Georgia Bullard, a 23-year-old Doltcini-O'Shea rider, shares her journey from swimming to becoming a road racing enthusiast. She aims for consistency and success in the 2024 season.
We’re pleased to our penultimate addition to our 2024 journal writing team, 23-year-old Doltcini-O’Shea rider Georgia Bullard.
In this introductory Q&A, Georgia tells us how she discovered her passion for road racing as a teenager, initially drawn to it after transitioning from swimming and triathlons. Starting with local races and progressing to national competitions, she found her niche as an all-rounder rider, excelling on longer and more challenging courses.
Her racing career took her to Spain in 2021 with the VIB-Sports team, where she tackled the Copa España series, gaining valuable experience despite the intense racing environment. Since then, she’s been a part of Doltcini O’Shea, where highlights have included participating in the inaugural Ride London Classique WWT three-day stage race. Despite setbacks due to illness in the last year, Georgia aims for consistency in results and training for a successful 2024 campaign.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Let’s start with the obvious question. Tell us how, when and why you got into road racing.
I first got into road racing at the age of 13 or 14. I had always loved sport as a child, and spent most of my time bouncing from one sports club to another. My main passion however was swimming. I swam for Peterborough and regularly competed in county galas and competitions. From swimming I found triathlons and cycling, and it didn’t take me long to discover that going fast on two wheels was a lot more fun than the mundane slog up and down the local swimming pool.
I joined Bourne Wheelers Cycling Club, started doing ‘Club 10s,’ and the odd closed circuit race. I then advanced to competing in the Youth National Series races and then progressed through the ranks of junior national level racing. I guess you could say the rest is history!
Being from the flatlands of the Fens I am no stranger to brutal crosswinds on long, open roads; however I enjoy and feel more at home on a rolling parcours
What kind of rider would you say you are?
I would say I’m a rouleur-style rider; an all-rounder. I come into my own more on the longer, grippier days on the bike. Being from the flatlands of the Fens I am no stranger to brutal crosswinds on long, open roads; however I enjoy and feel more at home on a rolling parcours.
You’ve rode in Spain for your first season as an under-23. How did you end up there? And how did you find the experience?
In 2021 I rode for a now folded UCI Continental team, VIB-Sports. I spent the year living in Spain, in a small town just outside of Alicante. At the back end of 2020 I decided that I wanted to go abroad to race, and applied to a number of smaller continental and club teams across Europe. I was thrilled at the idea of living and racing in Spain, and headed out in early January of 21’.
My year was spent predominantly racing the Copa España series, which is essentially the Spanish national series. These races mainly took place in the Basque Country. The racing was chaotic to say the least, with startlines north of 180 riders. It took me a while to adapt to this style and intensity of racing. I really enjoyed my time in Spain, albeit through the ups and downs, and learnt a lot that year; both with racing and living alone in a foreign country for the first time.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
You have been at AWOL O’Shea, now Doltcini O’Shea, ever since. What would you say have been your racing highlights over those years, and why?
Riding for Dolcini O’shea for the last two years has been great. We have a phenomenal race calendar and the support that we receive as riders is matched alongside it. A personal highlight was racing the Ride London Classique in 2022 in its inaugural year as a WWT three day stage race. The first two days were tough. I was unfortunately plagued with a couple of crashes, and spent a fair bit of time chasing.
The crowds were fantastic, and only got bigger as we approached the final day in central London. The buzz and excitement was like nothing else
Something about racing on UK roads though, in that calibre of race, was really special. The crowds were fantastic, and only got bigger as we approached the final day in central London. We started on the Embankment and then rode round to Trafalgar Square, virtually underneath Big Ben. The buzz and excitement was like nothing else. I was also lucky enough to have my parents and some close friends come down to watch too, just to add to the occasion.
Looking ahead to this season, what would a successful 2024 look like for you?
