Saint Piran at the Olympics & Round up after Nationals

As a team owner, life is never dull. But today was without doubt exceptional. with a range of emotions that has made me stop and think about the team and what makes it successful.

Off the back of the incredibly hard national Championships, we have had incredibly mixed news from with our team in the last day or so. Firstly there was the announcement by one of the most influential riders in the history of Saint Piran. Alex Richardson, an icon of the British Cycling scene and incredibly nice guy has announced his retirement from racing. He will be a massive loss to the team and to cycling as a whole - he helped shape our historic result in The Tour of Britain last year (6th) and wore our jersey proudly, winning many races including the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix last year. We will miss him greatly. Thank you Alex, you will always be one of us.

But before I could catch breath, we received the news that we will have two riders at the Olympic Games in Paris - Charlie Tanfield and Ollie Wood, both racing in Saltburn by the Sea this weekend. That elation was muted a little as Will Tidball, whose incredible form earlier in the year was halted by a nasty virus, was not in a position to be named in the team and will miss out on Paris 2024. But Will will be back - LA28 beckons, not to mention the rest of our season and maybe World Track Champs where he could defend his jersey.

And then probably the best news of all - the news the whole team has been waiting for. Sam Culverwell, after his terrible injury earlier in the season, is back on a bike. For those that have seen his Instagram feed, you will know what a staggering achievement that is. Sam is one of the Saint Piran family and to have him working so hard to get back on a bike and race is inspiring to us all. It has lifted every single one of us.

This year has been incredibly challenging with injuries and illness. Probably our hardest year yet - but here we are. A successful women’s mountain bike programme, a women’s road team that refuses to give up, Rachel’s result in the Nationals, the epitome of that spirit. And then we have the 20 riders now in the men’s team who have not only won in Japan and Greece but continue to set the example of what we believe cycling should be. Honest, exciting and above all…fun.