POWERED BY KXNGS, BEN WIGGINS
KXNGS travelled up to Lytham St Annes to ride out with young British cyclist Ben Wiggins fresh off the back of his first year of pro riding and at the beginning of the winter months where his time on the bike will provide the foundations for the coming year's racing.
“My earliest memory on the bike was probably riding around my back garden really, pretending I was in the Tour de France. I just remember being obsessed with being on the bike and it was just born kind of naturally for me, I guess.”
Although he raced a bit in his younger years, being on bike remained solely about enjoyment. “Then, in lockdown I realized I wanted to do it. When I had to stop playing team sports and stuff. I always had a feeling I was going to get into it as it felt like a natural move coming from a cycling family. So I started training on the bike properly then and I’ve not really looked back.”
As is always the case with professional sports, endeavor and application always has to be backed up with good genetics. For young Ben, coming from good stock would be an understatement. Footage can be found online of Ben cycling down the Champs Elisse alongside his father Sir Bradley Wiggins donned in the famous yellow jersey fresh from his Tour win back in 2012.
But coming into a sport with such a famous name comes with a weight of expectation. “I used to feel the pressure more as a junior, but now I think I'm starting to create my own path with my own achievements”
Indeed he has, donned in the team GB jersey Ben got his first taste of pro cycling in this years Tour of Britain. “It was my first pro race. It was really good. we had, we had Tom Gloag break both his elbows like the week before, so he couldn't do it and then we had a few illnesses and crashes and stuff, so there were quite a lot of late changes. But I loved it.
Having the crowd on the road wearing the GB jersey, it was a pretty amazing experience. There's nothing like riding a pro race on home roads, you know, and guys like Remco were riding, it wasn't bad racing the Olympic champs, to see how you stack up.”
After a foundational first year which provided some incredible experiences on the bike. Ben is now home in Northern England settling in the long winter period. A time when the days get shorter, the chill creeps in and the highs of the crowds and riding shoulder to shoulder with Olympians is a distant past.
“I like to think of winter training as one big block. They’re your building blocks for the season. It's super important to look after your health and your body, so the more building blocks you can put down, the better position you're going to be in for the season. It's actually probably my favorite time of year because of how long it is. You've not really got to worry too much about racing. You're just laying the foundations really. That's what I like about it.”
As we ride out with Ben on a cold, but dry, Tuesday in November we can quickly see how winter training can have its appeal. As coastal paths transition into sprawling country lanes with the peaks of the Lake District visible in the distance the conditions are near perfect, if a little chilly. Ben’s schedule dictates that today’s ride is a shorter one at just 2 hours. For Ben those longer rides are where he excels. “I think I’ve always had that big engine for those longer efforts. It's kind of just what I've always naturally been able to do. You know, even when I started training, I always found the threshold efforts a bit easier rather than kind of more explosive stuff.
Ben’s in his element on these roads, they’re roads he’s cycled since he was a kid. “I think that's why I enjoyed the Tour of Britain so much. You know, you've got things like road surface and the weather, wind, everything's just harder in the UK, really, but I love it. When you're at home a four or five hour ride seems shorter when you know where everything is and you know where the next shop is if you're struggling or what. I love being at home and it's something I'll always come back to definitely. I don't see myself kind of moving away to Monaco or Andorra like a lot of guys do.”
Seeing Ben, a man who despite his famous name is a young man primed to carve out his own career unique only to him, completely aware of the hard graft and hours on the bike needed to achieve greatness.
“The end of next year I'd like to be turning pro on the world tour with a few more continental and world titles on my belt on the track and road.
In five years from now, I'd like to have just come out of my first Olympic Games and yeah, be winning some of the biggest bike races in the world. So that's definitely the goal.” Lofty ambitions but it’s clear to see that Ben has all capabilities of getting himself there.
