Adam Lewis interview: from BEAT to Skyline – rediscovering form and happiness on the road
Adam Lewis reflects on his successful 2024 season with Skyline, enjoying diverse races and a supportive team atmosphere, and aiming for the pro ranks once again
A former journal contributor for the 2019 season as a rider on the Dutch BEAT Cycling Club team, The British Continental caught up with Adam Lewis fresh off the back of his best season after joining the American UCI outfit Skyline for 2024. After finishing second at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and recording some eye-catching results at UCI level, Lewis discusses his career since the Covid-19 hit 2020 season, including a stint racing in France, being part of the all-conquering Saint Piran squad who stormed the National Road Series in 2023, and taking on new challenges all over the world with Skyline this year.
I think once you’re happy off the bike, you get results on the bike
“I think once you’re happy off the bike, you get results on the bike,” Lewis explains, searching for the reasons behind his best ever season after joining Skyline over the winter, pointing to a happy and relaxed atmosphere within the team, as well as a happy personal life as the catalyst for his success.
“The team situation, we all gel together well as a group. It’s just like going to races having a good laugh, then around the dinner table in the evening we just chill. It’s been one of the best atmospheres I’ve had in a team,” he emphasises, pausing to clarify that they, “obviously take racing seriously when we need to! The group in general is just really good. Although it’s an American team, there’s Irish, myself from the UK, obviously Americans, it’s a good mix of different cultures and I think we all just came together from the first race back in Rhodes in March. It’s helped that it’s a small team, so it’s mainly been the same group of lads going to each race, so we’ve got to know each other well over the year.”
Sixth place in the Tour de Beauce, a UCI stage race in Canada, was the highlight of the year for Lewis, who got to race a vastly different programme with the team after spending the previous 18 months with Saint Piran, racing predominantly in the UK and Belgium.
“One of the main reasons I signed for the [Skyline] team was that they do different races which I hadn’t done before. Saint Piran, although they have a great calendar, due to living in Belgium and France, I had done those races three or four times previously. Doing races like the Tour de Beauce, races in Romania, Spain, those are races I haven’t done before and each has their particular style. Just the fact I hadn’t done them before was motivation enough for me to go out and enjoy them. I worked out in the end I raced in 11 different countries, I’ve seen the world and raced in places I would have never gone to before.”
It had been a few years since I had competed in, or been up in, the sharp end of a UCI race, then things started to click and I got one result after another
Lewis started his season in the warm skies of Rhodes, but made progress soon after in the cooler climate of Norway.
“My results sort of kicked on from the UCI races I did in Norway, that was the first real confidence boost that I had – I got 11th in a one-day race, [the Sunvolden GP], and all of a sudden it was like perhaps I can compete again in these races. It had been a few years since I had competed in, or been up in, the sharp end of a UCI race, then things started to click and I got one result after another. The UCI race we did in Spain, [the Clásica Terres de l´Ebre] finished up an hour-long climb where I finished 11th against all the Spanish Pro Conti boys.”
“I was going into Beauce confident and I had the backing of the team. All the lads really grouped together and helped me out throughout the week, that was really good and gave me motivation going into the National Championships the week after.”
Lewis would finish 15th atop Saltburn Bank, one of the highlights from a strong season domestically which saw him finish second in his inaugural Lincoln Gran Prix. “I came so close to the win there, I’d like to go back and give that a crack again,” he says, turning his attention to 2025 where he hopes to continue with Skyline for a second year.
“It’s all a bit up in the air at the minute,” reveals Lewis, the team suffering the same issues that are plaguing so many in the sport currently. “Essentially we don’t have the budget in place that we need to operate, so everyone in the team, riders included, we’re all scrambling, searching for sponsors. Hopefully, we pull something off, and we get a title sponsor who can put the money in that we need to enable us to do what we’ve done this year. I think as a team it’s been the best year in their history, so it would be a shame if everything comes to an end like that, but there’s a lot of people working hard behind the scenes.”
On the bike, Lewis is aiming to secure a maiden UCI win, having come close this season. “I came close, but didn’t quite pull it off, so that’s my big aim for next year,” he says, knowing that a good season could put him in the running for a move to the professional ranks, something he’d accepted may never happen after moving back to the UK to join Saint Piran mid-way through 2022.
I think this season’s reinstalled that fight and motivation to reach the pro ranks, even if it’s just for one season
“I’ve said this to a number of people in the past few weeks actually. When I came back to the UK after living abroad so long and joined Saint Piran, I kind of accepted the fact that I would never make it above Continental level and I just wanted to enjoy racing, and see how much longer I could race at that level. I think this season’s reinstalled that fight and motivation to reach the pro ranks, even if it’s just for one season. I’d just love to go and experience the bigger races, the WorldTour races. I know that’s going to be very difficult just because of my age now, teams are looking for younger and younger riders, so I really need to have a standout season next year, or some wins at UCI level. I feel I came close this year, I was on the cusp. I was having a few conversations with Pro teams, but in the end nothing materialised.”
The 29-year-old moved back to Britain midway through 2022 to join Saint Piran, having raced in the competitive French amateur scene since the beginning of 2021, making the move to Brittany after his contract with BEAT, with whom he had spent the previous two years, was not extended, joining the Côtes d’Armor – Marie Morin team.
