x800Frankie White – Manchester
“I’m very much looking forward to racing in the UK and beyond with this lovely group of ladies. We have a great mix of characters on this team, each inspiring me to work hard and develop as a rider. I really enjoyed our first training camp in FebruaryI much prefer the long races, 3 hours is good for me, I’m the complete opposite to Lauren, she’s really good at 1 hour long crits. I find it’s not nearly enough for my style of racing, I love the endurance.”

 

 

 

SamThoyTeamJadan600x800Sam Thoy – Lincolnshire
Sam has been racing cyclocross through the winter, with 5 wins under her belt so far – a latecomer to cycling but with a fell running background she’s a very strong athlete.
Sam said “I am looking forward to this year, with our team doing some proper damage at the national team series events. I also fancy trying the round town circuit races and there is a race up Alpe d’Huez that I must do! I just love biking and racing, why did I not discover it earlier!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 – The Revolution Moves Up A Gear!

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Click SL (slideshow) or FS (fullscreen)

Gallery Images ©ChrisMaher.co.uk

Doull & Burke Show How To Ride A Rev!

The Revolution moves up a gear – The new season has seen an expansion from 4 to 5 rounds and the racing will take place at London, Glasgow and Manchester – tonights action coming from Manchester. Throughout the series there will be a new feature; UCI qualification points can be won by the elite riders in selected races, bringing even more of the top cycling talent to the boards through the winter. These points are required by the top riders and the teams to gain selection for the World Cups and World Championships, so if you buy a ticket to one of the rounds you are guaranteed to see a British cycling star racing.

Recently retired Sir Chris Hoy who raced the very first Revolution in 2003 obviously won’t be taking to the track this season but he’s not stepping back from the Revolution, he’s taking over sponsorship of the Future Stars league from DHL (through his HOY bike brand). This year the winning girl and boy of the series will get their own HOY track bikes. “The Revolution is arguably more important for the young riders. At that age, racing in front of a full house, with Olympic or world champions along-side you, must be pretty cool. In the old days, when I was competing, you’d be going round with one man and his dog watching.”

Another first; this year we see the introduction of afternoon sessions and the fun and games got under way with the Sprint Qualifiers. Looking like they meant business were Revolution newcomer Danni Khan and seasoned pro Matt Crampton were certainly the strongest two riders through the afternoon sprint rounds.

At only 18 Dani has achieved more than most would in a whole career,  by 16 she was a European and National Junior Speed Skating Champion, cycling was an off season hobby. She then decided to stick with the cycling as it gave her a real buzz, so this year she competed at the World Championships and bagged herself the 500m time trial and sprint title. Next partnered with Jess Varnish she won her first Senior National title in the team sprint at Glasgow. This girl has talent and she was showing it at the Rev! In the afternoon Revolution Dani won the Sprint Qualifier and the first of her heats in the Sprint.  A cool calm and measured performance.

Matt was looking very strong, he seemed very fired up (in readiness for the World Cup on the 1st Nov no doubt), competition is very tight between the top male riders right now fighting for places and qualification points, with his powerful riding style he did remind me of a young Chris Hoy as he rode on to win his UCI Sprint Qualifier and first heat of the Sprint and  UCI Keirin.

In a tight UCI Women’s Points Race Dani King just sneaked past Russian rider Anastasia Chulkova; winning by one point [45-44 respectively]. The Men’s Elite UCI Points Race was dominated by Jon Mould [Team USN] with a whopping  97 points, but Owain Doull made his second outing on the track equally as successful as his first bagging another 2nd for Team Telegraph [68pts] and Rudy Project’s Christian Grasmann 3rd on 51pts.

Alex Dowsett carries out starting duties in-between TV Presenter duties. - ©ChrisMaher.co.uk

Alex Dowsett carries out starting duties in-between TV Presenter duties. – ©ChrisMaher.co.uk

The afternoon session concluded with Ed Clancy storming to victory in the Flying Lap with a time of 13.358. Steven Burke took 2nd coming in with a time of 13.570, a pattern was emerging for the consistent performance we could expect from Telegraph All Stars teammates Burke and Doull as we headed towards the evening session.

As we waited in the press area for the evening programme of cycling to start, we returned to our our annual discussion about our choice of jelly based confectionary laid out on the table. Percy Pig & Friends seems to be a steady favourite but the two Chris’s [Chris Keller-Jackson & Chris Maher] and I came to the conclusion the occasional Colin Caterpillar wouldn’t go amiss… well the guys seemed to be more knowledgable about Colin than me, Fizzy Pig Tails weren’t quite as popular and to be honest after a couple of sweets I felt sugar rushed out and quite queazy. I’m sure we’ll review other jelly sweets at the World Cup between sessions… and no doubt Colin will make an appearance.

The evening session kicked off as the morning did with the sprinters, ladies first…

The Women’s Sprint Semi Finals saw Jess Varnish dispatch Dani Kahn, Dani led out the cat and mouse but the 18 year old was caught with relative ease by the experienced Varnish. Becky James came through her heat to comfortably beat Katy Marchant. Newcomer Katy took out the lead but the World Champ Becky James outsmarted her – but this just really showed us the talent  coming through Women’s Track Sprinting after the reign of Queen Victoria [Pendleton]. The final was going to be a cracking fight between the two top British women.

The men’s Sprint Semi Finals saw a head to head between Philip Hindes and Matt Crampton and Jason Kenny against Lewis Olivia. Crampton tried to take the front in his heat on the first lap but decided to sit back and go the long way round on the second lap pipping Hindes at the line. Jason Kenny seemed to glide through his heat, looking very much in control.

Laura Trott stamped her authority on the Women’s Elimination Race, with a very tight result for second and third being fought out between Chulkova and King, The Russian got the better of Dani King.

Men’s Elite Elimination race and Luke Rowe wins in style, 2nd Jon Mould and 3rd Owain Doull. Luke celebrates with a double handed ‘W’ after he crosses the line.

Future Stars Girls:

The ‘one to watch’ Future Stars rider for me was Sophie Capewell, she was consistently gritty and determined throughout her events, and kept popping up when you least expected it. In the first of the girls events (6 Lap Dash) she managed a 2nd behind Lucy Shaw, 3rd was taken by sister Emily Capewell.  In the Girls Scratch Race – there was a gutsy performance from Team USN’s Megan Barker, 2nd Lucy Shaw, 3rd Sophie Capewell. Capewell finally got her win in the Girls Points race a whole 5 points ahead of her nearest rival Bethany Taylor, 3rd went to Grace Garner.

