The British Continental
Stories about British bike racing, teams and riders.
The British Continental
From DNF to Lincoln Legend | James McKay’s three-year ascent
James McKay joins host Denny Gray fresh from a career-making victory at the 2025 Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Sheffield-based rider in Wheelbase-CabTech-Castelli green relives the sprint up Michaelgate that delivered his first National A win and explains why “it’s just about sunk in” now the champagne haze has cleared.
The conversation rewinds to 2022, when McKay was black-flagged at the same race, rode home in despair and phoned development-team boss Dave Coulson to quit - only for Coulson to reply “nonsense” and insist the talent was still there. That single vote of confidence pulled McKay back from the brink and set in motion the comeback the pair dissect on air.
McKay credits a whole cast of British road-racing royalty - Ali Slater, Tom Stewart, the Downing brothers, Graham Briggs, and 1995 Lincoln winner Mark Walsham - for the chain-gang sessions and blunt advice that “made me realise I was actually at a decent level” . Their wisdom, plus a breakout 2023 season, helped him banish the imposter syndrome he once masked by calling every good result “a fluke”.
He also lifts the lid on Wheelbase’s distinctive ethos: “we race selfishly together”. With no fixed leader, prize money split evenly and trust that everyone will get their day, the system lets multiple engines fire without ego - something McKay believes was decisive both at East Cleveland and again in Lincoln’s heat.
Race-day detail comes thick and fast: the late attack that shed Ben Granger, Alex Peters’ solo gamble, and a three-abreast elbow-fight into the famous left-hander. On the climb McKay twice kicked clear - “with the roar of the crowd I had no idea who was on my wheel, so I just kept drilling it”. Friends who had trained with him all winter formed a noisy green wall that, he says, “gave me wings”; later they soaked up the moment in the pub while he nursed a podium sip of champagne before driving home.
Looking ahead, the Lincoln trophy resets nothing and everything. McKay still wants a crack at the National Road Championships, plans to focus on the National Road Series rather than the Circuit Series, and admits he’d consider a return to UCI Continental level “if the right people and calendar came along” -but at 28 he’s determined to savour the sport rather than chase a long-shot pro contract.
Tune in for a candid masterclass in resilience, team chemistry and the sheer emotional punch of Britain’s cobbled monument - plus the reminder that sometimes a single word of faith can change an athlete’s life.
Rapha presents The British Continental.
Welcome to the British Continental Podcast, the show shining a light on stories about British bike racing teams and riders at the domestic level.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to the British Continental Podcast. I'm Denny Gray and last weekend, as I speak, the Rafa Lincoln Grand Prix served up all its usual cobbled mayhem cathedral-side crowds and this time a set of brand new winners. James Mackay was one of them, the 28-year-old Yorkshireman in the lime green of wheelbase cab tech Castelli, who sprinted clear of Alex Peters on Michael Gate to claim his first ever National A road race victory. But that champagne moment was several years in the making, built on a 2022 DNF at Lincoln. Wise words from British racing legends a tight-knit team, a Lincoln full of mates who helped push James on all the way. And James is with me now to unpack the moments that turned, sitting on the roadside in Lincoln in 2022 to triumph in 2025. In Lincoln in 2022 to triumph in 2025. James, thanks for joining us and congratulations on not just your first national a road race win, but a win in what many regard as the biggest race in the UK. Thanks very much.
Speaker 1:yeah, no, I'm um, I'm chuffed actually actually to win Lincoln. It's a special race and yeah like you said, my first Prem win, so what better one than?
Speaker 2:Lincoln. Are you able to savour it now? Does it seem real to you that you've won Lincoln? Because we spoke last year in the podcast ahead of Lincoln and you spoke very eloquently about what it meant to you and what a great race it is. It must feel particularly special to to win there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it has just about sunk in, certainly the day itself. I think I was on on cloud nine, but, um, I think I've come to terms with it and yeah, I'm I'm very proud of of what I've accomplished Um it, and yeah, I'm I'm very proud of of what I've accomplished. Um, yeah, I think you alluded to a few things, but, as with kind of anyone, anyone's success, that's not. You know, there's always other people involved and there's always a bit of a story there. So, yeah, I'm feeling very grateful for everyone who's helped me along the way as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so take us back to 2022. And that dnf at lincoln uh, you climb off. You told your ds, dave coulson, that you're you've had enough. You don't think you're good enough? Tell us.
