Steve Hill: Sprinting to his Dream

The Freewheelers league was created by the Newcastle Track Cycling Association (NTCA) with the aim of introduced youngsters into Track cycling, through competing on Freewheel bikes in a range of events that precede the main Track League each week at the Lyme Valley Stadium.

Steve was the first freewheeler and to date is the most successful product from this system introduced by the NTCA’s Chris Pyatt.

“Steve started at the track when he was 9 years of age and was the tracks very first Freewheeler. It was evident from the very beginning that he had something special”. Chris Pyatt

Being a former World Champion and international rider Chris quickly took Steve under his wing and started coaching him to see if the potential he showed could be haboured into something greater.

“My first coaching advice was to get him to sit down as he insisted on doing the entire 200 metre sprint out of the saddle!!.” Chris Pyatt

Even though Steve has now progressed to British Cycling’s Olympic Development Program and is coached by German sprint superstar Jan van Eijden, he has not forgotten his roots and still rides the track league at Newcastle and trains under the watchful eye of Pyatt.

“Off the bike he is a quiet well mannered young man whereas as on the bike he is confident and not afraid of anyone, which is just what you need to get to achieve success and I have no doubt that within the next two years he can become a World Junior Sprint Champion.” Chris Pyatt

This is evident to see as even though still only sixteen himself; Steve can often be seen giving advice to youngsters who aspire to follow in his footsteps and even those older riders who just seek to benefit from the vast amount of knowledge Hill already possesses.

“I usually train six times a week.  This includes a mixture of road, track, roller and strength and conditioning work. This is in addition to racing which used to be mainly in the summer, but now I’m on the ODP there are more track races open to me during the winter, such as the Alkmaar Junior International in the Netherlands”

Steve is extremely grateful of the support that he has received from Chris Pyatt and the rest of the NTCA.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Chris Pyatt for all of the good advice and support he has given me over the years.  I’m sure that with out all this I wouldn’t be the bike rider I am today.  I hope that he continues to support me throughout my cycling career and will have a role to play in helping to reach my goals”

Like the majority of sixteen year olds throughout the country Steve is also studying for his GCSEs, which he considers just as important as his cycling commitments.

“My education is an important part of my development, so it is on par with my cycling commitments.  In the future I see myself as a cyclist however I will need my education for later on in life.”

This year see’s Steve aiming to become Junior World Champion in Aguascalientes and follow in the footsteps of Jason Kenny who won three gold medals last year. However Hill is still in his first year on the Olympic Development Programme and so will face tough competition from his teammates Dave Daniell and Chris Lyte, both of whom are already World Champions from last years competition. Daniell won the Kilo in emphatic style and teamed up with Lyte and Kenny to take the Team Sprint title, so both riders will be tough to beat.

It all bodes well for British Cycling as their youngsters battle it out amongst themselves for the medals, but the immediate focus lies with the European Championships in Cottbus, Germany. Great Britain traditionally dominate this event and aim to do the same in July with Hill looking to bring home his first international medal.

Steve is also aiming to stamp his authority on a national level in the British National Junior Championships at Newport Velodrome.

In 2006 he was beaten by fellow ODP member Pete Mitchell in the U16 Sprint competition after making tactical mistakes in the final.

“I was gutted after losing the final, I wanted the gold medal so much that winning the silver felt like I’d failed.  I rode both the final rides badly and Pete (Mitchell) rode them both well.  I can only blame myself for my tactical mistakes.”

Showing maturity beyond his years and perhaps forgetting that he still came away with the Silver medal, Steve rightly states that events like the 2006 Junior Nationals are all part of his learning curve and building towards long term goals like the Olympics in 2012.

“At the end of the day, people aren’t going to be talking about who won the 2006 U16 National Sprint Championships in years to come; it’s the big events like the World Championships and Olympics that matter.”

“Obviously the 2006 Nationals were of great importance to me at the time, however it’s all just a learning curve and the experience gained from mistakes you make along the way is crucial; making sure you nail a World Championship or even an Olympic ride is when it really matters.  The U16 Sprint was just a stepping-stone onto bigger and better things.”

