My cousin, Ben Swift (Team Sky), has always been a cyclist and I never wanted to follow in his footsteps. I played football and rugby but then this one day, my school put on a triathlon against an older age group. I gave it a bit of a go.
The organisers rounded up the local people’s bikes for us to use. There were mountain bikes, hybrids, road bikes, anything they could find. You came out of the swim and just hopped on a bike that someone thought was the right size for you and did a few laps around the field.
I found out a week later that I had won the whole thing.
I was chuffed to bits. I came home and told my dad I want to do triathlons so I did them for a few years. I came pretty close to representing Yorkshire at a youth level. I found out I was making the majority of my time on the bike, that’s where I was really good. Then I thought I might have to take in Ben’s footsteps after all. So I turned to cycling as a first-year junior, racing the national series. I wasn’t very good at first. I was racing against guys who were more developed when I came into it….Tao Geoghegan Hart, James Knox, James Shaw, Chris Lawless, Scott Davies, Hugh Carthy, all them guys are WorldTour now.
There was a local racing team that had just started up set up by this guy, Bikebox Alan who makes bike boxes. I was lucky because he took me on board and gave me kit and a bike and saw a bit of potential in me. It’s quite a thing getting given all those things as a junior so I really have to thank him for that.
I kept progressing each year but I had to be patient. The first year in under 23’s I’d get popped out the back then the following year I would be able to hang on and by the third year I was getting top 10’s.
Becoming national road champion at 22 has been a bit of a whirlwind. The night before the race, my sports director mentioned that there was a chance to show Roger Hammond from Team Dimension Data that we can produce good results. I went into the day looking for a top 10. As the race progressed my chances increased after I made the breakaway. As things went on I started thinking there is a chance for a podium here. I had real good legs and noticed a few people around me was tired. I went with 12km to go. I committed to setting x amount of watts, knowing that anyone who wanted to come over to me would have to do more and sustain it.
It wasn’t until the last 300 metres that I accepted I was going to win. I looked over my shoulder about 20 times to make sure no one was sneaking up on me. I crossed the line, the family were there, friends were there and I just burst into tears. Everything clicked and went to plan. You get to celebrate for a whole year because you get to wear the national colours all year.
My parents have played a big part in helping me get here. My dad used to drive me around to races, giving up his time on the weekends and paying for race entry fees. After A-levels they let me have a part time job in pursuit of a cycling career. I worked in a supermarket for 8 months then I worked in a petrol station for 6 months. I used to do the morning or afternoon shift then I’d go out on my bike after work. Sometimes I’d be at work and there’d be mega weather outside and all you want to do it leave and ride your bike. Other days it was raining and you think maybe it’s not too bad being in here today. I’d always tell my colleagues that this job was a part-time thing and I wanted a career in cycling. I used to show up at work in my lycra and the older women would get a bit hot and flustered haha.
Being able to ride full time now and focus on my career is something I don’t take for granted. Last year was a great year for me and now I want to improve on that as I look to working my way to the World Tour.
Last modified: Jan 19, 2020