Speaker 1:Take us back to that moment yeah, I think I must have been pulled out or black flagged, um I think, yeah, I can't. I can't remember exactly um the terms of it.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure I had a mechanical, uh, but also, yeah, was lacking enough fitness on the day to really be competitive yeah certainly not what I'd been, what I'd hoped for from the race, and ended up riding back to sheffield because I'd only done, you know, a couple of hours of racing. Running back, uh, with, with a, with a friend or two, um who'd ridden out to watch. And, yeah, I, I spoke to dave, who is the manager of cycling sheffield, that's his, his love child and um, I said to him, look, I just don't think this is right for me. I am not competitive at this level and Dave's team is about helping develop riders to as far as they can go in the sport. And certainly, yeah, it's. The National Series is the sort of racing that they want to be getting stuck into.
Speaker 1:And I just felt a bit worthless really, I couldn't finish a race. So, yeah, my head was in the bin and, yeah, I said let's just call it a day now. And I don't know if I don't know if I was thinking I'd keep racing at a lower level or I'd stop racing altogether. But um didn't really get that far because, yeah, he didn't consider it for too long. He said you know, uh, nonsense, you know, I think you got a lot of potential and just crack on, keep your head screwed on. And yeah, uh, I think I managed to turn that year around a bit. Um, I had some, had some successes at lower level races, and that that in turn helped build my confidence on the following few years. So, yeah, it was a bit of a pivotal moment that that Lincoln year and yeah, you can be pretty sure that I'm very, very pleased that Dave didn't didn't take my offer too seriously how serious was that offer?
Speaker 2:do you think, without those words from Dave, that you genuinely would have stopped racing at that point?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think it would have if I hadn't been on a team, or certainly on that team, I think things could have could have changed. To be honest. Um, yeah, I think when you're at a low point like that, it often I, you know, I didn't have very much confidence in myself or self-belief and I needed other people. And, yeah, I need other people to have faith in me. And Dave was someone I looked up to, someone with a lot of experience, and I still have a lot of time for him and respect what he has to say. So, yeah, if he said there's, you know, there's worth, it's worthwhile keeping on going here, I might have felt the same at the time, but I I certainly listened to him now you?
Speaker 2:you stuck at it and, to be fair, 2023 was a breakthrough year for you, wasn't it, james? You got your first National B road race wins. You were sky high in our new National Road Race rankings and by the end of the season, st Perrin had signed you up at the time, one of only two UCI continental teams we had left in the UK. What do you think changed? What flipped the switch then between that moment when you nearly quit in 2022 to having that breakthrough in 2023?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think there are a few things going on. Firstly, success spiraled a little bit. I had a good summer in 2022. I was really enjoying riding my bike, probably some of the happiest uh times my life and, yeah, I was. I was riding my bike a lot, I was getting getting in good shape and, yeah, dave, and being on cycling Sheffield we had a really good group of lads and yeah, I think that just bred bred a lot of morale and I I grew with that and I think I'd also got to the point where I'd learned a lot of things about training, my own training, how I responded to it, and nutrition and race craft and tactics and yeah all the things that it takes years and years to develop um, and it all sort of seemed to to click um and yeah, 2023 was, was, was great for me, yeah was there kind of a moment in 2023 when you suddenly felt that you had arrived, that you'd kind of made that breakthrough?