Obviously his parents, Alan and Sue, are very proud of his achievements up-to-date, and have provided Steve with all the support he requires to follow his dream. Such a great ‘back-up’ team allows him to focus 100% on his future and without this incredible dedication he would never be able to live the dream.

One such dream came during the Revolution series, when the organisers pitted the ODP riders against international sprint stars such as Jamie Staff, Craig Maclean, Jan van Eijden, Arnaud Tournant, Teun Mulder and Roberto Chiappa. Many sixteen year olds would have been in awe of their heroes and perhaps even fear racing against them, but not Steve, he relished the opportunity and only narrowly lost out to Maclean!

Even though he is now competing on an international level Steve is still following his roots and competing at the Brooks Cycles Track League.

“I’ll ride the TL as much as I can this year and years to come. However, hopefully I’ll get on the U23 Sprint Academy in a couple of years, which means I’ll be based in Manchester and that will make it difficult to get down to the track, so obviously my training programme (and the weather!) will determine when I’ll be riding it.”

The track league is obviously close to Steve’s heart as it was through the NTCA that he got into cycling, however his team Brooks Cycles, also sponsor the event so he has extra incentive to achieve on his home track.

“The support I have received from Tony Brooks has been amazing and I can’t thank him enough, pulling on the orange and blue skinsuit fills me with immense pride”

This year see’s the introduction of the www.velodrome.org.uk Keirin League to the list of events at the track league, and obviously being designed for sprinters, Steve aims to take his first senior title at his home event.

“The Keirin league is a great event and one I really want to win, because I hear the sponsor is putting up a big prize fund, ha-ha!”

In first round of the competition Steve stamped his authority on the event, as the motorbike pulled off with one lap to go he kept the pace high before World Masters Track Champion Steve Cronshaw, Brereton Wheelers, launched an attack with 250m to go to take the lead. Cronshaw kept his lead until the home straight when Hill came past to take an impressive win from a fast finishing Dan Woolfenden, Yasumitsu Schlapp.

The Keirin is an event in which Chris Hoy emphatically claimed the Gold medal at the recent World Championships in Mallorca. Hill considers this performance to be inspirational and something that he aims to replicate in years to come.

“I really admire Chris Hoy and look up to him both as a rider and in life in general. I was really pleased for him when he won the Keirin in Mallorca.  Chris, due to his tremendous achievements, is predominantly known for his Kilo abilities and given that the Kilo has been axed from the Olympics, he has had to transfer his skills to an event that has got Olympic status.  I think he has done this really well and has certainly stamped his authority on the keirin, which bodes well for the Beijing Olympics next year!  He has achieved so much and the Kilo ride he did in Athens still gives me goose bumps when I watch it!”

Steve also mentions how he admires the vast amount of knowledge and experience his coaches offer him and also draws inspiration from the likes of Graeme Obree.

“I was lucky enough to sit by Graeme Obree at Revolution 15 and from the brief time I spent with him I think he’s the most interesting and innovative person I’ve met – plus he’s a legend!”

“I really admire Geoff Cooke, for the vast experience he has gained over the years, some of which he has shared with me.  Another person has to be Tim Buckle, West Mids Talent Team coach, who always makes training fun”

As with many of our interviews I have asked the riders what they think needs to be done to get cycling in all forms into the British mindset. With riders like the aforementioned Chris Hoy regularly bringing home World Championship titles, their achievements are repeatedly overshadowed by other sports grabbing the headlines for some might say unjustified reasons.

“I believe that more needs to be done in the positive promotion of cycling in the UK and in general.  The plight of drugs in our sport often overshadows cycling and the achievements of many clean athletes.  The media is partly to blame for this as, as with many things, as the lows of the sport are publicised more than the highs.  I believe the key is with the media and others who are in a position to promote it, as well as cyclists ourselves.”

Having just come back from an ODP camp in Germany Steve needs to catch up on important revision for his remaining GCSEs, consequently I thank him for his time and wish him the best of luck in both his exams and pursuing his cycling dreams.

Having trained and raced with Hill myself, I have the greatest confidence in him ending the summer with a clutch of GCSEs, European, National and World titles to his name.