A successful 2024 season for me will be consistent with results and training. Last year I unfortunately missed most of the first half of the year due to illness, where I ended up having about five weeks off the bike in April/May time. Coming back from this, knowing I was physically healthy again (albeit unfit!), gave me a new lease of life. I was grateful just to be on startlines and training full time again, and found a new belief for myself and what I was doing. I hope to continue 2024 in this fashion and I am ready and hungry for the forthcoming year.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
We’re pleased to our penultimate addition to our 2024 journal writing team, 23-year-old Doltcini-O’Shea rider Georgia Bullard.
In this introductory Q&A, Georgia tells us how she discovered her passion for road racing as a teenager, initially drawn to it after transitioning from swimming and triathlons. Starting with local races and progressing to national competitions, she found her niche as an all-rounder rider, excelling on longer and more challenging courses.
Her racing career took her to Spain in 2021 with the VIB-Sports team, where she tackled the Copa España series, gaining valuable experience despite the intense racing environment. Since then, she’s been a part of Doltcini O’Shea, where highlights have included participating in the inaugural Ride London Classique WWT three-day stage race. Despite setbacks due to illness in the last year, Georgia aims for consistency in results and training for a successful 2024 campaign.
Let’s start with the obvious question. Tell us how, when and why you got into road racing.
I first got into road racing at the age of 13 or 14. I had always loved sport as a child, and spent most of my time bouncing from one sports club to another. My main passion however was swimming. I swam for Peterborough and regularly competed in county galas and competitions. From swimming I found triathlons and cycling, and it didn’t take me long to discover that going fast on two wheels was a lot more fun than the mundane slog up and down the local swimming pool.
I joined Bourne Wheelers Cycling Club, started doing ‘Club 10s,’ and the odd closed circuit race. I then advanced to competing in the Youth National Series races and then progressed through the ranks of junior national level racing. I guess you could say the rest is history!
What kind of rider would you say you are?
I would say I’m a rouleur-style rider; an all-rounder. I come into my own more on the longer, grippier days on the bike. Being from the flatlands of the Fens I am no stranger to brutal crosswinds on long, open roads; however I enjoy and feel more at home on a rolling parcours.
You’ve rode in Spain for your first season as an under-23. How did you end up there? And how did you find the experience?
In 2021 I rode for a now folded UCI Continental team, VIB-Sports. I spent the year living in Spain, in a small town just outside of Alicante. At the back end of 2020 I decided that I wanted to go abroad to race, and applied to a number of smaller continental and club teams across Europe. I was thrilled at the idea of living and racing in Spain, and headed out in early January of 21’.
My year was spent predominantly racing the Copa España series, which is essentially the Spanish national series. These races mainly took place in the Basque Country. The racing was chaotic to say the least, with startlines north of 180 riders. It took me a while to adapt to this style and intensity of racing. I really enjoyed my time in Spain, albeit through the ups and downs, and learnt a lot that year; both with racing and living alone in a foreign country for the first time.
You have been at AWOL O’Shea, now Doltcini O’Shea, ever since. What would you say have been your racing highlights over those years, and why?
Riding for Dolcini O’shea for the last two years has been great. We have a phenomenal race calendar and the support that we receive as riders is matched alongside it. A personal highlight was racing the Ride London Classique in 2022 in its inaugural year as a WWT three day stage race. The first two days were tough. I was unfortunately plagued with a couple of crashes, and spent a fair bit of time chasing.
Something about racing on UK roads though, in that calibre of race, was really special. The crowds were fantastic, and only got bigger as we approached the final day in central London. We started on the Embankment and then rode round to Trafalgar Square, virtually underneath Big Ben. The buzz and excitement was like nothing else. I was also lucky enough to have my parents and some close friends come down to watch too, just to add to the occasion.
Looking ahead to this season, what would a successful 2024 look like for you?
A successful 2024 season for me will be consistent with results and training. Last year I unfortunately missed most of the first half of the year due to illness, where I ended up having about five weeks off the bike in April/May time. Coming back from this, knowing I was physically healthy again (albeit unfit!), gave me a new lease of life. I was grateful just to be on startlines and training full time again, and found a new belief for myself and what I was doing. I hope to continue 2024 in this fashion and I am ready and hungry for the forthcoming year.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
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