Speaker 1:I don't think so. I had imposter syndrome for most of the year. To be honest, I kept on telling myself that it was, it was a fluke, but I kept on repeating the fluke, so I think at some point I had to accept that, uh, this was the sort of level I was at now. Um, and I guess signing for saint perron was, was was pretty pivotal. Yeah, having having a team doing doing bigger races, saying this is, this is a guy we want on our team, um, and there's a reason they were signing me, um, so, yeah, I think obviously I had some, some good results in the spring. Uh, but maybe making that move was was a bit of a mental step as well as a, yeah, kind of physical one as well I mean you say you had some good results.
Speaker 2:You came third in the rutland melton cycle classic, which was a major result against, you know, a really strong international field. That year luke lamparty won, of course, who's now on the world tour. But despite that you said you still had imposter syndrome early on in the season. What does it take to to remove that? I mean, I I'm someone who suffers from imposter syndrome in my own kind of sphere of work. I know it. I know how it feels it's difficult to to shake that off. Do you still feel like you've got imposter syndrome or do you think you've now, uh, kind of lost that from your mindset?
Speaker 1:yeah, I don't know, I think I'm definitely. You know, I think, if you make a, make a step like that, um, at the start, naturally my kind of uh mindset is to to say that this isn't, this isn't me, this isn't normal. But I think, yeah, if you repeat something enough, then it does become normal. So I would say the you know, the cure for imposter syndrome is is repeating. Um, you know, certainly, if you, if it's I don't know if you have like a, if you're an olympic athlete, say, and you, you, you win a gold medal and it's once every four years, you know, you might not get that chance to repeat it, so maybe you have to live with that for the rest of your life. But, um, yeah, certainly, when it comes to road racing, uh, we're lucky in cycling that, yeah, you've got plenty of opportunities. There's racing, uh, there's always another race around the corner. So, yeah, if you can repeat good performances, then that can. That's, that's, that's been been helpful for me.
Speaker 1:But I would say I'm not naturally a confident person. I don't think, uh, but yeah, I'd say, although that's a weakness, it's also a bit of a strength for me, because I don't do well under pressure. I don't think I perform too well under pressure, um. But yeah, if I'm not very confident then there's no pressure there because I don't think I'm gonna do very well. So some of my best results have come off race. You know races where I've not expected to do well. I've not put too much pressure on because I don't don't rate myself that highly, um. So yeah, sometimes my, our weakness can be a bit of a strength for me too.
Speaker 2:Honest answer. Before last Sunday, before the Lincoln Grand Prix, did you seriously think that you would win that race? Did you have any inkling that you could ever win anything Lincoln or a big race like that?
Speaker 1:yeah, I definitely didn't know if I was, I was gonna win. You know, I was fourth in 2023 and I got several podiums last year in the national series, so I think I knew it was within the realms of possibility that I could win, uh, a prem, and I could win Lincoln as well. But yeah.
Speaker 1:I also had a good feeling about the race. I'd won a race the week before and, yeah, all week in training since that I don't know if that gave me just a flick of a mental switch, but all week I was just, I couldn't feel the chain on my bike. So, yeah, I knew I was pretty nervous. Actually before Lincoln I did put a bit of pressure on because I knew how good I felt. But, yeah, I handled those nerves pretty well. Well, I felt good, I slept really well the night before and, yeah, it was a, it was a cracking day, sunny day. It just felt like, you know, I remember driving to the race and thinking this is, this is gonna be good. I didn't, you know, I didn't think I'm gonna win, but I was like, yeah, I was well up for it.
Speaker 2:Let's just say that now you told me, before we started recording, that you've had a a roll call of mentors Ali Slater, tom Stewart, graham Briggs, the Downing Brothers and, of course, mark Walsham, who won Lincoln 30 years ago. What would you say was the biggest, single, best piece of advice that one of those guys gave you? That kind of shaped Sunday's win, that's a good question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know if there's. I don't know if there's a single thing you know. I think if there was a secret to bike racing or to a certain race, then it probably, firstly, probably be out by now, but also, yeah, I think it would be. Yeah, it wouldn't be so hard to win, or maybe you'd get a more predictable winner the strongest guy would win as opposed to maybe the smartest or somebody who plays their cards right. So, yeah, I think, like you said, I'm really lucky where I live and some of the people I've met that, yeah, I know some pretty incredible cyclists and I can go.
