23-year-old Georgia Bullard is in her third season with UCI Continental team Doltcini-O’Shea. In her second journal post, Georgia takes us on a tour of the cast characters you typically find in the a bike racing team.
Every cycling team is made up of an eclectic group of people, often from different counties, countries and continents. No two individuals the same, but always an obvious shared interest. We are all bike riders but more importantly we are all people, each bringing our own personality and skills set to the group. I have been on a number of teams now and whilst each one is different in its own way, they all follow a similar suit in their character makeup.
The Mother Hen – been there, got the t-shirt. They’re a veteran of the game and are often one of the more senior riders in the team. Their prevalent characteristics however are their empathy and all round maternal instincts. I vividly remember my first training camp in Europe as a first year under-23 rider. I was no longer a junior, without my parents’ watch and it was my first experience with the big girls. What I didn’t expect was to have a couple of fantastic girls looking out for me the whole time. ‘Had I eaten enough? Did I understand what we were doing on that particular day of race drills?’.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
This actually continued right the way throughout the season, and by the end I was certainly better off as a rider, and person for it. I am eternally grateful for the mother hen’s that looked after me in my early years, and hope to become one myself one day soon.
The Joker – one of the only people (often with some sort of music speaker in tow) able to lift spirits four days into a tough stage race, when everyone is on their knees. Being focused and professional is essential to successful performance, but is also exhausting and carries much weight. Sometimes a giggle about a trivial matter or a practical joke can lighten the load so much. On the last day of a stage race in Sweden I did a number of years ago, I have etched into my brain our resident comic singing an ABBA medley for the whole 5 minutes we were standing on the startline down the radio for the whole team to hear. Ridiculous, yes. But it made us laugh and inadvertently refreshed us before that last day where we went on to do a great ride as a team.
The Professional – if they were a film star they’d have each scene wrapped up in one take, with their lines rehearsed to perfection. Similarly, they can tell you every inch of the course you are about to race on as they have spent the last week studying it to the nth degree. Every piece of kit is neatly packed into their bag, with nothing ever forgotten. If you’ve forgotten something they’re usually your go to guy. They’re focused, on time and never quivering uncertainty.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
The Grump – something no one wants to be, and will probably never admit to being. The unfortunate reality is that at some point in the season, each rider on the team will take it in turns to be just that. Whether it’s a bad race, crashing orsimply being on the road for one day too many; it gets to us all. We’re high performance athletes, usually sleep deprived and hungry. It’s no wonder that we each have our days to be a little off. The fortunate thing is that you’re surrounded by like minded individuals who all experience the same emotions and can always rely on them to bring you back up.
The regional or national accent – an easy option for a spot of mickey taking. I spent a year being known as the ‘Giddy’ whilst on an all Spanish team. For reference, a ‘Giddy’ is someone the Spaniards like to refer to as the typical Brit (being blonde haired with fair skin didn’t really help my case). I think in the UK, Northerners vs Southerners seem to get a fair amount of unjust teasing from both sides. Being from the Midlands I can usually sit back a little, unlike my time in Spain. I have however, made a habit of calling my Yorkshire based teammate and friend ‘Our Tilly’. I’m sure she loves it really.
Life would be pretty boring without different characters. When you spend a significant amount of time on the road and at races with your team, having a mix keeps things fun and generally means that people get on better. I’m sure thereare hundreds of different personas outside of my ‘model’. I do believe though that wherever you go, each team will have a certain set of personalities regardless of its sport, gender or function.
23-year-old Georgia Bullard is in her third season with UCI Continental team Doltcini-O’Shea. In her second journal post, Georgia takes us on a tour of the cast characters you typically find in the a bike racing team.
Every cycling team is made up of an eclectic group of people, often from different counties, countries and continents. No two individuals the same, but always an obvious shared interest. We are all bike riders but more importantly we are all people, each bringing our own personality and skills set to the group. I have been on a number of teams now and whilst each one is different in its own way, they all follow a similar suit in their character makeup.
The Mother Hen – been there, got the t-shirt. They’re a veteran of the game and are often one of the more senior riders in the team. Their prevalent characteristics however are their empathy and all round maternal instincts. I vividly remember my first training camp in Europe as a first year under-23 rider. I was no longer a junior, without my parents’ watch and it was my first experience with the big girls. What I didn’t expect was to have a couple of fantastic girls looking out for me the whole time. ‘Had I eaten enough? Did I understand what we were doing on that particular day of race drills?’.
This actually continued right the way throughout the season, and by the end I was certainly better off as a rider, and person for it. I am eternally grateful for the mother hen’s that looked after me in my early years, and hope to become one myself one day soon.
The Joker – one of the only people (often with some sort of music speaker in tow) able to lift spirits four days into a tough stage race, when everyone is on their knees. Being focused and professional is essential to successful performance, but is also exhausting and carries much weight. Sometimes a giggle about a trivial matter or a practical joke can lighten the load so much. On the last day of a stage race in Sweden I did a number of years ago, I have etched into my brain our resident comic singing an ABBA medley for the whole 5 minutes we were standing on the startline down the radio for the whole team to hear. Ridiculous, yes. But it made us laugh and inadvertently refreshed us before that last day where we went on to do a great ride as a team.
The Professional – if they were a film star they’d have each scene wrapped up in one take, with their lines rehearsed to perfection. Similarly, they can tell you every inch of the course you are about to race on as they have spent the last week studying it to the nth degree. Every piece of kit is neatly packed into their bag, with nothing ever forgotten. If you’ve forgotten something they’re usually your go to guy. They’re focused, on time and never quivering uncertainty.
The Grump – something no one wants to be, and will probably never admit to being. The unfortunate reality is that at some point in the season, each rider on the team will take it in turns to be just that. Whether it’s a bad race, crashing orsimply being on the road for one day too many; it gets to us all. We’re high performance athletes, usually sleep deprived and hungry. It’s no wonder that we each have our days to be a little off. The fortunate thing is that you’re surrounded by like minded individuals who all experience the same emotions and can always rely on them to bring you back up.
The regional or national accent – an easy option for a spot of mickey taking. I spent a year being known as the ‘Giddy’ whilst on an all Spanish team. For reference, a ‘Giddy’ is someone the Spaniards like to refer to as the typical Brit (being blonde haired with fair skin didn’t really help my case). I think in the UK, Northerners vs Southerners seem to get a fair amount of unjust teasing from both sides. Being from the Midlands I can usually sit back a little, unlike my time in Spain. I have however, made a habit of calling my Yorkshire based teammate and friend ‘Our Tilly’. I’m sure she loves it really.
Life would be pretty boring without different characters. When you spend a significant amount of time on the road and at races with your team, having a mix keeps things fun and generally means that people get on better. I’m sure thereare hundreds of different personas outside of my ‘model’. I do believe though that wherever you go, each team will have a certain set of personalities regardless of its sport, gender or function.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Find out more
Georgia Bullard journal #01: it takes a village
Journals 2024: introducing Georgia Bullard
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