Simon’s that kind of B – strength, fist-pumps and smiles
Cycling name?
Van der Vader. Something to do with Belgium and carbon fiber related injuries (as well as being an intergalactic badass….?)
“Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy” – Vader.
Cycling history?
Having grown up in Cambridge I’ve been riding bikes my whole life, but only really got the bug after leaving university. After deciding to ditch my rowing pursuits for something a little more flexible, I made the popular transition onto a road bike. In 2015 I moved to London and discovered the thrill of zooming around the city beating the traffic and the escapism of cycling out to the countryside at the weekends with the Baroudeurs. Since then my riding ambitions have just kept growing (I only wish my legs would grow as quickly).
Don’t underestimate the power of the…
When not riding?
Designing things, climbing, eating and drinking.
Worst moment on a bike?
Smashing through the passenger window of a car turning across me without looking and spending 2 and a half hours in the back of an ambulance having broken glass pulled out of me. Perhaps worse than the injuries to my person, this spelled the end for my lovely 80s Ribble.
Pretty sure that front wheel isn’t supposed to be there…..
Second worst moment?
Other bad moments all seem to relate to terribly timed punctures. A particularly demoralising example was on this year’s Prudential RideLondon 100. After starting right at the front of the order (having put a good time in the previous year), I was all geared up to go hell for leather to get as close to the magic 4 hour marker as I could. At the halfway point with a 26mph average speed I was feeling great, when a sudden rear puncture dropped me from the lead peloton. A fast recovery kept me in a trailing group but disaster struck with a second rear puncture while descending Leith hill, leaving me tubeless and walking to the next mechanic’s point. Moral of the story: n+1 applies to tubes as well as bikes.
Post race in Varese, Italy
Best moments?
Every time I make a big pull and know that my legs have nothing else to give.
Mountain biking on the Winter Olympics pistes in the Hakuba Alps in Japan.
The first time descending into Brighton from Ditchling Beacon at 50mph in the morning sun.
The feeling of total exhaustion after a long hard ride.
All those laps of Regent’s Park with the B’s as the sun comes up.
Vader showing us the Dark Side
:: Meet more of the Baroudeurs | Simon talks of what made a difference in his racing season in ‘Don’t Call it a Comeback.’ ::
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