Brother UK Cycling Podcast

Brother UK Cycling Podcast
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Road cycling podcast focused on the UK domestic scene hosted by Timothy John and Phil Jones. Featuring interviews with team managers, riders and stakeholders in the sport.

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  1. EPISODE 30

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Sam Watson interview

    Sam Watson is one of British cycle sport's most exciting young talents. The 21-year-old will begin 2023 with the UCI WorldTour team, Groupama-FDJ. His graduation from its development squad completes the first stage of a rapidly advancing career that even a global pandemic has been unable to slow. Sam's rise might be described as meteoric, but there is no sign of him crashing to earth. Instead, his career has retained a vertiginous trajectory, year after year, since he first pinned on a number for Chevin Cycles in 2014.  Last year, Sam placed himself at the front and centre of the British sporting consciousness with magnificent rides at the national road race championships, where he won silver medals in the road and circuit races, and three top-ten finishes at the Tour of Britain.  The cognoscenti, however, might place greater emphasis on his triumph at the U23 Gent-Wevelgem or his stage five victory at the Tour d'Alsace. Even in era of exceptionally talented young riders, Sam can confidently claim a place among the world's best espoirs.  His development has been shaped by some of the most respected institutions in British cycle sport: Giles Pidcock's PH MAS team, British Cycling's Olympic Academy and the British-registered UCI Continental squad, Trinity Racing.  Perhaps the most valuable piece in Sam's jigsaw is the support of The Rayner Foundation. A hugely respected charity supporting British riders abroad, it occupies a special place in the affections of Brother Cycling.  In 2018, Phil Jones MBE, Brother UK's Managing Director, rode the entire route of the Tour of Britain one day ahead of the race to raise funds for its excellent work.

    34 min

  2. EPISODE 31

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Harrison Wood interview

    Harrison Wood might be described as a living, breathing definition of resilience. As such, he is a defining example of the qualities inspired by The Rayner Foundation, a charity funding young British riders to race abroad. Phil Jones MBE, Brother UK’s Managing Director, cycled the entire route of the Tour of Britain in 2018, one day ahead of the race, to raise funds for the foundation’s excellent work.  After four years of racing in France and Belgium with highs, lows and inevitable crashes, including one this year that his memory has erased, Harrison has landed a two-year deal with Cofidis, a French team competing in professional cycling’s top tier.    In January, he will roll out for the first time in the colours of his new employer at the Tour Down Under. It is a measure of the management’s confidence that Harrison will debut for the team in a WorldTour race. The 40-degree heat of an Adelaide summer means this will be no gentle introduction to the intensity of racing against the world’s strongest riders, but the 22-year-old footballer-turned-cyclist from Torquay would be the last to seek one. Confident, competitive and with a four-year apprenticeship served overseas, Harrison is a rider whose time has finally come. Co-host Timothy John caught up with Harrison to discuss the value of resilience, the roles played by the various development teams for which he has ridden, the differences between European racing and the British scene, and much more.

    47 min

  3. EPISODE 32

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Oliver Knight interview

    Oliver Knight seems certain to be among the next cohort of young British riders to enter the elite UCI WorldTour. He ended last season by racing as an apprentice with the UAE Team Emirates squad led by two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and now seeks a professional contract. We caught up with Knight in January 2023 on the day he returned to Aix, the Provencal town he has called home for the last four years since moving there, alone, as a teenager, to race for the French amateur team, Aix-en-Provence. We discuss acclimatisation, resilience, language lessons and professionalism. Knight describes joining the Team MK club in Milton Keynes and following his father into the ranks of shop team Corley Cycles. He discusses his two years with the HMT Hospitals squad, arguably the most professional junior team the sport has seen, and racing in Spain for the first time.  Physical performance is critical to a competitive cyclist. Knight reveals his fascination with training methods in a data-driven age and celebrates the value of a long-term relationship with his coach. He shares the pain of injury, the responsibility of leadership, the importance of camaraderie and the fleeting ecstasy of victory.  Knight is supported by The Rayner Foundation, a charity helping young British riders to pursue their dream of turning professional by racing abroad. In 2018, Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director, raised around £20,000 for the charity by riding the entire route of the Tour of Britain one day ahead of the race.

