Roy really needs little introduction, having been a stalwart of the UK racing scene for over 40 years. He started cycling at the age of 13 with the Coventry CC way back in 1978 and with no loss of enthusiasm has been riding in various forms ever since. Known for his hard work and never say die attitude, Roy has consistency achieved top results over this long period. Roy has been fortunate to represent Great Britain multiple times, as well as basing himself in Belgium in 1985 and in France with ASPTT St Etienne in 1989 & 1990, where he rode in the French Cup as well as International races in Switzerland and Italy. Once returning from France Roy rode as an Elite for the Dawes MTB team during sports infancy, whilst also studying for a BSc in Exercise Science at DMU Bedford, which included a final year dissertation exploring the conflicting theories to assess cyclist’s anaerobic threshold at a time long before FTP and power meters we are so accustomed to today.
From 2001 to 2009 Roy focused on riding road racing at the highest level in the UK, racing the Premier Calendar road events and National Championships. Notable results include 9th, 12th & 14th in the Elite Road Race Championships in 2005, 2003 and 2004 respectively, 9th overall in the Premier Calendar in 2005 and top 10’s in the hillier (and slower!) Premier Calendar races. Other notable results include 1st overall in the Tour of Malta, 2nd overall and twice KOM in the Masters Tour of Mallorca and six times Division Champion, all achieved while working full time as a Sports Manager at Cranfield University and being a father of two.
Since 2014 Roy has focused on riding cyclocross in the winter and the veterans’ road series in summer. In 2018 Roy won the EDF World Championships in Belgium for riders between 50 and 55 and has been both BC National Road Race and Circuit Race Champion in the Master’s categories. On knobbly tires Roy won a round in the V50’s National Cyclocross Series in 2017 as well as 6th in the National Championships in 2018. The passion for riding has not wavered and Roy is still competing – albeit at a slower speed and with older riders – but with the same input of effort as when he was younger!
Roy started coaching back in 2003 when he qualified as a level 2 coach and has since worked with wide of variety of riders ranging from professionals and riders on the current Olympic Squad, to those with time restrictions due to family and work commitments, but with equally as challenging aims such as improving on their TT times, improving their race category and riding sportifs like the Haute Route, La Marmot and L’Etape.
Roy is available to coach all riders, but his particular interest is in helping those over the age of 45 who are attempting to race at national masters level, whether that be on the road, TT or off-road on the MTB or Cross bike.