Speaker 1:You know, I've gone training with, you know, with a lot of those guys over the years, and even Ben Swift he's even won Lincoln. You know, I was on training with a lot of those guys over the years, and even Ben Swift, he's even won Lincoln. I was on training with him just a couple of weeks ago. So, yeah, riding with those guys not only does it inspire you but, yeah, you can sponge off them and they have a great resource of information. So, yeah, I think, mark, you know one of my best mates, sam Walsham. His dad dad, mark uh won the race 30 years ago before me and he was there on the day and he was giving me, trying to give you know, giving me advice before the rollout. You know, pick the left hand gutter, it's the smoother one, and all this stuff. But um, yeah, it's just, it's pretty cool to be part of that rich history of the race and to join a kind of exclusive group of winners that a lot of whom I have idolized in the past.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, they say you stand on the shoulders of giants and I'd kind of that's how I feel about this win yeah, I mean, what is it about having access to all of those amazing legends of the sport really that you think has helped shape you as a racer?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, not only just riding with them and picking up these bits of advice, but going on like a train gang with Ben Swift and Connor. Ben Turner used to come out before he moved, moved to Spain. So, yeah, I think just being able to go out and whack it around some lanes with them makes you realize actually, you know, I'm at a decent level. It can give you some confidence and obviously they can physically push you as well. So I remember going on a. Yeah, I've been on some Tom Tom's tours rides Tom Stewart used to do I don't think he rode much on the road, he was always riding on rough stuff on tracks, on his on mountain bike trails and, yeah, been taken out by him and bumped into him on rides in the peaks and he said, okay, oh, you're coming with me and we've ended up riding down something that, yeah, I've never seen before. But yeah, things like that can help your bike handling skills, help you broaden your horizons. You know, keeps training fun.
Speaker 2:There's just so much that I'm thankful for for the people around me in sheffield, to be honest and, of course, this year you're on a, a new team wheelbase, cabtech castelli, who had a really strong race all around lincoln. Can you tell us a bit about the team and, uh, perhaps the role they've played in in your success in the last couple of weeks?
Speaker 1:yeah, no, um, towards the end of last year it was, you know, becoming clear that saint pran wouldn't exist the following year. So I was, yeah, debating what to do really, and there were a few, you know, I thought about going back to Dave's team, uh, but it's yeah, it's got, they've got a very young group at the minute and I don't know if I want to go back to that environment. I thought I might want to try something new and, yeah, wheelbase had been super strong the year before and I thought that, realistically, they were going to be the team to help me achieve the most. In a kind of selfish way, I'm not a young rider and I thought this is the time to really try and get the most of my, you know, squeeze everything out in terms of results. Uh, and on top of that, I have, yeah, I had, a couple good mates on the team. Tom Armstrong is is he's in Barnsley, so we'd be. We've been riding together for a bit, um, and yeah I get on well with him.
Speaker 1:He can talk for england. So, uh, yeah, I thought I'd be keen to be on a team with with him and also big tom, tom martin, as well. Yeah, I've just been chasing him around that b's and that a's for what seems like a while. So I thought you know those two, those two guys are pretty friendly. And if I don't have to, yeah, if I don't have to chase big Tom anymore, like after Rydell last year when he went up, I was like, oh, at least that'll be, at least that'll be one engine I don't have to chase.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, they told me to get in touch with Stu and yeah, it was. He was completely sound like. He held the spot open very late in the day because I wasn't sure what was happening wheelbase. So, uh, yeah, stew was like, look, you've got a spot if you want it. Just no rush to tell me. You know, what he said was that if for me this was quite a big deal, whether I had a team or not, and but for him it was, it was not a big, it was not that big a deal. You know, it would have been great. He said it's great if you, you, you want to come, but if you get something better or St Bram continues, then you've got to go for that. This is your life. So no, he was not. He was very, very chill and I like that a lot. He's a sound guy. So, yeah, it kind of came about after that when I could give him a concrete answer. And yeah, I've got to know the rest of the team and everyone's sound.
