My Support Team

Over the last few years I've realised that you never have time to do everything but you always have time to do the important things.

Getting advice and support from Martin of VeloVeritas.co.uk at the National TT Champs. 

Ed also put me up in Edinburgh for a few nights: what a top bloke!

Every good manager knows that you can’t do everything yourself; the old adage ‘If you want something done right you have to do it yourself’ is nonsense. (This is going somewhere, I promise!) If you want something done right then you have to find the person who is most qualified to do that job, and ask them nicely to help you. I have no shame in asking for help, and I’ve needed a lot of help from a lot of people this year. I am the manager of my own career (and life, deep stufffff) and because of this I’ve been doing all the important things right.

Getting a helping hand from Chris at SC Vital Fitness

I push the pedals, and that’s about it. I am the machine and my support team are the brains, the mechanics, the fuellers, the strategists. All I've done is found the best group of supporters I can, to help me be the best I can.

Something that I really pushed on with this winter was the gym work and for this I owe Chris Peden a huge amount. He took me on as my personal trainer, analysed where I was and where I wanted to go, worked around my training schedule and didn't judge me once for my dreadful physique!! What a legend. He also gave me loads of nutritional advice to aid fuelling and recovery which, when I’m training up to ten times a week, is so so vital. I would thoroughly recommend talking to him if you have questions about nutrition or want to do some gym work yourself. Check out his page: Chris knows his stuff! Also a big thank you to Sean at SC Vital Fitness in Portsmouth for letting me use undoubtedly the best gym in the world.

Dave Rayner: representing GB abroad and looking supremely cool in the process.

Everyone working for The Dave Rayner Fund has been behind me 100% for quite some time and this year I am going to give them some return with results and media coverage. For those who don’t know about the fund, it’s a charitable organisation set up in honour of Dave Rayner, a rider who was pursuing a career abroad just like me, before his life was sadly cut short. A huge number of riders have and do get supported by the fund and it gives people not on the British Cycling academy a pathway to pursue an exciting professional career. Please follow and support The Dave Rayner Fund everyone! 

@DaveRaynerFund

On Facebook

Sean and I, just lol-ing.

The TrainSharp Crew: my friends/councellors/coaches/advisors/inspirers since August 2010. There is no way that I’d be an ex-National Champion capable of winning French stage races and riding for a Division 1 team this year if I didn’t have them. I probably would have quit the sport (this is not an exaggeration). I cannot give enough thanks to JB for the regular phone calls, Paul and Chris Mac for the bike mechanical help and great chit-chat, Sean for the pep talks on how to deal with French directeurs…

Here's the kit for 2014... No more pink!

Finally, my family. I feel like they’ve been there for me my whole life! Oh wait…

Always positive, encouraging, putting me up/up with me for the whole winter when my washing is everywhere, I’m always tired, often messy. I won’t go on! Having nice people around you makes even the toughest situations good, fun and funny! I’ll end my Oscar acceptance speech there folks.

“I’m gonna make you guyz sooo prouddd *blinking back the tears*…”