 Future Stars Boys:

The boys races were brought to you by the letter “J”, Joe Truman of Rapha Condor Sharp managed to dominate the Points race and Six Lap Dash, the lead was held by Brett Nethall with two laps remaining but Truman hauled him in. Joel Partington of Team Sky won the Scratch Race. Jack Carlin of Rudy Project Race Team managed a respectable 2nd in the Six Lap Dash and a 3rd in the Scratch Race.

The Women’s Scratch Race was the last of the outings for the professional women on the track and all conquering past Future Stars Rider Emily Kay, who has now embarked on her professional career showed her usual flair for the track and rode a brilliant Scratch Race, never panicking or being intimidated but the big names, in the sprint for the line she saw off Leire Olaberria Dorronsoro of Spain and Laura Trott clung on to 3rd.

 

Katie Archibald

I caught up with Revolution first timer Katie Archibald who took a tumble earlier in the evening:

CS: How did you find your first Revolution experience?

Katie: “It went pretty terribly to be honest with a crash and a god awful devil. I’m hoping to get back on my game for Glasgow. It was the first I’ve ridden so the mass of cameras and crowds impressed me, I’m riding the Scottish Champs tomorrow and it’s a pretty stark contrast.”

CS: Congratulations on your recent news [British Cycling Academy] Can I ask you thoughts about the big move south? and what you expect to be in store for you?

Katie: “It’s still all a bit up in the air, so unfortunately I don’t really have any details about what will happen in the next few months, it’s making it quite hard for me to form a reaction! I’m glad I’ve gotten on… and I’m glad I won’t be going back to work!”

CS: How did you hear you’d been selected?

Katie: “Chris told me by phone the week after we got back from the Euros. I was expecting to find out two weeks prior to that so it had been festering quite a while, it’s was such a relief to have my place confirmed.”

CS: What are your long term goals?

Katie: “Hmm.. My long term dream would have to be Rio. Also I hope to ride for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games next year. My biggest strength is pursuing, but my biggest love is the points race. Though I will be doing more road in 2014.

CS: The Women’s Tour?

Katie: “Yep probably the women’s tour – my team for next year is Madison / Boot Out Breast Cancer and I’ll be riding with the like of Sarah Storey and other big names. It’s a really exciting time”

 

Elite Men’s Madison 1km Time Trial is always a favourite with the crowd and tonights didn’t disappoint, The crowds and track centre were on their feet ready to watch the changeovers, In the end Ed Clancy and Ollie Wood of Rapha won ( 00.56.001 ) helped by a perfect slingshot changeover. but once again Owain Doull and Steven Burke weren’t far behind taking second; .333 down. Luke Rowe and Jon Dibben of Team Sky took 3rd place with a time of 00.56.557.

UCI Men’s Sprint Final – Jason Kenny showed the crowd some flawless sprinting beating Matt Crampton to the line, Hindes and Olivia fought it out for 3rd place with Philip Hindes taking it.

The girls provided the real nail biter of the evening in the UCI Women’s Sprint Final, the fight for third and fourth went to the line with Dani Kahn winning third place and Katy Marchant taking fourth, but the battle for the win between Varnish and James had everyone out of their seat shouting their favourite on. Varnish just edged it on the line.

Christian Grasmann takes on Team Sky (Rowe & Dibben) Revolution Series 11 | Revolution 41 Manchester

Christian Grasmann takes on Team Sky (Rowe & Dibben) – Image ©ChrisMaher.co.uk

UCI Men’s Scratch Race: Dean Downing rides off the front of the peloton with 56 laps to go in his true gritty style, pulled back into the pack with 51 laps to go. Luke Rowe then takes up the challenge but he’s chased down by Christian Grasmann of Rudy Project. Jon Mould Goes away but has to admit defeat and join the peloton again.

A strong looking breakaway of 4 riders led by Christian Grasmann and made up with Simon Yates, Sam Harrison and Otto Vergaerde again holds a half lap gap for a handful of laps but gets hauled in by Owain Doull and the fully committed peloton. Dean Downing gives it another go off the front to please the crowd who cheer him on, with 16 laps to go the peloton starts to show signs of splintering as Downing gives up with a cheeky smile knowing he’s done damage. Jon Dibben of Team Sky takes his chances and takes Jon Mould with him but to no avail with 6 laps to go Sam Harrison makes a break but with moments to go and roars from the crowd olympic champion Ed Clancy powers off the front to take an impressive victory. I have to say the Men’s Scratch race was one of crowds favourite events judging by the cheers… mine too!

Men’s UCI Keirin Final: Jason Kenny proved his stripes in the final beating the best of the UK riders with an impressive gap to roars from the crowd.

Women’s UCI Keirin Final: Jess Varnish comes to the front with two laps to go, but timing is everything and Kahn wins in a photo over Jess Varnish, Rosie Blount 3rd and Becky James 4th. There was just a 7cm margin!

 

Round 1 TV Highlights

If you’re in the UK you can watch the highlights of Round 1 on the new BT Sport2 Channel (not available on all TV services in the UK).

Tuesday 29th October 2013

For more information on the Revolution and to book your Glasgow tickets for round 2 visit: www.cyclingrevolution.com

 

Full Results

AFTERNOON RESULTS

UCI Women’s Sprint Qualifying
1. Dani Khan, Gbr 11.184
2. Becky James, Gbr, 11.233
3. Katy Marchant 11.252
4. Vicky Williamson, Gbr 11.265
5. Jess Varnish, Gbr 11.340
6. Melissandre Pain, Gbr 11.622
7. Rosie Blount, 11.735
8. Maroejska Matthee South Africa 12.555
9. Anastasia Chulkova, Ruv 12.580

UCI Men’s Sprint Qualifying
1. Matthew Crampton, Gbr 10.124
2. Jason Kenny Gbr 10.163
3. Callum Skinner, Gbr 10.201
4. Tomas Babek, Cze 10.282
5. Philip Hindes, Gbr 10.290
6. Oliva Hindes, Gbr 10.297
7. Kian Emadi, Gbr 10.392
8. Jeanne Nel, South Africa 10.417
9. Jean Smith, RSA 10.614
10. Matt Rotherham, Gbr 10.661