    36 min

  4. EPISODE 32

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Oliver Knight interview

    Oliver Knight seems destined to be among the next cohort of young British riders to enter the elite UCI WorldTour. He ended last season by racing as an apprentice with the UAE Team Emirates squad led by two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and now seeks a professional contract. We caught up with Knight in January 2023 on the day he returned to Aix, the Provencal town he has called home for the last four years since moving there, alone, as a teenager, to race for the French amateur team, Aix-en-Provence. We discuss acclimatisation, resilience, language lessons and professionalism. Knight describes joining the Team MK club in Milton Keynes and following his father into the ranks of shop team Corley Cycles. He discusses his two years with the HMT Hospitals squad, arguably the most professional junior team the sport has seen, and racing in Spain for the first time.  Physical performance is critical to a competitive cyclist. Knight reveals his fascination with training methods in a data-driven age and celebrates the value of a long-term relationship with his coach. He shares the pain of injury, the responsibility of leadership, the importance of camaraderie and the fleeting ecstasy of victory.  Knight is supported by The Rayner Foundation, a charity helping young British riders to pursue their dream of turning professional by racing abroad. In 2018, Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director, raised around £20,000 for the charity by riding the entire route of the Tour of Britain one day ahead of the race.

    36 min

  5. EPISODE 33

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - 2023 National Road Series Preview

    Domestic cycling’s winter of discontent and the green shoots of recovery represented by a thriving National B scene fall under the microscope of co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones MBE in an episode to preview the 2023 National Road Series. Promoter Deb John and rider Sian Botteley offer additional insights. Phil and Tim discuss the setbacks endured by elite British road racing, from the cancellation of the 2023 Tour Series to the conclusion of Tim Elverson’s AT85 team, but find reasons to be cheerful in other developments. Phil calls for a “root and branch” review of the domestic road scene. Further down the pyramid, the early-season rush of high-quality National B races and their illustrious winners, including Hutchinson - Brother UK’s Tammy Miller, offered evidence of a scene recalibrating. Tim and Phil weigh the evidence for renewal presented by races like the Yomp Bonk Crew’s Peaks 2 Day stage race.  Race organisers like Cold Dark North represent the lifeblood of domestic road racing. Co-founder Deb John shares her insights into the ingredients required for a successful National B race, including medics, marshalls and National Escort Group motorcycle outriders. She describes her satisfaction in staging CDN’s Proper Northern Road Race Series. The Women’s CiCLE Classic is one of a handful of National A races unaffected by the economic downturn. Sian Botteley (Hutchinson – Brother UK) has competed in every edition of this mixed-surface event and offers her insights into the skills required to succeed in a race billed as Britain’s Belgian Classic.   Enjoy this deep dive into British road racing’s deeply-rooted challenges - a forensic analysis from the leader of a major business – and a celebration of the areas of the sport that continue to thrive. Additional insights from those on the scene’s ‘front line’ offer a welcome counterbalance to negativity.

