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03
Apr
Harrogate cycling prodigy Harry Hudson on life in the fast lane
In September, Harrogate cycling prodigy Harry Hudson made history in Rwanda as he became the first Brit to win the UCI Road World Championships junior road race.
Finishing the 119-kilometre course in two hours, 55 minutes and 19 seconds, the 18-year-old beat second-placed Johan Blanc by 16 seconds – a sizeable margin in cycling.
Almost immediately afterwards, Harry was signed to the Lidl-Trek Future Racing team, the development team for Lidl-Trek’s professional World Team.
Six months on, Harry told the Stray Ferret what life has been like since his momentous win:
I finished my exams in the summer, and I’m not going to school anymore, so that’s a big change.
I think the big thing is riding around in my Lidl-Trek gear. Amateur cyclists see it and know who you’re riding for.
Harry Hudson in his Lidl Trek gear. Photo: @andyjonesfoto on Instagram
Because Harry was signed for the race team’s development squad, he is not yet a fully professional athlete.
But he’s certainly been training like one.
The youngster trains almost every day for between three and five hours.
He has completed two training camps and one race so far, and has also taken on a personal coach.
He said:
I’ve had a great experience with Lidl-Trek so far. All the staff are really helpful, and I’m enjoying working with my coach. It’s really helped my fitness, and it’s nice to have more structure to my training and someone to talk through it with me.
When you see all the people at the training camps – a lot of big names and a huge team with all the coaches and riders, it made me realise where I was.
I’m training alongside people like Mads Pedersen – I grew up watching him!
Photo: @andyjonesfoto on Instagram
In his first senior race, the Giro di Sardegna, Harry didn’t do as well as he wanted. He finished 129th out of 146 riders.
But he knows every race is a learning curve.
“I’m just enjoying it more than anything,” he said. “I’m still learning how to approach senior races, but I’m enjoying riding and racing my bike. That’s the main thing.”
After his world championships victory, Harry was unsurprisingly labelled by many media outlets as Britain’s next big thing.
But that doesn’t faze him. He said:
It doesn't put pressure on me. I’m just riding and racing my bike. Without being labelled as that, I’d still want to achieve everything I want to. My ambitions are to make it a career from here.
And he thinks the best chance of doing that is by moving abroad.
The cyclist had been training in Spain for most of the summer, but his 90-day visa-free limit has now expired.
He said that he was currently applying for a full visa, as he plans to live there full-time. As you can probably imagine, cycling in the Spanish mountains is much more appealing than in the north of England.
Harry’s next race will take place in the Ardennes next month. With a youthful tenacity and a hunger to succeed, he could well become Yorkshire’s next sporting hero.
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