Interview with cyclist Amy Cole ahead of the World Championships in Glasgow

Originally from West Wales, Amy has been a part of Wales Racing Academy, proudly sponsored by SD, for the past number of years. After a 2022 which saw her claim medals at the Track Champs in March and her first appearance for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – 2023 is shaping up to be another game changing year for the young cyclist.

At the World Champs this August she will be competing for titles in the tandem kilo, sprint and team sprint on the track and we can’t wait to see how she gets on. Ahead of her first event, we had a chance to find out from Amy how she’s preparing and how she got to this point in her career:

Congratulations on making it to the World Champs! Competing in Glasgow among the best cyclists from around the globe is an amazing achievement, how does it feel to be going and what are you most looking forward to?

It almost doesn’t feel real but it’s starting to now after a few training sessions together. I wasn’t expecting it at all but I’m super excited to get the opportunity and to be racing in my first world championships for Great Britain.

I’m looking forward to racing against the best in the world and also getting more experience on the tandem.

How have you been preparing in the run up to the event?

I only found out four weeks ago that I’d been selected to ride with Lizzi Jordan so it’s been a manic but exciting few weeks. We’ve had some training sessions in Newport and some in Manchester but we’ve made good use of the time that we’ve had. We’ve had really good support from Welsh Cycling as well as British Cycling in getting us ready, so we’re really grateful for the support from the coaches as well as the opportunity! We can’t wait to get on the start line in Glasgow!

Can you share the story of your journey that led you to this incredible point in your cycling career? Where and how did you first get into cycling?

It’s been quite a long journey so far! I started cycling when I was about 10 years old for my local club and then I got onto Welsh Cycling’s pathway programme, which gave me great experience in developing as a youth rider on the road and on the track.

At junior level, I started to focus on track sprint and thanks to the coaching from Rachel Draper, Welsh Cycling’s Sprint Coach, I progressed onto the Wales Racing Academy. Last year, I was given the chance to try out the tandem with Nia Holt and this led to us racing for Wales in the Commonwealth Games.

Since then, I’ve been largely focusing on my solo career, although I did ride the tandem once again in the British National Track Championship earlier this year with Lizzi. We didn’t think back in January that by the end of June we’d be getting the call up for the World Champs for GB!

And outside of the World Champs, what have been the highlights so far in your cycling career?

Representing Wales at 19 years of age in the Commonwealth Games will always be a special moment. I’m hopeful that there’ll be more memorable moments to cherish over the next few weeks!

I’m sure there will be! What’s next for you after the Championships? Any big goals for the rest of the year and into 2024?

I’ve got some international racing coming up later in the summer with Wales Racing Academy before we begin our prep over the winter leading up to the National Track Championships in the new year.

I would like to develop more on the tandem should opportunities arise and I’m still studying for my degree at Swansea University so that keeps me quite busy too! Here’s to what 2024 might bring!

Thanks Amy, and good luck this week – we’re all rooting for you!

SD are proud corporate supporters of the Wales Racing Academy. You can keep up to date with all things WRA and more at Welsh Cycling.