UCI Men’s Points
1. Jon Mould, USN 97
2. Owain Doull, TMG 68
3. Christian Grasmann, Rpr, 51
4. Adam Yates, Maxgear 46
5. Ed Clancy, Rapha Condor JLT 44
6. Sam Harrison, TSC 43
7. Luke Rowe, Sky 43
8. Andy Tennant, MGE 30
9. Otto Vergaerde, WD40 27
10. Jon Dibben, Sky 25
11. Andrea Graf, ROU 22
12. Evan Carstens, ROU 14
13. Steven Burke TMG 7
14. Oliver Wood, RCJ 6
15. Jake Ragan MAX 2
16. Germaine Burton, -12
17. Chris Latham, WD40
18. Scott Davies, USN -17
19. Dean Downing, MGE -19
20. Kellan Gouveris, ROU -32

UCI Women’s Sprint
Heat 1. Jess varnish beat Vicky Williamson
Heat 2: Katy Marchant beat Melissandre Pain (France)
Heat 3: Becky James beat Rosie Blount
Heat 4: Dani Khan beat Matthee Maroejska (South Africa)
Men’s Sprint Quarter Finals

UCI Men’s Sprint

Heat 1: Phillip Hindes beat Tomas Babek (Cze)
Heat 2: Lewis Oliva beat Callum Skinner
Heat 3: Jason Jenny beat Kian Emadi
Heat 4: Matt Crampton beat Nel Jeanne (South Africa)

UCI Women’s Points
1. Dani King 45
2. Anastasia Chulkova 44
3. Leire Olaberria 35
4. Amy Hill USN 3 3
5. Elinor Barker 28
6. Joanna Rowsell 28
7. Laura Trott 22
8. Hannah Barnes 5
9. Hayley Jones 3
10. Jarmila Machakova 1
11. Emily Kay, 1
12. Katie Archibald, -13
13. Sarah Inghelbrecht -19
14. Mattee Maroejska -60

UCI Men’s Keirin Round 1
Heat 1
1. Matt Crampton
2. Phil Hindes
3. Kian Emadi
4. Benjamin Edelin (Fra)
5. Matt Rotherham
6. Callum Skinner

Heat 2
1. Tomas Babek
2. Lewis Oliva
3. Jason Kenny
4. Jean Smith
5. Nel Jeanne

Elite Men’s Flying Lap
1. Ed Clancy 13.358
2. Steven Burke 13.570
3. Andy Tennant, 13.824
4. Jon Dibben 13.904
5. Evan Carstens 14.021
6. Jon Mould 14.178
7. Christian Grasmann 14.342
8. Chris Latham 14.385
9. Jacob Scott 14.502
10. Jake Ragan 15.270

 

EVENING RESULTS

UCI Sprint – Womens Sprint Semi-Finals
Heat 1
1 VARNISH, Jess GBR 11.835
2 KHAN, Dani GBR

Heat 2
1 JAMES, Becky GBR 11.843
2 MARCHANT, Katy GBR

UCI Men’s Sprint Semi Finals

Heat 1
1 CRAMPTON, Matt GBR 10.552
2 HINDES, Phil GBR

Heat 2
1 KENNY, Jason GBR 10.741
2 OLIVIA, Lewis GBR

Elimination Race – Women
1 TROTT, Laura WIG
2 CHULKOVA, Anastasia RUV
3 KING, Dani WIG
4 JONES, Hayley USN
5 OLABERRIA DORRONSORO, Leire ESP
6 HILL, Amy USN
7 BARKER, Elinor WIG
8 INGHELBRECHT, Sarah BEL
9 MACHAKOVA, Jarmila CZE
10 BARNES, Hannah MGM
11 ROWSELL, Jo WIG
12 HALL, Corrine MFR
13 ARCHIBALD, Katie COE
14 MATTHEE, Maroejska RSA

UCI Women’s Sprint Minor Final
1 WILIAMSON, Vicky GBR 11.669
2 PAIN, Mélissandre FRA
3 BLOUNT , Rosie GBR

UCI Sprint Minor Final
1 BABEK, Tomas CZE 11.669
2 SKINNER, Callum GBR
3 EMADI, Kian GBR
4 NEL, Jeanne RSA

Future Stars Six Lap Dash Girls
1 JACOB, Lucy RPR 30
2 CAPEWELL, Sophie TSC 25
3 CAPEWELL, Emily TSC 23
4 DEW, Monica MGE 22
5 ROBERTS, Jessica USN 21
6 JARY, Rachel ROU 20
7 MILWARD, Paige WD4 19
8 HARPER, Lucy ROU 18
9 GARNER, Grace SKY 17
10 DICKINSON, Eleanor MAX 16
11 CHARD, Megan TMG 15
12 COLBORNE, Henrietta MAX 14
13 TAYLOR, Bethany RCJ 13
14 HUGHES, Anna-Marie MGE 12
15 BIRCHALL, Sallie RCJ 11
16 WILLIAMS, Sophie TMG 10
17 ANSELL, Jessie RPR 9
18 BARKER, Megan USN 8
19 COLLINS, Autumn SKY 7
20 BATE-LOWE, Lauren WD4 6

Elimination Race
1 ROWE, Luke SKY
2 MOULD, Jon USN
3 DOULL, Owain TMG
4 GRASMANN, Christian RPR
5 HARRISON, Sam TSC
6 TENNANT, Andy MGE
7 CLANCY, Ed RCJ
8 VERGAERDE, Otto WD4
9 SCOTT, Jacob TSC
10 RAGAN, Jake MAX
11 WOOD, Oliver RCJ
12 DIBBEN, Jon SKY
13 DOWNING, Dean MGE
14 GRAF, Andreas RPR
15 DAVIES, Scott USN
16 YATES, Adam MAX
17 CARSTENS, Evan ROU
18 LATHAM, Chris WD4
19 BURKE, Steven TMG
20 GOUVERIS, Kellan ROU

