CQ22-Digital

established. There has been phenomenal multiple Olympic success, notably
by the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
British riders have had an unparalleled period of success on the road too
in Grand Tours with Sir Bradley
Wiggins, Mark Cavendish,
Geraint Thomas and of course
Chris Froome. Arguably
though the academy has not
fully delivered its potential
in contributing to the road
success in the same way it
has to track, and perhaps the
UK could have enjoyed even
greater success with a broader
base of talent. So many other
riders like Matt himself have
been forced to find their
own way as a pro outside of
the medal factory that is the
Podium Programme.
Matt’s experience as a young
rider on the programme, who got let go, then
forged his own pathway to ultimately learn his trade, becoming multiple
national champion and making it with some of the biggest teams in the
world can offer invaluable insight into delivering a programme that may
capture more of this talent in the future. His extreme highs and lows have
given him a unique perspective not only on what it takes to make it in the
world of cycling, but importantly on what kind of things drain the motivation
and lead talented athletes to walk away.
The UK domestic road scene is in a strange place. Races such as the Tour de
Yorkshire, Ride London and the Tour of Britain attract huge crowds at the
roadside and on television. But the races that make up what was the Premier
Calendar, and to some extent the national championships rarely capture the
attention of the nation’s fans in this same manner as when the WorldTour
boys come to town.
The existence of high-calibre UK domestic road teams appears as precarious
as ever. Recent years have seen the loss of teams like (Rapha) JLT-Condor,
NFTO, ONE Pro Cycling and now Madison-Genesis. Whilst the perpetual
churn of sponsors has been a fixture of all of pro cycling for many generations
the situation seems set to continue. Uncertainty over a team’s survival can
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