Speaker 1:Really I think it's just testament to Stu and Toby for putting together such a such a good group of lads and it's a team that's had been going on for a very long time. So it's a credit to wheelbase and the other sponsors for making a sustainable team that does what it says on the tin. They don't promise the earth, they don't overdo it one year and go big and buy a Conti license or try a crazy race program. That's just not sustainable. Stu runs the team. He's got a full-time job. He's got three kids.
Speaker 1:So it's not like he's pretty front with what we can achieve, but what, what he says he will, we will do. You know he does it and you do it with a smile and a laugh and yeah it's. It's just uh kind of testament to those things that often in cycling you get these kind of pipe dream teams or one hit wonders and they don't last. So yeah, it was going to. Going to wheelbase was a bit of a a no-brainer safe choice for me, um, and yeah safe to say it's going pretty well and I believe you've said that wheelbase race selfishly together.
Speaker 2:Can you unpack that mantra a bit? What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1:yeah, I mean, you know the first two prems we've done. There is no team leader. Really, you know, I think it's safe to say we've got, you know, the first two prems we've done. There is no team leader. Really, you know, I think it's safe to say we've got a handful of riders who can strong enough to compete for the win in the race. So it's just a case of just getting stuck in.
Speaker 1:And at Klondike there was a big break early on and I looked up and there was Big Tom, tim and Tom Armstrong in this move, three guys in a move of like 20. And I was like that's a pretty good situation for us. I'm not going to do anything now. So I just sat there, the gap went out and, yeah, it stayed away. I don't think, yeah, maybe they didn't play their cards perfectly at the finish, but yeah, we still ended up with with some great results. So I think just the same applied to to lincoln. There wasn't like I was the man for the race or tim was the man. Um, we had multiple options to play and, yeah, everyone rode their socks off and we managed to come away with the win.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think it. It shows how, how positive that kind of environment can be. And yeah, I don't know, I think it's it's. It's just telling that she's created an environment that people are happy to ride for each other and be okay with the fact that if they don't win, you know that they might not win today, but that's okay because they'll get their chance, you know, later in the year. So what comes around goes around and you know we split all the prize money equally and it just yeah, it's just, it's just about having fun and racing as a team and seeing each other do well, so I think that is a really healthy environment.
Speaker 2:Now, peaking is obviously a bit of an art form. Um, you told me beforehand that you were aiming to peak for the cycle classic, but it kind of arrived a bit later than planned. Um, talk us through, kind of, how you aimed for this time of year and why, why peaking is such an art form yeah, it's, uh, you know it's.
Speaker 1:It's impossible to be on in in top shape all year long, long and I certainly feel like I'm someone who really needs to be in at their, at their top to to be competitive for the, for the win in a race like, uh, sickle or lincoln, uh. So, yeah, I was, I was trying to peak for for sickle and then try and hold that to lincoln because you can, you know, it's probably a three weeks or something that you can probably hold some form for that uh. But yeah, I wasn't too disappointed with my early season that B results, because I knew, you know, I wasn't meant to be going that well. Certainly, you know, if I'd won peaks today, I probably would have been panicking a little bit because it's just too early to be going well, uh. So, yeah, I was hoping to to have a good crack at Sickle and Lincoln, but, um, yeah, I still still was a bit flat at Sickle, uh, and certainly a couple weeks for Lincoln. I still wasn't feeling in in top shape.
Speaker 1:So I think, yeah, after that, timmy James win the week before. I remember, yeah, I didn't feel confident before that. I, you know, I thought I'll give it a good crack and it's hopefully set me up well for the week after um. But yeah, I managed to win that reasonably comfortably and I I thought, oh, that's, you know, that's interesting. I wasn't, you know I wasn't putting too much pressure, you know I didn't put too much pressure on for Lincoln after that, but I was just kind of like that's interesting, it's not, it's no bad thing. You know, like I said, after that it just felt like, um, my legs really clicked and yeah, I, I had had great legs on the day, uh, of Lincoln itself.