Future Stars – Boys – Points Race
1 TRUMAN, Joe RCJ 5 5 1 0 10 30
2 BAILLIE, Karl SKY 5 3 2 0 8 25
3 WALKER, Joey TSC 5 9 0 5 23
4 WALLS, Matt MAX 2 2 3 0 4 22
5 WOOD, Reece TSC 3 1 4 0 4 21
6 PAYNE, Jack ROU 3 15 0 3 20
7 PARTINGTON, Joel SKY 3 20 0 3 19
8 BRAYBROOKE, Alex WD4 2 6 0 2 18
9 ROTHERHAM, Tom ROU 2 16 0 2 17
10 HOLT, Joe USN 1 7 0 1 16
11 BALFOUR, Stuart TMG 1 14 0 1 15
12 IRESON, James TMG 1 18 0 1 14
13 AL-RAMAH, Hisham MGE 5 0 0 13
14 BRENNAN, Fabian WD4 8 0 0 12
15 LONGSTAFF, Frank MGE 10 0 0 11
16 KIRKBRIDE, Ellis MAX 11 0 0 10
17 MORGAN, Luke RCJ 12 0 0 9
18 NETHALL, Brett USN 13 0 0 8
19 BOOTH, Tom RPR 17 0 0 7
20 CARLIN, Jack RPR 19 0 0 6

Men’s UCI Keirin Minor Final
1 NEL, Jeanne RSA
2 SKINNER, Callum GBR
3 ROTHERHAM, Matt GBR
4 EDELIN, Benjamin FRA
5 SMITH, Jean RSA

UCI Women’s Scratch Race
1 KAY, Emily GBR
2 OLABERRIA DORRONSORO, Leire ESP
3 TROTT, Laura GBR
4 KING, Dani GBR
5 MACHAKOVA, Jarmila CZE
6 JONES, Hayley GBR
7 BARKER, Elinor GBR
8 ARCHIBALD, Katie GBR
9 CHULKOVA, Anastasia RUS
10 INGHELBRECHT, Sarah BEL
11 HILL, Amy GBR
12 MATTHEE, Maroejska RSA
13 HALL, Corrine GBR
14 ROWSELL, Jo GBR
15 BARNES, Hannah GBR

Kilo Madison TT
1 RAPHA CONDOR JLT RCJ 00:56.001
CLANCY Ed/WOOD Oliver

2 TELEGRAPH ALLSTARS TMG 00:56.334
DOULL Owain/BURKE Steven

3 TEAM SKY SKY 00:56.557
ROWE Luke/DIBBEN Jon

4 ROULEUR ROU 00:58.431
GOUVERIS Kellan/CARSTENS Evan

5 804 MADISON GENESIS MGE 00:58.476
TENNANT Andy/DOWNING Dean

6 806 TEAM SPORTSCOVER TSC 00:58.618
SCOTT Jacob/HARRISON Sam

7 809 WD40 WD4 00:58.749
LATHAM Chris/VERGAERDE Otto

8 807 MAXGEAR RT MAX 01:00.024
RAGAN Jake/YATES Adam

9 802 RUDY PROJECT RT RPR 01:00.207
GRASMANN Christian/GRAF Andreas

10 805 TEAM USN USN
MOULD Jon/DAVIES Scott 01:00.447

Future Stars Girls Scratch Race
1 BARKER, Megan USN 30
2 JACOB, Lucy RPR 25
3 CAPEWELL, Sophie TSC 23
4 ROBERTS, Jessica USN 22
5 DICKINSON, Eleanor MAX 21
6 MILWARD, Paige WD4 20
7 COLBORNE, Henrietta MAX 19
8 GARNER, Grace SKY 18
9 HARPER, Lucy ROU 17
10 JARY, Rachel ROU 16
11 TAYLOR, Bethany RCJ 15
12 WILLIAMS, Sophie TMG 14
13 DEW, Monica MGE 13
14 CHARD, Megan TMG 12
15 BATE-LOWE, Lauren WD4 11
16 HUGHES, Anna-Marie MGE 10
17 BIRCHALL, Sallie RCJ 9
18 CAPEWELL, Emily TSC 8
19 ANSELL, Jessie RPR 7
20 COLLINS, Autumn SKY 6

Men’s Sprint Finals
1. Jason Kenny Gbr
2. CRAMPTON, Matt GBR

3. HINDES, Phil GBR 10.629
4. OLIVIA, Lewis GBR

Future Stars Boys Six Lap Dash
1 TRUMAN, Joe RCJ 30
2 CARLIN, Jack RPR 25
3 ROTHERHAM, Tom ROU 23
4 BAILLIE, Karl SKY 22
5 HOLT, Joe USN 21
6 PAYNE, Jack ROU 20
7 WALKER, Joey TSC 19
8 IRESON, James TMG 18
9 KIRKBRIDE, Ellis MAX 17
10 BOOTH, Tom RPR 16
11 LONGSTAFF, Frank MGE 15
12 AL-RAMAH, Hisham MGE 14
13 WALLS, Matt MAX 13
14 PARTINGTON, Joel SKY 12
15 BALFOUR, Stuart TMG 11
16 BRENNAN, Fabian WD4 10
17 MORGAN, Luke RCJ 9
18 WOOD, Reece TSC 8
19 NETHALL, Brett USN 7
20 BRAYBROOKE, Alex WD4 6

Future Stars Girls Points
1 CAPEWELL, Sophie TSC 5 3 15 0 8 30
2 TAYLOR, Bethany RCJ 5 1 0 5 25
3 GARNER, Grace SKY 5 11 0 5 23
4 ANSELL, Jessie RPR 5 20 0 5 22
5 ROBERTS, Jessica USN 3 1 4 0 4 21
6 JACOB, Lucy RPR 3 1 7 0 4 20
7 COLBORNE, Henrietta MAX 3 2 0 3 19
8 BARKER, Megan USN 1 2 5 0 3 18
9 MILWARD, Paige WD4 2 3 0 2 17
10 CHARD, Megan TMG 2 13 0 2 16
11 HARPER, Lucy ROU 2 16 0 2 15
12 WILLIAMS, Sophie TMG 1 12 0 1 14
13 DEW, Monica MGE 6 0 0 13
14 JARY, Rachel ROU 8 0 0 12
15 DICKINSON, Eleanor MAX 9 0 0 11
16 HUGHES, Anna-Marie MGE 10 0 0 10
17 BIRCHALL, Sallie RCJ 14 0 0 9
18 COLLINS, Autumn SKY 18 0 0 8
19 CAPEWELL, Emily TSC 19 0 0 7
20 BATE-LOWE, Lauren WD4

