“When I step outside of my comfort zone, I feel alive.”
About me:
Both of the earliest memories I have with a bicycle involve self-inflicted pain. The first was going over the handlebars and hitting myself in the face during the process - I am pretty sure I was still on stabilisers here! The second was going down a grass track, sliding out the front wheel and falling head first into a ditch of nettles. I then did the same thing again a few years later but on a quad-bike, clearly not learning the lesson! I spent a few years riding dirt jumps at Chicksands. I broke my leg completely in a skiing accident and have fractured ribs snowboarding. It may seem as though I am accident prone, however you will find I just do not understand the meaning of the word ‘limit’.
When I was a teenager, I tried my hand at various sports: boxing, rugby, rowing, football, weight lifting, BMX. Eventually, taking up cycling and road racing in 2013 with Catford CC Banks at the upper echelons, but mostly out the back in the UK.
My body is now a historical timeline of scars, with a few victories to my name.
In 2015 I moved away from road racing and into unsupported ultra-endurance bicycle racing, covering huge distances alone in a ‘first one there wins’ fashion, learning and growing from each kilometer ridden. Taking all of my memories, attempts, scars and victories into account, it became clear that ultra-endurance racing is what I have been searching for all these years. My sense of adventure and desire to explore has been apparent since a young age; when living in Budapest aged nine, I persuaded (but more honestly forced) a friend to sneak out and ride our bikes across the city. Luckily, I have always had a sixth sense for directions and we made it home safely.
Over the past few years I have truly learnt the meaning of tenacity. After two failed attempts I now hold back to back wins in The Transcontinental Race in 2017 & 2018, generally considered to be the leading unsupported on-road bicycle race. In 2019 I shifted my focus to off-road ultra-endurance events and have gone on to podium at Silk Road Mountain Race, Atlas Mountain Race, Highland Trail and finish first at Further Pyrenees.
For 2024 I have decided to take a sabbatical from ultra-endurance racing, to spend my energy moving in more varied ways and explore my new home in Esterri d’Aneu, deep in the Catalan Pyrenees. I have realised over the past years for me true joy comes from learning and its journey. This coming year I plan to use a bike to enable adventures, from scrambling in the mountains, to ski-mountaineering and delving further into paragliding.
If you want to really know me, you can listen to the Adventure Podcast I did.
Palmarés
The below are some of my better results over the years, but for every podium I achieve there are many scratches in the background. In my mind, my two finest all-around performances are 4th place at Transcontinental 2016 and 4th place at Silk Road Mountain Race 2021, where in both I overcame serious setbacks, not only finishing but nearly podiuming in the process. My greatest race and performance was Silk Road Mountain Race 2022; I was not particularly fit - we’d had Lennox our son earlier in the year - but I used my decade of experience to ride smart and finish seriously strong, in 2nd place. Results are just a number, it’s the personal performance that matters, and by which I measure myself.
1st The Transcontinental Race 2017 & 2018
1st (joint) Italy Divide 2019
2nd Atlas Mountain Race 2020
1st Further Pyrenees 2020
3rd Highland Trail 550 2021
2nd Silk Road Mountain Race 2022
I am proud to be enabled by:
