Sport brings enjoyment to anyone. It provides an obsession to start discussions and write about the headlines. While I have a keen interest in football and rugby, it is cycling that has captured my interest too.
The popular sport in the world is football and it’s a never-ending spectacle. I have nothing against football, I love it, watch it and discuss football with friends and family. If I was given an option to watch live sporting action on the TV or out in the open, cycling would win every time.
Everyone has their preference and passion for something – cycling therefore gives me something to write about. Reading all the latest cycling books by prominent writers such as William Fotheringham and Peter Cossins (many more to add!) really gives me an added buzz. I look up to journalists/broadcasters such as Ned Boulting, Orla Chennaoui, Rebecca Charlton, Carlton Kirby, Rob Hatch and Matt Rendell (plus many others!) to provide me with some motivation and who knows I could dare to dream to meet or work alongside them in future!
Every sport has an unpredictability, English football’s FA Cup or Rugby’s Six Nations being two sporting events out of so many that provide drama. For cycling, you cannot call as to who will win the major race and nobody can predict when a key rider crashes or abandons a race.
Road cycling fills me with enthusiasm where race previews always come to the conclusion that this contender can win the Tour de France as well as this contender and this contender and don’t forget this contender too! I also have so much respect for the amount of pain the professionals go through. It’s a sport that needs courage, vast quantities of fitness and strength both physically and mentally. I would not have a cat in hell’s chance of being able to ride over mountain passes day after day!
It isn’t always the winning that makes cycling unique. Teamwork, tactics and the individual stories that emerge are something to cherish. Riders also fit into different specialisms, where sprinters are keen to be fast, climbers are fit enough to ascend mountains and time trialists take to a bike to ride the fastest time possible.
Road is the predominant spectacle, but track, cyclocross, mountain and BMX are all equally as popular. I prefer road cycling but finding out how riders sometimes transition from one discipline to the other fascinates me. Men’s road cycling is my common knowledge, but discussing the talking points on the women’s side of the sport is a motivation plus I’m willing to write about events on the track.
The history of the sport also divides as much as it delights. Controversy creates headlines with the drugs and doping scandals of years gone by. Cycling still feels like a tarnished sport, which for many people they probably won’t ever forgive. Critics still have their suspicions and they are rightfully entitled to their viewpoints – the question remains as to whether cycling is clean.
Another interest is how the sport is governed. The UCI is cycling’s governing body and I’m also interested in affairs concerning the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committees and the UK government department.
One final reason I enjoy cycling is the happiness of riding a bike itself, an important way to keep active as a good form of exercise. The coronavirus crisis in the UK has led to more and more of us taking to our bikes as a mode of transport. For me it is great for the environment and a healthy activity that gets me out of the house.
I’m motivated to write and I want to build my knowledge of the professional scene, so for now keep an eye out for all my pieces on cycling this website.