    38 min

  6. EPISODE 34

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Action and Intrigue

    The 2023 season has offered action and intrigue. In this latest episode of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK, are joined by rider Sian Botteley (Hutchinson - Brother UK) to consider developments ranging from Jon Dutton’s appointment as the new CEO of British Cycling to the postponement of the Women’s Tour.  Phil offers insights on the opportunities and responsibilities awaiting British Cycling’s new leader as he takes the helm in the midst of another challenging period for the federation. Phil describes the “discovery period” Jon will undergo in his first 100 days and extends his hopes that time spent reading existing strategy documents and listening to stakeholders will be followed by execution of the actions required to “steady the ship” and reverse the decline of domestic road racing.  Sian offers a view from the saddle: the most compelling vision in cycling. She shares her experiences from the recent women’s CICLE Classic, where she raced to a superb fifth place, and from the Dutch classic, Zuiderzeeronde, where a crash brought her race to an early end. Critically, Sian compares and contrasts her experiences of riding high-quality National B races and iconic National A races and by doing so offers a first-hand account of a recent, significant shift in domestic road racing. Marc Etches might accurately be described as the life and soul of domestic cycling. A commissaire, race organiser (Sheffield GP, Monsal Hill Climb) and volunteer coach, he has a 360-degree view of the domestic sport. Marc explains why he objects to criticism of the grassroots scene from high-profile athletes and offers his perspective on British Cycling as an organisation to empower volunteers. The postponement of the Women’s Tour is the latest blow to fans of British cycle sport, but disappointment has been tempered by admiration for race organisers the SweetSpot Group, who explored every avenue to keep the race on the road, including crowdfunding. PR and Marketing Director Peter Hodges offers an insider’s account of SweetSpot’s battle to save the Women’s Tour.  Other topics discussed include the courses for the 2023 National Road and Time-Trial Championships in Redcar and Cleveland, the forthcoming Lincoln Grand Prix and the rise and rise of our Hutchinson - Brother UK elite women's team.

    56 min

  7. EPISODE 35

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Deb John interview

    Deb John is the co-founder of Cold Dark North and a race organiser with many cherished events on her palmares, including the Proper Northern Road Race Series and the national masters championships for men and women. This year, Cold Dark North will also support the National Hill Climb Championships. In this in-depth interview, Deb discusses her motivations for becoming a race organiser and, later, for co-founding Cold Dark North with Toby Cummins. She reveals how experiences as a florist and a caterer equipped her with an eye for detail and a determination to deliver events to the highest standard. Deb provides fascinating detail on the planning, logistics and satisfactions of staging a National B race. She describes Cold Dark North’s relationship with commissaires, medics, and a host of people without whom staging a race would be impossible: an eclectic mix of signage experts, motorcycle outriders, non-cycling helpers and more. The additional costs and challenges encountered in hosting a national championship event or in elevating a National B race to a National A event are among the many other topics on which Deb speaks with authority. She describes her preference for a view from the “margins”, where the most interesting developments occur. Enjoy Deb’s insights and observations and gain a detailed insight into the race organiser’s challenges and rewards. From marshals to mileage, prizes to signage, field sizes to total metres of ascent, Deb describes the myriad details an organiser must consider and the satisfaction gained from a job that permits “no excuses”.

    29 min

  8. EPISODE 36

    Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Jon Dutton interview

    Leader meets leader in this special edition of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, where co-host Phil Jones MBE, the Managing Director of Brother UK, heads across town from our headquarters in Tameside to interview Jon Dutton, British Cycling’s new Chief Executive, at Manchester’s National Cycling Centre. A fascinating conversation follows.  Phil presents the questions that matter to road cyclists on topics including the diminishing presence of the National Road Series, the reduced number of British-registered UCI Continental teams and the importance of television coverage to race organisers seeking sponsors, as well as discussing wider issues of finance, governance, and reputation. Jon describes his childhood in the Lancashire town of Leigh, forming lifelong passions for rugby league and cycling. Candidly, he admits to abandoning his dream of becoming a professional athlete while studying sports management at Northumbria University. His career has included the Ryder Cup, Champions League and Tour de France.  Phil seeks assurance on issues affecting the road cycling community, including the commercial challenges faced by grassroots teams and race organisers. He Jon him to describe his motivations for joining British Cycling and to share his perceptions, as an outsider, during the many high-profile PR challenges the federation has endured. Jon provides open, honest and direct responses throughout the interview. He pledges to tackle some of British Cycling’s challenges “head on”, but warns that certain issues cannot be fixed overnight. He describes his purpose-led approach to leadership and assures Phil that he has joined the federation “to make a difference”. In an episode not to be missed, two leaders of major organisations with the health of British cycle sport at heart hold a fascinating conversation, ranging from the Lincoln GP to the war in Ukraine, and from the meteoric rise of Tom Pidcock to the forthcoming World Championships in Glasgow.

    56 min
See All Season 4 (36)

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Road cycling podcast focused on the UK domestic scene hosted by Timothy John and Phil Jones. Featuring interviews with team managers, riders and stakeholders in the sport.

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