Women’s Sprint Finals
1 VARNISH, Jess GBR 11.749
2 JAMES, Becky GBR

3 KHAN, Dani GBR 11.525
4 MARCHANT, Katy GBR

Future Stars Boys Scratch Race
1 PARTINGTON, Joel SKY 30
2 HOLT, Joe USN 25
3 CARLIN, Jack RPR 23
4 IRESON, James TMG 22
5 ROTHERHAM, Tom ROU 21
6 TRUMAN, Joe RCJ 20
7 BAILLIE, Karl SKY 19
8 KIRKBRIDE, Ellis MAX 18
9 LONGSTAFF, Frank MGE 17
10 PAYNE, Jack ROU 16
11 WALKER, Joey TSC 15
12 WALLS, Matt MAX 14
13 AL-RAMAH, Hisham MGE 13
14 BOOTH, Tom RPR 12
15 BALFOUR, Stuart TMG 11
16 WOOD, Reece TSC 10
17 BRAYBROOKE, Alex WD4 9
18 MORGAN, Luke RCJ 8
19 BRENNAN, Fabian WD4 7
20 NETHALL, Brett USN 6

UCI SCratch Race Final
1 CLANCY, Ed GBR
2 BURKE, Steven GBR
3 RAGAN, Jake GBR
4 GRASMANN, Christian GER
5 CARSTENS, Evan RSA
6 DIBBEN, Jon GBR
7 DAVIES, Scott GBR
8 LATHAM, Chris GBR
9 VERGAERDE, Otto BEL
10 DOULL, Owain GBR
11 MOULD, Jon GBR
12 TENNANT, Andy GBR
13 GRAF, Andreas AUT
14 YATES, Adam GBR
15 HARRISON, Sam GBR
16 ROWE, Luke GBR -1 Laps
17 SCOTT, Jacob GBR -1 Laps
18 WOOD, Oliver GBR -1 Laps
19 DOWNING, Dean GBR -3 Laps

Men’s Keirin Final
1 KENNY, Jason GBR
2 HINDES, Phil GBR
3 CRAMPTON, Matt GBR
4 OLIVIA, Lewis GBR
5 EMADI, Kian GBR
6 BABEK, Tomas CZE

Women’s Keirin Final
1 KHAN, Dani GBR
2 VARNISH, Jess GBR
3 BLOUNT , Rosie GBR
4 JAMES, Becky GBR
5 PAIN, Mélissandre FRA
6 WILIAMSON, Vicky GBR
7 MARCHANT, Katy GBR

Future Stars Championship Overall
1 TRUMAN, Joe RCJ 80
2 BAILLIE, Karl SKY 66
3 HOLT, Joe USN 62
4 PARTINGTON, Joel SKY 61
5 ROTHERHAM, Tom ROU 61
6 WALKER, Joey TSC 57
7 PAYNE, Jack ROU 56
8 IRESON, James TMG 54
9 WALLS, Matt MAX 49
10 CARLIN, Jack RPR 48
11 KIRKBRIDE, Ellis MAX 45
12 LONGSTAFF, Frank MGE 43
13 AL-RAMAH, Hisham MGE 40
14 WOOD, Reece TSC 39
15 BALFOUR, Stuart TMG 37
16 BOOTH, Jacob RPR 35
17 BRAYBROOKE, Alex WD4 33
18 BRENNAN, Fabian WD4 29
19 MORGAN, Luke RCJ 26
20 NETHALL, Brett USN 21

 

From DHL Future Stars to World and Olympic Champions

Revolution Series 10 | Revolution 38 – Emily Kay takes on the Champions LtoR: Any Pieters, Emily Kay, Lizzie Armistead – Image © www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

During Revolution 38, I caught up with Emily Kay, last year’s winner of the DHL Future Stars competition, to find out how she is was finding it mixing it up with the Olympic and Senior World Champions on the track.

 


Emily on the podium at the beginning of her run as DHL Future Stars Champion – ©2010 Anna Magrath/Cycling Shorts.

DHL Future Stars Process

Emily has been a part of the DHL process right from the start. “I started off with the DHL Sprint School,” she explains, “then moved up to the DHL Future Stars, and now I’m riding with the best riders in the world. So, I suppose that’s proof that the system works. It’s great to get the opportunity to race against the likes of Marianne Vos and Lizzie Armitstead too.”

 

The Elimination Race

“I usually prefer to ride the elimination race from the front, riding at my own pace, but tonight was totally different. I found it slower than I was expecting, but it meant that I had to try different tactics than I’d use normally. But obviously

Revolution 36 – Emily graduates – final podium as a DHL Future Stars after three years domination – speaking to Hugh Porter – ©2012 Anna Magrath/Cycling Shorts.

this is a good stage to try things out on.”

Her tactics obviously worked, with a seventh in the Elimination Race.

The Scratch Race

Emily had said at the outset of the night that her main aim was to sit on Marianne Vos’s wheel at some point. In actual fact, during the Scratch race, Vos was sat on Emily’s wheel during the scratch race. Katie Colclough went off the front with a few laps to go, and it wasn’t until about two laps to go that Vos tried to close the gap, although Colclough held her off to take the win. Emily Kay stayed with Vos and tried to outsprint her on the line for second, eventually coming a close third to Vos’s second.

The Points Race

I asked Emily how the racing compared to the DHL Future Stars events. “Riding the domestic events, you find that you race against the same people all of the time and you tend to use the same tactics,” she said. “Riding at the Junior World Championships you get to ride with other people who you wouldn’t necessarily get to compete against ordinarily, this is just a step up from that. I’m really enjoying it though”.

Emily stayed with the bunch over the course of the points race, placing in one of the sprints. Ellen Van Dyck was the eventual winner, with Vos third.

 

 

A Conversation With Alex Dowsett

 

Alex winning Nocturne - Image ©Copyright Tom Simpson Photography

 

Alex - ©Copyright Kramon

A Conversation with
Alex Dowsett

by Anna Magrath
Alex Dowsett chats to me about cycling, living with haemophilia, Team Sky… and the significance of martial arts bears in modern cinema.
Alex is one of British Cycling’s rising stars, and this year the Essex rider joined the ranks of Team Sky. Alex, who has spent his career perfecting his time trialling technique, has had a lot of success against the clock. Alex joined the Trek-Livestrong Development Team after spending three years with the British Cycling Olympic Academy. He spent a lot of time in Quaratta, Italy with British Cycling before he was snapped up by Trek-Livestrong in 2010, a team owned by Lance Armstrong. Under Director Sportif Axel Merckx Alex flourished. In 2011 Alex came back to the British Cycling fold by signing to Team Sky where he’s had an excellent start to his season.
Alex suffers from haemophilia and he’s the only rider in the Pro Tour peloton with the condition. I caught up with him to talk about his career and how his condition has impacted on his life.

