Following his win in the East Midlands Road Race Championship on Sunday, Leicester-based rider Matt King caught up with Jack Beavis to talk about that win, life with the X-Speed Continental Team and why stats only tell half the story.
It’s been a weight on my shoulders now for the last few years and I’ve been close a lot of times but never actually won a road race
I’m sure you’ve seen the brilliant picture of the finish to Sunday’s race. Just how much did crossing the line first mean to you?
Probably more than people realise. Believe it or not, it’s my first road race win. I’ve won quite a lot of circuit races, but never one on the road, so that’s probably why I looked particularly happy! It’s been a weight on my shoulders now for the last few years and I’ve been close a lot of times but never actually won a road race.
I would have liked to earlier in the year but I didn’t know if I would be able to do it until two or three weeks ago with the team racing in Belgium at the same time. But when the opportunity did come about to do it, I was really up for it.
From the roadside on Sunday it seemed like you were always chasing the race. Was there ever a time you thought the win had slipped away?
Not really. I felt in control all day and with the short laps we were getting frequent time gaps and with the nature of the circuit, you could see the groups up the road, so you had a good idea of what was going on and who was up the road. I don’t think it was a problem at any point, I felt in control of what was happening.
Do you think riding for a UCI team puts a target on your back in these types of races?
Yeah, definitely. It was the same last year, my first with a [UCI] Continental Team, Ribble Weldtite, so I learned a little bit about it then. It does change how you have to race a little bit; understandably people do target you but that’s part of the fun and challenge of it.
How do you change the way you race? Do you take it upon yourself to do more work or play a more tactical game?
In the groups you would have seen coming up the finishing climb it might have looked like I was doing a huge amount of work, but I was just picking and choosing when to do it. I tended to be on the front through the finish because it was uphill, there I could dictate the pace and thin down the group if there were passengers, which there often were.
X-Speed United isn’t a team many in the UK will be familiar with, how did your move there come about?
Last year at Ribble-Weldtite we heard a little bit before it became public that the team was likely to fold, so I started desperately looking around for teams. I heard about them from Red [Walters], who was my teammate last year and still is at X-Speed, so I messaged them and got chatting. In the end a space opened up but it was quite late and it was hard to find a team. It was the only UCI Continental Team offer I had. I was in talks with a couple of UK teams but it would have meant stepping back to Elite Development level.
It’s a far more international team than Ribble Weldtite, is it a different experience to last year?
There are a lot of differences. People are based all over the place and it’s a team with different goals. The main goal of X-Speed United is to give riders opportunities from all over the world, so it’s quite an extensive calendar. On Ribble, the calendar was smaller and with the main sponsor being UK based, there was a lot to gain from doing a mostly UK race calendar. There’s a massive variety of races here at X-Speed and the main goal for me was to get UCI race experience because that’s something I’ve not had, and to figure out what racing at that level is all about.
The National Road Series events, the ones I’ve raced anyway, are honestly as hard as it gets in terms of physicality
What are the main differences between racing in the UK and at UCI level?
They’re very different. The National Road Series events, the ones I’ve raced anyway, are honestly as hard as it gets in terms of physicality. It’s just really hard racing for three or four hours. I’m sure lots of people have said it and feel it the same, but the UCI races tend to be harder in periods – when they go hard, they go really hard, but there’s also more control. There might be a couple of hours where you’re riding round wondering if you’re even in a race. But normally it goes back to being really hard, whether that’s into a sprint finish or a key pinch point like the bottom of a climb. From what I’ve learned this year it’s all about positioning and holding position, because if you get caught out you can all of a sudden be out the back and what was quite an easy race until that point can become very difficult!
2022 Tour Series – Round 7 Grand Final: Manchester – Men’s Race – Matt King of Ribble Weldtite has a mechanical after a crash. Image: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix
You’ve had some solid results so far this year, what have been your highlights?
The highlight has definitely been 5th at the Tour of Hellas Stage 1. That was rewarding because on a smaller team it’s quite hard to compete in a sprint finish when there’s bigger teams there with more riders left at the finish to be doing lead outs. That was the first race where lead outs weren’t so much of a factor because there was a significant descent just before the finish, so teams couldn’t keep as organised. It was just myself and Red at the finish [from X-Speed United] and we had the chance to compete and show that we can sprint really well.