Speaker 2:So confidence is obviously important and you said, you know, in 2023, when you started winning that kind of increased your confidence, you managed to lose your imposter syndrome. Eventually, when you, when you were feeling flat at the cycle classic a race you'd obviously been targeting after your third in 2023, were you worried at all about your legs, your form, until the timmy james win um, I don't know about worried.
Speaker 1:I think I'm always pretty hard on myself, so so obviously I wasn't stoked with my result at Sickle, but I always want to do better. So, yeah, I think it was just systems as usual. Keep hammering the training and trying's still hard to predict where you'll end up. You can repeat the same training, you know, multiple times and you get different outcomes, and there's there's so much outside your control and there's so much, there's so many other factors outside of what you do in training.
Speaker 1:You know how you're sleeping and what you're eating, what life is giving you in terms of stress and and enjoyment, and yeah, I think I wasn't panicking after sickle, but um yeah, I I certainly knew I had a bit of work to do and james, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what?
Speaker 2:what is life giving you outside of training and racing at the moment? What are you, what? What do you spend your time on when you're not on the bike?
Speaker 1:yeah, so, um, I'm a coach. I you know I um set people training and and talk to them on the phone and that keeps me busy most of the time when I'm not training. To be honest, um, I wish I had a bit more time for for fun stuff, but, um, yeah, I get to do a lot of socializing on the bike when I'm training. Like I said, I've got a really good group of mates around me in Sheffield.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of cycling in my life and I try to make time for other things. Yeah, certainly, having something, you know, having a job to support myself, makes this uh kind of racing sustainable and also something that's, yeah, flexible, so I can fit my training in around, or I can fit my coaching in around my training, uh, as opposed to kind of the other way around. So, yeah, I'm in a fortunate position where I can ride in the middle of the day and, yeah, if I need to move things around because of weather or whatever, that's usually pretty doable, unlike someone with a straight 9-5 talk us through that final lap on sunday, james, from the outside watching or trying to follow the race, uh, on our live ticker the racing like absolute mayhem.
Speaker 2:Every lap, a new move seemed to be going. It was never really obvious how it was going to play out, which, I think, is, you know, part of the course in many ways in in lincoln once you're on the final lap. Did you, did you know that you were in the winning move at that point?
Speaker 1:yeah, I was pretty confident this was. It wasn't. It wasn't going to come back. I'd attacked on the kind of narrow lane the lap before and managed to get rid of Ben Granger, who was probably the rider I was most worried about in the race, um, and then got away with, yeah, three or so from Scott Redding's team and Alex and and Bostock as well, alex Peters, um, and yeah, I think everyone was working really well together, uh, so I knew it would take a lot to get to get caught at this point and, yeah, it also helped that Alex then attacked solo, so that, um, yeah, we had to chase him a bit and that kept the pace up in the group.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I think last, I think, when we got the bell, I was fairly confident the group would go to the line, but I also knew that if we did get caught, it wasn't going to be by a massive group and you know, I don't think anyone would have been fresh at that point. So it wouldn't have changed things too much. If you know, a group of five or six would come from behind obviously makes it a bit more complicated, but then I probably would have had big Tom or you know another, or Aaron or another teammate there. So yeah, if it had come back it probably wouldn't have all been bad either did the nerves start ratcheting up as you approached Michael Gate for the final time?
Speaker 1:no, I don't think I was. I don't think I was nervous in the race. To be honest, I was just too too locked in in the zone. Um, I was just focusing on trying to to finish it off as best I could make sure no one snuck away but keep them the momentum moving in the group. Um, and yeah, eating and drinking and staying out of trouble. You know, not not avoiding anything that might give me a puncher, or picking smooth lines through the corner, stuff like that. And you know, when you get that deep into a prem like a hot race, it's easy to make mistakes. So, just yeah, just focusing on doing the basic right, basics right. Making sure I had a bit to a bit bit of extra tea and drink. And yeah, I think I was too too preoccupied to to worry about the implications of the situation. I was in.
