At the Los Angeles
World Cup Russell Hampton attacked during the Scratch race, little did he know
that he would be able to lap the field and hold on to take the Gold medal, and
with that the biggest victory of his track racing career so far.
When I spoke with
Russell, just before he flew out to LA, we didn’t even mention the possibility
of medalling, let alone getting a Gold! However, what was clear to see is that
Russ is an extremely dedicated person who is committed to achieving his goals
in cycling.
Being part of the
Olympic Academy Programme, Russell is able to dedicate all of his life to
cycling, which doesn’t leave much time for socialising with friends, like any
other 18 year old would
“My schedule is always
really busy, I could be at the track from seven in the morning till six at night
doing two track sessions and stretching sessions etc so it’s really time
consuming but that’s what it has to takes to be good.”
“Now I’m full time my
life is my bike so I can fit it all in but there isn’t really time for much
else like going out with friends etc but that’s the life I’ve chosen and its
great so its all good.”
Russell got into
cycling at an early age when one day he decided to go training with his dad.
“Dad has always been a
fitness fanatic, so one Sunday morning I joined him on one of his rides and we
did 25 miles, I really enjoyed it and so things took off from then really.”
Russell now lives away
from home with the rest of the Olympic Academy endurance riders and his life
revolves around riding his bike. He quickly had to adapt to doing the things he
used to take for granted like cooking and cleaning as well as concentrating on
his training.
Such an experience at a
young age is seen by British Cycling as paramount to building riders into medal
winners. Performance Director Dave Brailsford has been keen to put in
place "development pathways" so that young riders are being
coached not only on the cycling but also academic skills at a young age.
One of these academic
skills is lessons in Italian, to remove the language barrier when the Academy
riders move to British Cycling’s Italian base for the summer.
Russell on the Podium at the LA World Cup, Photo: Tissot Timing
The system of support
for young riders that British Cycling has in place is one of the main reasons
Russell considers himself to have been successful.
“If it wasn’t for the
setup at BC and the backup that I receive, I wouldn’t be half as good a rider
as I am now. This along with all the hard work and commitment I put into
cycling allows me to exploit every ounce of talent that I may have.”
Dedicating so much time
to a sport is something some riders’ families and friends find hard to deal
with, but not Russells
“I am very lucky to
have the full support of my family and friends. My family are really proud of
what I have achieved, we haven’t had anybody in the family that’s got this far
in sport so they are really supportive. My friends are fantastic and can’t
believe what I’ve achieved!”
In 2006 Russell beat
Jonny McEvoy and his then teammate the Junior World Scratch race champion Peter
Kennaugh to become the National Junior Road Race champion. However he regards the
2005 Tour du Pays de Vaud in Switzerland
as his proudest moment as a cyclist.
This was the event in
which the Great British team helped Ian Stannard to overall victory, and it
also coincided with Hampton’s
debut in the GB squad.
“It was the first time
I pulled on the GB jersey and it was such an honour, something that I always
dreamed of doing.”
“The race is very
prestigious and riders such as Mario Cipollini and Fabin Cancellara won it when
they were juniors, so for us to help Ian win was incredible. We rode
fantastically as a team and having to defend the yellow jersey made you feel
just like a pro.”
Russell has recently signed for the new 100%Me team
Now we all know 2007
started with a bang for Russell, as he won the Scratch race at the Los Angeles
World Cup, however his main aims for the season are on the road. He aims to
perform well in the European Road Race and TT championships, which will then
hopefully lead to him getting a ride at the U23 Worlds.
“I also would like to
win one of the smaller Italian race’s that we ride and get some top 20 finishes
in the new U23 Nations Cup.”
The Nations Cup is a
new addition to the UCI’s European tour calendar, and is aimed at giving under
23 riders there own ProTour calendar. Races start in March at the GP of
Portugal (March 30-April 1), Tour de la Côte Picarde (April 18, in France), U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 21 in Belgium), Giro delle Regioni (April 26-May 1 in Italy), Thüringen Rundfahrt (June 12-17 in Germany), GP Tell (August 22-26 in Switzerland), and Tour de l'Avenir (September
6-15 in France).
The races will be
contested by national teams, like the British Olympic Academy Programme riders
"Race organisers will have
the obligation to invite the best federations from each of the five
continents," the UCI announced.
"Some of them are prepared
to do it but they don't all have the financial capacity for doing the
series," road co-ordinator Philippe Chevallier explained, but added:
"We're working with the youth categories for the future of cycling."
This is a great boost to the
under 23 scene and enables riders to have high quality events on the calendar
for the duration of the season. This then will hopefully lead to a progression
to a ProTour team the following season.
However, as we all know cycling
is still not a mainstream sport in the UK, despite the success of youngsters
such as Hampton. A lot still needs to be done to get cycling in all forms into
the British mindset.
“I think publicity is the key as
the public need to be seeing our sport and realising how good it is. More races
like the Tour of Britain are crucial. My non-cycling friends have seen it on TV
and they love it, commenting that they think it’s great to watch. So I
definitely think that all we need is more publicity, which promotes our sport,
then everything else will come automatically.”
If cycling wasn’t a career
option, Russell sees himself as still being part of the sport, perhaps as a
Director Sportif
“I think I’m really
good at getting the best out of a team so I would love to be a DS, and I
couldn’t stand working 9 to 5, so if not a job in sport coaching.”
Whilst not on the bike
Russell enjoys listening to Hip Hop music such as DMX and Ludacris, aswell as
watching DVDs such as Team America and Rush Hour
Jens Voigt, Tom Boonen and of
course the great Eddy Merchx are all riders that Russell looks up to for their
work rate and the way they battle for a race win, even if it means going on a
crazy 170km lone attack. Although, he also mentions how much he enjoys training
with Saunier Duval’s David Millar.
“He takes us all over the big
climbs in the Peak District, like Snakes Pass and Axe Edge. They are just
amazing and extremely tough because it’s got a bit of everything. Much better
than the usual ride to and from the track to home!”
Russ in the Revolution 15 Madison with Steven Burke
Living with the rest of the squad
brings the riders closer together and allows them to really get to
know each other, however it also exposes you to the eccentricity of Steven
Burke, who is forever making the house laugh.
And on that note, it’s
time for Russell and the rest of the house to head off to the Velodrome for
another training session with Rod Ellingworth and Darren Tudor, so I thank him
for his time and wish him all the best for the LA World Cup and the rest of the
season.