I think you can browse through the stats and personally I think my results have been underwhelming
I think you can browse through the stats and personally I think my results have been underwhelming, but for those at home and not in those races, you don’t really know what’s going on. If I’ve come 80th they might not realise I’ve done 100km in the break that day. For example, last week in l’Oise [a French stage race]. People obviously see it at WorldTour level, but I was in that race supporting a teammate who was up there in the general classification, riding for him all week. So the results on a personal note might look not the best, but as a team, we got our man in the top 10 on GC.
Do you see yourself as a sprinter?
I’d like to pitch myself as a rouleur – sprinter. I think I’ve got a really fast finish but I like it to be at the end of a hard race.
Do you have much say in your race programme?
We have a say. With the riders being placed all over, we have to declare our availability for a particular block of races and then the team is selected from that. There are obviously some races that suit some riders more than others.
2022 Tour Series Round 3 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear – Men’s Race – Matt King of Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling. Image; Will Palmer/SWPix.com
Which races are on your programme?
I’m at home for a few weeks now so I have the Upton 200 National B at the weekend. I’m going back over to France at the end of July. Depending on team selection there’s the GP de la ville Pèrenchies, a one-day race on the 23rd, then there’s Kreiz Breizh Elites, a four-day stage race a few days after. It’s a busy September, we’ve got into some good races: there’s the Tour of Romania which is on at the same time as the Tour of Britain and a couple of other stage races in Eastern Europe too.
I felt like I should be honouring the Nationals and giving them a crack, but then I don’t want to turn up and just be a number
You’re not down to ride the National Road Championships at the end of the month. Why is that?
I don’t want to just turn up. I ended up having a weird conversation with myself: on one hand, I felt like I should be honouring the Nationals and giving them a crack, but then I don’t want to turn up and just be a number. I need to be realistic with myself and I can’t climb as good as WorldTour riders on a circuit such as that, and the best case scenario would be me finishing the race within the time limit and I’m not really interested in that. There are riders who really want a spot in that race who can climb better than me. I’d much rather train in the morning and watch it on TV in the afternoon!
What are your aims for the rest of the season?
The first part of this year has been all about learning and gaining as much experience as I can. I think I’ve learned what I can do well at now. In the second half of this season I’m looking to get some good results, that’s the goal.
If I could offer you one thing before the end of the year, what would it be?
Following his win in the East Midlands Road Race Championship on Sunday, Leicester-based rider Matt King caught up with Jack Beavis to talk about that win, life with the X-Speed Continental Team and why stats only tell half the story.
I’m sure you’ve seen the brilliant picture of the finish to Sunday’s race. Just how much did crossing the line first mean to you?
Probably more than people realise. Believe it or not, it’s my first road race win. I’ve won quite a lot of circuit races, but never one on the road, so that’s probably why I looked particularly happy! It’s been a weight on my shoulders now for the last few years and I’ve been close a lot of times but never actually won a road race.
Was the race one that you were targeting?
I would have liked to earlier in the year but I didn’t know if I would be able to do it until two or three weeks ago with the team racing in Belgium at the same time. But when the opportunity did come about to do it, I was really up for it.
From the roadside on Sunday it seemed like you were always chasing the race. Was there ever a time you thought the win had slipped away?
Not really. I felt in control all day and with the short laps we were getting frequent time gaps and with the nature of the circuit, you could see the groups up the road, so you had a good idea of what was going on and who was up the road. I don’t think it was a problem at any point, I felt in control of what was happening.
Do you think riding for a UCI team puts a target on your back in these types of races?
Yeah, definitely. It was the same last year, my first with a [UCI] Continental Team, Ribble Weldtite, so I learned a little bit about it then. It does change how you have to race a little bit; understandably people do target you but that’s part of the fun and challenge of it.
How do you change the way you race? Do you take it upon yourself to do more work or play a more tactical game?
In the groups you would have seen coming up the finishing climb it might have looked like I was doing a huge amount of work, but I was just picking and choosing when to do it. I tended to be on the front through the finish because it was uphill, there I could dictate the pace and thin down the group if there were passengers, which there often were.
X-Speed United isn’t a team many in the UK will be familiar with, how did your move there come about?