Speaker 2:Do you remember that final ascent of michael gate? Is it kind of all a blur? Or do you remember every single second of going up that climb?
Speaker 1:yeah, I did about every single second. I remember roughly what happened, um, but, yeah, me, I think me, alex, and it must have been Bostock, were sort of fighting for the, for the. There was a bit of a fight into the, into the climb, before you made the left hand turn and we were about, we were just like elbow to elbow, three abreast, yeah. So, uh, yeah, it was, it was quite, it was a bit hairy. And then I started sprinting and up at the bottom of the climb and I was bouncing off someone. I don't know if it was alex or um, matt, but yeah, we was.
Speaker 1:You know, I think we both nearly had a bit of a incident. Not, uh, yeah, no, you know there was no malicious. Know, I think we both nearly had a bit of a incident. Not, uh, yeah, no, you know, there was no malicious intentions. I think we were both just trying to do the same thing at the same time and came together. But, yeah, fortunately we both stayed up, sort of bounced off each other, and I managed to nose my way ahead and I kicked, you know, kicked up, the had to sit back down and then, yeah, I had another kick over the top and, to be honest, I had no idea what was going on behind me. If there was anyone on my wheel who was on my wheel With the roar of the crowd, it's yeah, and the adrenaline. I didn't quite know what was going on, but I knew I wasn't going to slow down, just went as hard as I could to to the finish. So, yeah, I think yeah it was.
Speaker 1:I was actually a bit surprised to see alex so close in the photos because I didn't quite know if anyone was there or not. But uh, yeah, credit to him. He. He rode a great race, especially after going like solo uh on on that final lap. But no, not ages, but I don't know, he must have been away for five or ten minutes. And yeah, maybe, maybe I was a bit lucky that he uh burnt a few matches there, because it might be a different outcome if he, if he'd uh been sprinting on fresher legs yeah, but that's, that's all part of the race, right?
Speaker 2:I mean how you use your, your matches and when you choose to go and don't.
Speaker 1:It all adds up absolutely, and maybe maybe he knew he couldn't, or maybe he didn't think he could beat me in the sprint, so that was the way for him to win and you know he raced for the win and I respect that, lincoln seems incredibly hard to uh, especially when it's as close as it was.
Speaker 2:Uh, to get both arms in the air. I think both you and lauren dixon had one arm in the air as he crossed the line, did you? Did you get a moment to think about your victory celebration? Was it a case of just getting to the line and then then raising your arm? Was plixie, with the cobbles there and a very tight last turn?
Speaker 1:yeah, I, I don't even know where the celebration came from, to be honest, but uh, yeah, I think it's more the, it's more the cobbles that make it um tricky to get both arms off. Uh, obviously people have, but uh, yeah, I think it helps if you go maybe a little bit slower and um, you've got time to to do it carefully but um yeah, you're kind of going around just just coming off a corner and and bouncing over a load of cobbles after just done like a max one minute effort.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, maybe not the most uh, the time to to try the most jazzy salutes, but um no, the win's the win, isn't it?
Speaker 1:and uh, yeah, last thing you want to do is celebrate too early and get pipped to the line you know, I think, no matter what you do at the finish, it's still, it's an iconic place to finish finish a bike race. You know, even if you just roll over the line, you're in this awesome kind of amphitheater with the castle and castle behind you and the cathedral in front of you and this cobbled square. So yeah, it's just, it's such a cool race.
Speaker 2:It is really is. I was thinking it's the nearest thing we've got to, strada bianchi, really. I mean, you know a very historic roman actually kind of city center, historic center of lincoln. They're uh not quite as many people packed in because it's much smaller square, um, but it really is such a an amazing setting, isn't it? And uh, some of the overhead shots you get drone footage is just spectacular. James, I know in the amphitheater, as you described it, you had a lot of friends in amongst the crowds. What role did did they play in, uh, kind of helping you to win that race?