How has your first season with Team Sky gone?
This years been pretty good so far, I mean I sort of set out with the aim not to disgrace myself in my first year in the pro ranks, so I’m pretty sure I’ve not done that. I got my first podium in the prologue of the Electro Tour [Ster ZLM Toer] a few weeks ago… and I finished sixth overall and I’ve just finished 5th overall in the Tour of Denmark [Post Danmark Rundt], 3rd in the Time Trial on Stage 5 which I am really, really pleased with. It’s just nice to prove to myself that I can be competitive at this level. So it’s still onwards and upwards. Unfortunately I’ve had a little bit of an ankle injury just the last couple if weeks so I had to take some time off but it’s all been fixed and I’m back on the bike and trying to crawl back to where I was before.

What was the ankle injury?
It’s basically a form of arthritis, I haven’t got a lot of cartilage in there which the doctors have fixed with cortisone injections along with a lubricant which they injected straight into the joint and that seems to have fixed it. The doctors are pretty confident that it shouldn’t give me any hassle. They say there’s research into other sports that are weight bearing and there are footballers in far worse condition than I am in, playing football is pretty hazardous for the joints.

Is it something they’ll have to keep an eye on?
Yeah I might have to have this injection they say maybe at worst every six months but I might never have to have it again. So it’s just a case of if it comes on again I know something can be done to ease it, so it’s not bad at all to be honest.

So will that injury be impacted upon by your haemophilia or is unrelated?
The haemophilia certainly wouldn’t have helped it, I’m not sure whether it’s directly related or not, it’s difficult to know to be honest. It might stem from me playing basketball a lot when I was at school, that could have aggravated it. It could be a culmination of a number of things, haemophilia included most likely, so it’s not something we see as being massively important, it’s just a case of managing it and dealing with it as best we can.

Alex and Team Sky - Images ©Copyright Chris Maher

Alex Tour of Utah, Stage 4 Crit - Image Copyright Brian Hodes @ VeloImages.com

So have you enjoyed your time off the bike or were you itching to get back out there?
Yeah it was good, well it was frustrating for a while, it was a bit of a worry. I only really had one day were I was pretty down about it all, I went out that night and lost all my worries though. I didn’t drink because I live in the middle of nowhere so it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare when I want to go out and have a drink. I had a nice time though and met a really nice girl that I’m still talking to so it’s all good in that respect, I was stone cold sober! It couldn’t have gone better really and I felt great in the morning not having a hangover.

What’s your next focus then?
Well for the next few races, with all this time off, I’ll be largely playing the domestique team roll, doing what I can for whoever’s really on form and going for it. I’ll be doing things like getting bottles, lead outs and just generally looking after the boys.

Who’s on the next team selection with you?
Errr… [Chuckles] I haven’t the foggiest, I mean I probably should know, it’s all on the website, we get the race brief through a couple of days before we travel. We do so many races with so many people it all just rolls on to the next one, there’s a large number of us. Usually directors ring around everyone a few days before a tour or race to see how everyone’s feeling and how the training’s going and how well they’ll be performing. It also depends on whether the race is going to suit you more than others.

So how are you settling in to Team Sky?
Oh it’s been brilliant, they really do look after their athletes, the support you get when things are up and when you’re down is equal which is something that you may not get with other teams. It’s easy to neglect the riders that have had problems during a season but that certainly isn’t the case here, they all really get looked after. It’s brilliant that all the riders are really prepared to help each other out too. There’s no competitiveness within the team. It’s a fantastic environment to be in.

You were with another great cycling team (Trek-Livestrong) before making the move to Team Sky, so what made you want to move?
I think ultimately I’ve been supported right from the start by the GB squad and British Cycling, from a very early age. Sky is a fantastic team that’s really moving forwards and pushing the boundaries. So the option I guess at the time was Team Radio Shack or Sky. The problem with the Radio Shack offer was that it was only definitely for 1 year, whereas Sky were offering a definite 2 years. Also Dave Brailsford [Team GB and Team Sky Performance Director] phoned me himself to talk about going moving there, but from Radio Shack it was my agent who phoned me to tell me about the contract offer on the table. I mean if the top guy can take the time out and ring me himself it says something about the team and the sort of respect they have for all the individual riders. There were a whole load of factors that contributed to the decision. The Olympics were part of it as well, that’s a big target for me, being part of the collaboration between Team Sky and the GB Team is massive, it means my race programme is completely tailored around being as perfectly prepared as I can be for the Olympics.

Alex riding Ster ZLM Toer - ©Copyright Kevin Kempf

So are you still aiming for the Time Trial in the Olympics?
The way it works is if I ride the time trial I also have to ride the road race, so I think with me being a young rider, whilst I’ll aim for it I think a medal might be out of reach… well in the time trial I’m more likely to be an outside chance of getting a medal. So I’m turning a lot of my focus on being a team player in the road race for Cav [Mark Cavendish], and then it would be a case of making sure he does as well as possible, and then I’ll turn my focus to the Time Trial.

You must be feeling pretty good with your results lately (injury aside), I mean your performance at the Smithfield Nocturne in London and your result in the Commonwealth Games show you’ve got a lot of strength?
Yeah and I think it’s something I can develop as well, I mean come Rio [2016 Olympic Games] I hope to be a gold medal contender. When you’ve got the likes of Tony Martin and Cancellara [Fabian Cancellara] I’m just not at that level yet. I think there’s an age and strength issue. David Millar is a prime example of that: in the Commonwealth Games I showed I have the potential, I was only 3 seconds behind him and then the headwind just completely pulled me apart. It’s just pure strength which comes from the experience these guys have of riding loads of grand tours.

So is the grand tour circuit one of your main goals and aims at the moment? Sky are reasonably new to it, as you are, but the performance they’ve put in has been amazing?
Yeah, well before the Tour, I err… Well there was a possibility of doing the Vuelta [Vuelta a Espana]. Now that I’ve had this injury and that Brad [Bradley Wiggins] said he was gonna hit the Vuelta hard it was no longer an option. My first grand tour may well be the Giro [Giro d’Italia] next year. I did the under-23 Tour de l’Avenir last year which is the under-23 Tour de France basically.