Last year at Ribble-Weldtite we heard a little bit before it became public that the team was likely to fold, so I started desperately looking around for teams. I heard about them from Red [Walters], who was my teammate last year and still is at X-Speed, so I messaged them and got chatting. In the end a space opened up but it was quite late and it was hard to find a team. It was the only UCI Continental Team offer I had. I was in talks with a couple of UK teams but it would have meant stepping back to Elite Development level.
It’s a far more international team than Ribble Weldtite, is it a different experience to last year?
There are a lot of differences. People are based all over the place and it’s a team with different goals. The main goal of X-Speed United is to give riders opportunities from all over the world, so it’s quite an extensive calendar. On Ribble, the calendar was smaller and with the main sponsor being UK based, there was a lot to gain from doing a mostly UK race calendar. There’s a massive variety of races here at X-Speed and the main goal for me was to get UCI race experience because that’s something I’ve not had, and to figure out what racing at that level is all about.
What are the main differences between racing in the UK and at UCI level?
They’re very different. The National Road Series events, the ones I’ve raced anyway, are honestly as hard as it gets in terms of physicality. It’s just really hard racing for three or four hours. I’m sure lots of people have said it and feel it the same, but the UCI races tend to be harder in periods – when they go hard, they go really hard, but there’s also more control. There might be a couple of hours where you’re riding round wondering if you’re even in a race. But normally it goes back to being really hard, whether that’s into a sprint finish or a key pinch point like the bottom of a climb. From what I’ve learned this year it’s all about positioning and holding position, because if you get caught out you can all of a sudden be out the back and what was quite an easy race until that point can become very difficult!
You’ve had some solid results so far this year, what have been your highlights?
The highlight has definitely been 5th at the Tour of Hellas Stage 1. That was rewarding because on a smaller team it’s quite hard to compete in a sprint finish when there’s bigger teams there with more riders left at the finish to be doing lead outs. That was the first race where lead outs weren’t so much of a factor because there was a significant descent just before the finish, so teams couldn’t keep as organised. It was just myself and Red at the finish [from X-Speed United] and we had the chance to compete and show that we can sprint really well.
I think you can browse through the stats and personally I think my results have been underwhelming, but for those at home and not in those races, you don’t really know what’s going on. If I’ve come 80th they might not realise I’ve done 100km in the break that day. For example, last week in l’Oise [a French stage race]. People obviously see it at WorldTour level, but I was in that race supporting a teammate who was up there in the general classification, riding for him all week. So the results on a personal note might look not the best, but as a team, we got our man in the top 10 on GC.
Do you see yourself as a sprinter?
I’d like to pitch myself as a rouleur – sprinter. I think I’ve got a really fast finish but I like it to be at the end of a hard race.
Do you have much say in your race programme?
We have a say. With the riders being placed all over, we have to declare our availability for a particular block of races and then the team is selected from that. There are obviously some races that suit some riders more than others.
Which races are on your programme?
I’m at home for a few weeks now so I have the Upton 200 National B at the weekend. I’m going back over to France at the end of July. Depending on team selection there’s the GP de la ville Pèrenchies, a one-day race on the 23rd, then there’s Kreiz Breizh Elites, a four-day stage race a few days after. It’s a busy September, we’ve got into some good races: there’s the Tour of Romania which is on at the same time as the Tour of Britain and a couple of other stage races in Eastern Europe too.
You’re not down to ride the National Road Championships at the end of the month. Why is that?
I don’t want to just turn up. I ended up having a weird conversation with myself: on one hand, I felt like I should be honouring the Nationals and giving them a crack, but then I don’t want to turn up and just be a number. I need to be realistic with myself and I can’t climb as good as WorldTour riders on a circuit such as that, and the best case scenario would be me finishing the race within the time limit and I’m not really interested in that. There are riders who really want a spot in that race who can climb better than me. I’d much rather train in the morning and watch it on TV in the afternoon!
What are your aims for the rest of the season?
The first part of this year has been all about learning and gaining as much experience as I can. I think I’ve learned what I can do well at now. In the second half of this season I’m looking to get some good results, that’s the goal.
If I could offer you one thing before the end of the year, what would it be?
For sure, a UCI win.
Featured image: Emma Wilcock
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