Speaker 1:yeah, it was. Um, it was cool because I had not only a decent number of friends in the race but I had a yeah, a pair for you. He'd come over from Sheffield to watch, uh, or done the women's race in the morning and they were cheering me on on the climb every lap. So, yeah, just seeing them kind of gave me wings, so to speak, and, yeah, being able to kind of share that win with them was, was really special. So, yeah, we all went to the, the pub after the race, uh, to kind of soak it in, which was meant yeah, yeah, did you enjoy a beer, james? Actually I was driving, so I had a bit of champagne on the podium, but after that I was off the booze.
Speaker 2:So yeah, very, very sensible, um, but that made it even more special really, to have that kind of close-knit group around you to to help you. Uh, you celebrate the win, um, I think you said you texted me and said that they gave you wings, uh, along the way. So, um, you know vital seconds, I guess, when you're when you're up against some of the best domestic riders in the biggest race of the year.
Speaker 1:A lot of those mates Sam I've mentioned before and a few others who are there on the climb. I go out training with them nearly every day. We've been hacking around the peaks all winter in the rain and dreaming of Lincoln, so to have them actually there pull it off, it does feel like they were a big part of that. You know, I think I don't know if I'd have done it without their, their company, their help, their support. So yeah, it was a special thing.
Speaker 2:So, looking ahead, james, a rougher Lincoln Grand Prix win in the bag. Does that mean you can kind of take it easy now, or have you? Have you adjusted your sights now for the rest of the season? What's it looking like in the rest of 2025? Now for you?
Speaker 1:yeah, I mean I think I've had a successful season, whatever happens now, uh, by my record. So, um, yeah, I'd like to give national champs a good bash. And then, yeah, the rest of the national road series. Uh, I don't know if I'll do any of the crits this year. I only did. I only did one crit last year. I did chef with my home race and I got taken out in a crash. So, yeah, it's kind of reduced my enthusiasm for the crit series, even though I know they're not you know they're not the most dangerous races. I think it's more a case of managing energy. I think if I did the road series and the crit series, I'd probably end up like mr tom armstrong, my teammate last year, was fourth in both series you know I think if he'd done, done, done one of them, he probably could have done, done better than that.
Speaker 1:Um, but yeah, it's just a more a case of a managing resources. So, yeah, I think the road is probably what I'm more suited to.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, no crits for me this year and james 28 do you have ambitions to go back up to uci, continental level or even beyond?
Speaker 1:now. Um, yeah, I'd definitely consider. I'd consider it if it was the right team and the right calendar, um, the right people working with that team. But, yeah, I appreciate I'm 28. The chance of me turning pro is very, very small. So, uh, yeah, not not worrying about that, to be honest. Just focus on enjoying it, doing my best, and you see where I end up well, I hope you continue to enjoy your 2025, james.
Speaker 2:Um and uh, I hope imposter syndrome has now fully, fully left you, at least on the domestic scene, because, uh, you are one of very few people, uh to have won, uh, the lincoln grand prix. Um, and I think only two current riders uh have that crown at the moment you and Matt Holmes on the on the men's side. So, um, I'm sure I've probably missed somebody, but anyway, it's a, it's a rare thing and such a precious thing to enjoy, so I hope you really can enjoy it and uh, and and kind of, I hope it spurs you on for the rest of 2025. But, yeah, thanks so much for for sharing all that, james. We really appreciate it. And, uh, hopefully we'll have you back on the podcast at some point, uh, with your wise words of, uh kind of analysis, as well as uh, hearing about you and your career and your racing. But for now, james, thank you very much for for joining us cheers, denny, um always happy to be on thank you for listening to the british continental podcast.
Speaker 2:Find out more news and views about domestic road racing on wwwthebritishcontinentalcouk you.