Chris Froome & Alex Dowsett - ©Copyright Kramon

Alex Dowsett - Tour of Utah

Do you think the pressure of the Olympics being so close to the Tour de France next year will mean Team Sky have to rethink who will ride the tour to give Team GB a chance?
Yeah I mean it won’t effect me at all because I don’t think I’ll be a contender. I guess with the likes of Geraint [Thomas] and Brad there’s a few issues there and also there’s a lot of guys in a situation like Edvald Boasson Hagen, I mean what’s he gonna do? We just don’t know to be honest, I think I’ll leave it in the team managements hands, I certainly wouldn’t want to have to make those decisions.

What do you feel is your proudest moment to date, not necessarily the biggest accolade?
I won the under-23 European Championships last year, but eight weeks earlier I was on the floor with a broken shoulder blade and the doctors told me I’d be lucky to get on my bike let alone train for it. I was back on my bike faster than a shoulder blade break, I was on the turbo within a week and back on the road in ten days, and these were the haemophilia doctors saying this, I mean usually a break for me would be two to four weeks just in hospital.

So you’re one of these people who gets a kick out of proving someone wrong?
Yeah, there’s nothing like proving someone wrong to add a little bit of incentive. I have a fair bit of grit. I’m not stupid about it, all within reason. One of the doctors at this hospital (I think she usually works with children), she treated me like a child the whole time, that was the incentive there and then I guess.

As someone with haemophilia did you find as a child that you were discouraged from taking part in sports because of the dangers?
Yeah definitely. Certain sports, particularly contact sports are a big no-go which is understandable, I think it’s something I’m trying to change and encourage as well. I mean it applies to kids in general, there’s so many mainstream sports whereby people judge if you’re not good at them you’re never going to be a sportsman or athlete. My dad was a racing driver so as a kid I did a lot of go-karting, and then swimming, followed by sailing and I moved on to cycling. But I did the sports that you wouldn’t usually stumble across, you just have to have to opportunity to try it out, kids need to be shown and given taster session to get them outdoors. I mean for all I know I might be living next door to a potential Michael Schumacher, but without that chance a child may not have that interest ignited. Obviously that’s just an example, there are plenty of other sports out there that don’t cost a fortune to try out or get involved with.

So you’re really trying to raise the awareness of sport across the board?
Yeah, certainly in the haemophilia community. It’s easy for parents to be scared, they find out about their child having the condition and it’s a deep shock to them. They then just want to wrap the child up in cotton wool, but the fitter you are as a youngster the less problems you’ll have. It’s a bit of a double edged sword. All parents are protective of their children and don’t want to see them get hurt, but a child can gain their independence, strength and confidence through sport, which can help them later in life.

Alex Tour Of Utah, Stage3, 2010 - Image ©Copyright Michael Crook Photography

Were your parents very supportive towards you taking part in sport or was it something they worried about?
Yes they were very supportive, I wouldn’t be were I am at all if it wasn’t for them. When the doctors said that swimming was a great way of keeping my haemophilia at bay, Mum had me swimming five different swimming lessons in five different towns six times a week, she was finding as many swimming lessons as possible. Dad would take me go-karting every Sunday morning, he got me a small dinghy for sailing. They were really supportive for sports that I showed any kind of interest in.

Do they still get nervous when your out on your bike?
Oh yeah, yeah, [chuckles] if I’ve been out for longer than I said I would be my Mum will give me a ring. It wasn’t a problem when I was living in America, she didn’t know where I was, now I’m back in England it’s “Where are you? Are you at home yet?”, “No mum I’m at a cafe”, “Well make sure you give me a ring when you get home… Don’t forget!”, “Yes Mum”.
Though if I forget to take my medication Mum will be on my case. It rarely happens, but I know the day I slip up will be the day that Mum and Dad will be on to me. It’s good, I’m very lucky to have the parents that I have.

How do you go about giving children with haemophilia advice and encouragement to take up sport especially, with the understandable worries parents have? You do think parents should allow kids more freedom?
Yes, I’ve worked with the UK Haemophilia Society now for some time, but now I’m starting to work quite closely with the World Federation of Haemophilia. I’ve done a few interviews for them and basically I’m just trying to share my story and experiences with others. Actually I’ve had a guy on Facebook contact me from the Ukraine recently whose son has been diagnosed and he found an interview and article and sent copies of it to me. It was in Russian which was pretty surreal. He said (and I’ve had a few emails like this and it’s really cool) that my story has helped them. I know how traumatic it was for my parents when they found out, I was 18 months old, it was pretty grim for them. The doctor at the time painted the worst picture possible. If they’d known then what they know now and what sort of life I could have and achieve, then life would have been a lot easier and a lot less stressful for them.
It also impacts on siblings, I have a little sister and there were some rough times, they’d worry that my little sister Lois would get left out, but I’ve got fantastic parents and Lois is a bit of a hard nut herself. We’re all fine, all reasonably normal [laughs].

Alex at Revolution 30 - Image ©Copyright Hope Tranter

What’s your favourite discipline and do you prefer road or track?
Time trial, definitely!… and I have to say road is my preference.

Will you be doing any of the Revolutions at Manchester Velodrome this season?
Yeah, I’ll be doing as many as I can, I’m sure there’ll be one or two that clash with Sky training camps but I’ll be there. I do enjoy them.

A lot of your team have come through the British Cycling Academy as you did, what do you feel are the main benefits you’ve had from the process?
They taught us to look after ourselves and behave like pro riders before we reached that level. I noticed when I went to Livestrong I could actually drop my levels of discipline, whereas a lot of the Livestrong riders that had just come in from junior squads, or just racing in other teams, they had to suddenly raise their game, whereas I could relax a little bit. They covered things like self discipline to organisation, food and obviously training. The academy really teaches you to look after yourself and to be disciplined as well. It also give you a lot of independence with the living arrangements. It’s pretty hard as well, we’d have days in the winter which were grim and you had to survive on just under sixty quid a week. That was just for food basically, but when you’re doing 25 hours a week training you tend to eat quite a bit. You’d have days where you wake up pretty early, ride into the velodrome any weather, have a two hour Italian lesson, then lunch which you had to make yourself and bring in, then a three hour track session, then dinner that you’d had to make yourself and bring with you, then your track league… And then you’d ride home at 11 o’clock at night. To go to bed and get up the next day and do it all over again.
On one occasion, in fact one of my first track sessions, my phone battery had run flat over night. I’d been making a number of calls in the evening and forgotten to charge the phone and I used it as my alarm clock each morning. I ended up missing the first track session. I rang up Rod Ellingworth and said, “Sorry about that, I’ll make it in for the second session though,” and he said, “No, you’ll come into the velodrome now!” and when I got there I had three cars to clean lined up in the car park. I went out and bought myself an alarm clock that night. I wasn’t going to have that happen again! At age 18 it was an eye opener for me, I soon learned. The average kid is starting their first job or heading to university or college and able to mess around a bit or have an off day, so it was a bit of a shock to the system. Our accommodation was in Fallowfield, Manchester which is student central and the flats were above a Wetherspoon’s, next to a nightclub and opposite another nightclub, temptation everywhere. That sorted out who were the ones that were going to make it, though some of the guys that went out did make it through. It was just knowing your limits and getting the balance, there was a time and a place for it.

