Enjoy yourself

We start with a fundamental piece of advice, which all the riders in one way or another repeat as a mantra central to their success: “Enjoy yourself, is all I can say,” says Jacob Scott, now in his second year at An Post-Chain Reaction. “I remember riding a bike as a teenager, and it was always in junior races with your mates – you were always with your friends.

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“It was always about enjoyment. In the British development team, there was a bit of stress because you always want to perform, but looking back now I wonder why I was worried.

“Kurt (Bogaerts, An Post-Chain Reaction’s team manager) didn’t sign us because we were on a development team or Olympic programme, it was for my ability, which showed itself in the end.”

Mark Stewart agrees, pointing out that as a sport, cycling can be one of the most physically and mentally challenging: “It’s too hard to not enjoy it,” he laughs.  

Be patient

Stewart is naturally a big proponent of being patient – and a great example of how it can pay off. He says: “Lots of people give themselves only 12 months to turn pro and then give up when it doesn’t happen – but that’s crazy, really. It’s going to take time, years, so have patience when you’re young!”

On the biggest stage, Stewart pulls out what was arguably the shock result of the 2016 as an example. “Look at Mathew Hayman last year, he won Roubaix right near the end of his career,” he points out. “It’s a high-level example [of course, Hayman had been in the professional ranks since the turn of the century], but it does demonstrate that success can just take time.”

Scott concurs, warning youngsters against feeling that they need to achieve everything early on.

“You think that you’ve got no time when you’re a teenager and you live in the moment, but the fact is you do, so don’t worry about needing to achieve certain results in such and such a time. Just try hard each race and let the results come to you,” he says.

Stay generally healthy

The world is awash with nutritional advice, from the ‘next big thing’ to following key rules like consuming carbohydrates and protein within the magic 30-minute post-exercise window when your body is the most able to absorb nutrients. However, Scott says that the key thing is to eat a healthy all round diet.

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“Instead of going mad over nutrition, just try to eat generally healthily. I know, when you’re in the junior categories you can get away with eating a pack of flapjacks – as an u16 I definitely did that,” he advises with a smile, recalling a time in his life when the ‘rules’ were more relaxed.

“You can get away with this to an extent because you’re growing, but having good general habits, like eating fruit and veg and not gorging on the treats is obviously going to be of some benefit in the long run.”

Scott later admits that it’s hard to appreciate that when you’re young – he remembers well, judging by his cheeky grin and recalling his trips to the supermarkets – but Dan Gardner, the other young British rider on the team, says if you make it to the big time, you’ll end up doing it anyway, so you may as well get into good habits early.

“My old teammates in America used to call me ‘The Sponge’, and even here at An Post I’m picking up on things like the way Sean Kelly still eats,” he says. “You think to yourself ‘there’s got to be a reason for that’, so you do it too.”

Get the right people around you

Following on from advising riders to stick to their own plan, Stewart also thinks you need to stick to your guns and have faith in your own convictions and choices.

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“If you really enjoy it, you should stick to your own plan, and believe in it too,” he says. “From my perspective, I really enjoyed the track and wanted to do the Commonwealths, but I had loads of people tell me ‘oh no, the road is where it’s at; that’s where you want to be’.

“But look at where the track has got me: I’m on the [British Cycling] podium funding for the track, now on the An Post team with a chance to develop in that area too, and I’m only here because I enjoyed it and I wanted to pursue my goals.”

Intrinsically linked to this is being surrounded by people who also believe in your path, Stewart points out. He adds: “Have people around you who support you in what you want to achieve or aim at, and want you to succeed. Support like that is invaluable.”

Talk to people

With Classics legend Sean Kelly at the helm, An Post is one of the best-connected teams out there, and having relationships with the right people undoubtedly helps open doors for the UCI Continental squad. The team also uses this as a key way to identify the most talented riders, and it could serve you well too. Gardner explains.

“Look at it this way: you can be cooped up in a house in Belgium speaking to one person a week as you focus only on the races, but if you get out and about and speak to people involved in the sport, introduce yourself, then one of those conversations could lead somewhere,” he says.

“It keeps things social too, as you can make friends along the way, then, if you race well or show yourself well, those people will be looking.”

Gardner also places value on being able to get by in a European language too.

“It’s definitely helpful to know a language, because one day that could open a door for you,” he believes. “It makes a difference when you can walk up to a Frenchman and say hello and hold a basic conversation with them in French; they really appreciate you trying. That can only be good for your relationships with people in the sport.”

Embrace your journey

The last tip for young riders is left to Stewart, who ends on a philosophical note: you can be as talented and able as you like, but he says it’s important to maintain perspective.

“I think you need to be happy with who you are and how you do things,”he says. “We all have setbacks and problems along the way, but that’s part of your journey – learning about your body and yourself, and how you deal with it for the future.

“From my point of view, I think it helps that I have a positive outlook on life via my Christian beliefs and upbringing, so I think it’s good to stay positive in general when cycling.

“And perspective definitely comes into it. You can be consumed with cycling, but actually you’re just riding a bike, so just be happy you’re doing that.

“It’s not the be all and end all, especially when you’ve got people out there saving lives in their day-to-day jobs, for example. You’re lucky that you get to do what you do.”