Alex winning at Smithfield Nocturne 2011 - Image ©Copyright Phil Jones

Talking of going out, do you get much time for a social life? And if and when you do does it revolve around a cycling set?
Erm… The academy was pretty grim at times but it was what you needed to do. Training in Italy was good but it was tough, eight guys who all thought they were gods gift to cycling living under one roof, there were some fireworks but for the most part we all got on. We were stuck in a small town, nobody spoke English. We ate, slept and trained together, that was pretty tough, no escape from each other. Then I went to Livestrong and suddenly I was in America! Living in the States was great because everything they say about the English accent and the girls is absolutely true [laughs]. I also found I was racing better when I was happier. Now I’m back in England I’ve got a good group of mates that live around me, I don’t go nuts, a lot of my nights out are for dinner or down the pub, a cafe or trips to the cinema. I go to the cinema a lot because I’ve got a good friend who’s a bit of a film buff. It got to the point that the only film we hadn’t seen from the current listings was Kung-Fu Panda. He was still up for it but I said, “Nah, this is starting to reach new levels of sadness, we’re gonna have to do something different tonight! No films about martial art bears!”
I take it fairly steady in the season because I know that’s what I need to do. I’m reasonably disciplined about it, the team helps you as much as they can, but at the end of the day it’s up to you. You have a nutritionist that comes round and tells you you can afford to lose one or two kilos to burn off your fat levels but ultimately it’s down to you to make the effort, they can only do so much. The same applies to training and getting yourself ready for races. All the facilities are there, it’s up to you how much you make the most of the opportunity, they can’t make you get out on your bike and put the extra hours in. If you don’t perform you don’t get into races, you don’t get your contract renewed and then you’ll never win! You’ve got everything laid out for you, you just have to grab hold of it and make the most of it.

If you sustain an injury how do they control your medication during a race, are they able to treat your condition on the spot?
Well the beauty of racing with the team now is that there’s always a team doctor at the races, he’s aware of my condition and holds my medication, and when I come down he’s there to scrape me up off the floor, he makes sure I’m alright. It’s all handled really professionally, and the team have really taken it upon themselves to learn everything they can about my condition because it’s pretty unusual and I think I’m the only one in the pro peloton with it. The medication has to be taken every other day but when I fall or get an injury I take more. The medication gets me up to about sixty percent of the levels of a normal person, which is enough to keep any problems like a minor injury caused by crashing at bay. Then if I do find myself on the floor I just take extra. My drugs aren’t controlled substances, it’s not the same as say someone in the pro peloton with asthma, they would have to fill out forms to allow them to use their inhaler. If you’re going to require a drug that can be abused and used as a performance enhancer then you have to fill in a form. A lot of the asthmatic medication would make you test positive. If you have to take a drug that will cause you to test positive then the doctors will give you a form that’s called a therapeutic use exemption form, which they hand in with a sample that says,“This guy’s on this drug, but it’s fine because he’s got asthma.”

Where’s your favourite training ride and what are your favourite stop-off treats?
Oh… A massive cake! I guess I like it a little bit too much. A pre-breakfast ride: I get up, have coffee and then ride on empty for about and hour and luckily about an hour away from me is pretty much the best cafe in Essex so that’s where I spend a lot of my time. It’s called The Blue Egg, the cakes are excellent. I usually have the date and oat slice because I kind of convince myself that it sounds healthy, it’s probably got a lot of butter and sugar in it but they don’t tell you about that, so what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you I guess.

What advice would you give to kids interested in getting involved in cycling?
Get out and try all forms of racing and see which discipline suits you. I think kids should try lots of different sports too, I mean when I first started cycling I was swimming as well and I think it really helped me on the bike. I mean Time Trials were my thing, it was all I did until I was a junior. I first tried the track at about 15, I then started doing it with the junior GB squad at 17.

Alex at the National Road Championships 2011 - ©Copyright Ian Robinson

Click here for Alex’s Facebook Page.

Click here to view Alex’s Twitter feed.

Click here for more about Alex & Team Sky.

Click here to be taken to British Cycling.

For more information about the World Federation of Haemophilia.

To be taken to the UK Haemophilia Society website.

 

Alex’s Palmares:

2011
British National Time Trial Champion
5th Overall Tour of Denmark
3rd in Stage 5 (Time Trial)
3rd Overall – Prologue – Ster Zlm Toer (and best young rider prize)
1st Smithfield Nocturne

2010
1st European Time Trial Championships U23
1st Stage 5 Cascade Cycling Classic (USA)
Tour of Utah
2nd Prologue
2nd Stage 2
Tour de l’Avenir
2nd in Prologue
2nd Commonwealth Games Time Trial
1st Chrono des Nations U23

2009
1st Richmond Grand Prix
1st British Time Trial Championships U23
7th World Time Trial Championships U23
11th European Time Trial Championships U23

2008
3rd Abergavenny International Criterium (UCI 1.2)
4th British U23 Road Race Championships
3rd British Senior 10 mile Time Trial Championships
1st Team Time Trial Tour d’Alsace (UCI 2.2)
1st British Time Trial Championships U23

2007
1st Perfs Pedal Road Race
1st Overall British Premier Calendar U23 Champion
1st Rudy Project Time Trial Series
3rd British Senior 10 mile Time Trial Championships
4th British Senior 25 mile Time Trial Championships

2006
1st British Junior Road Race Championships
1st British Junior 10 mile Time Trial Championships
1st British Junior 25 mile Time Trial Championships
1st Tour of Switzerland 7.7km Time Trial
1st European Junior Team Pursuit Championships

 

My thanks to Alex and all the photographers.

Click to read Sam’s interview with Alex

©Copyright 2011 Anna Magrath @ Cycling Shorts. Please do not reproduce any content without permission from myself or the photographers.

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