Image: Bram van Lent
“My DS was saying a number of years before, you should try France, France would suit you. My coach at the time was also saying for a number of years, why don’t we try France? The situation with BEAT at the end of 2020 forced my hand to find another team and I was like, it’s now or never, why not give France a go?
“I definitely enjoyed my time in France and I’m happy I did it and I can look back and have no regrets, but I think it was just a big shock to the system going from Belgium to France,” the fluent Flemish speaker explains, his experience further confirming his assertion that happiness off the bike is a major factor in what happens on it.
There was very little open and you couldn’t really go out and socialise. I think it was off the bike that cracked me, and that’s why I made the decision to come home
“In Belgium, I built up a good support network around me, it was a good living environment, and I had a good social life off the bike. I then went to France and I was living in the middle of nowhere, really, in a small town in Brittany, and it was still the Covid era really, so there was very little open and you couldn’t really go out and socialise. I think it was off the bike that cracked me, and that’s why I made the decision to come home.”
Signed as road captain for Saint Piran by DS Steve Lampier, Lewis notes that joining the team “turned things around for him” for the remainder of the year, seeing him race the Tour of Britain and return to Belgium for the end of the season, something which he continues to do. “There’s definitely a special place in my heart for Belgium,” he explains. “Even though i’ve not been based there for the past few years, it’s nice to go back September time and do the pro kermesses. This year I did some UCI races alongside them, so it’s a good way to end the year, really. Most of the UK racing is done by the end of August and I like to drag out the season as long as possible: Belgium’s a good way of doing that, it’s hard racing but a relaxed atmosphere around the races.”
Having put together a string of good results in the Saint Piran-dominated National Road Series throughout the second half of 2023, it was a surprise to many that Lewis wasn’t selected for that year’s Tour of Britain, and he would ultimately leave the team having not received clarification of his future with the Cornish squad.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy at Saint Piran, I had a good end to the season, I was up there getting my best results in National Series races, but there was a big overhaul heading into this year – Steve Lampier was leaving, so I wasn’t really sure how things were going to be run.
Essentially I never got a straight yes or no from Ricci about whether he wanted to keep me for this season
“Essentially I never got a straight yes or no from [team owner] Ricci [Pascoe] about whether he wanted to keep me for this season, and that was October time, it was dragging on. I normally start training around the end of October [or the] start of November, and I wanted to go into that new training period knowing what I’m doing for the following season and everything was still up in the air as to whether they wanted to keep me or not.
“The offer came through from Skyline so I jumped at that opportunity. I knew it was going to a be 50/50 move and it’s massively paid off – the rest is history really!”
A former journal contributor for the 2019 season as a rider on the Dutch BEAT Cycling Club team, The British Continental caught up with Adam Lewis fresh off the back of his best season after joining the American UCI outfit Skyline for 2024. After finishing second at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and recording some eye-catching results at UCI level, Lewis discusses his career since the Covid-19 hit 2020 season, including a stint racing in France, being part of the all-conquering Saint Piran squad who stormed the National Road Series in 2023, and taking on new challenges all over the world with Skyline this year.
“I think once you’re happy off the bike, you get results on the bike,” Lewis explains, searching for the reasons behind his best ever season after joining Skyline over the winter, pointing to a happy and relaxed atmosphere within the team, as well as a happy personal life as the catalyst for his success.
“The team situation, we all gel together well as a group. It’s just like going to races having a good laugh, then around the dinner table in the evening we just chill. It’s been one of the best atmospheres I’ve had in a team,” he emphasises, pausing to clarify that they, “obviously take racing seriously when we need to! The group in general is just really good. Although it’s an American team, there’s Irish, myself from the UK, obviously Americans, it’s a good mix of different cultures and I think we all just came together from the first race back in Rhodes in March. It’s helped that it’s a small team, so it’s mainly been the same group of lads going to each race, so we’ve got to know each other well over the year.”
Sixth place in the Tour de Beauce, a UCI stage race in Canada, was the highlight of the year for Lewis, who got to race a vastly different programme with the team after spending the previous 18 months with Saint Piran, racing predominantly in the UK and Belgium.
“One of the main reasons I signed for the [Skyline] team was that they do different races which I hadn’t done before. Saint Piran, although they have a great calendar, due to living in Belgium and France, I had done those races three or four times previously. Doing races like the Tour de Beauce, races in Romania, Spain, those are races I haven’t done before and each has their particular style. Just the fact I hadn’t done them before was motivation enough for me to go out and enjoy them. I worked out in the end I raced in 11 different countries, I’ve seen the world and raced in places I would have never gone to before.”
Lewis started his season in the warm skies of Rhodes, but made progress soon after in the cooler climate of Norway.
“My results sort of kicked on from the UCI races I did in Norway, that was the first real confidence boost that I had – I got 11th in a one-day race, [the Sunvolden GP], and all of a sudden it was like perhaps I can compete again in these races. It had been a few years since I had competed in, or been up in, the sharp end of a UCI race, then things started to click and I got one result after another. The UCI race we did in Spain, [the Clásica Terres de l´Ebre] finished up an hour-long climb where I finished 11th against all the Spanish Pro Conti boys.”
“I was going into Beauce confident and I had the backing of the team. All the lads really grouped together and helped me out throughout the week, that was really good and gave me motivation going into the National Championships the week after.”
Lewis would finish 15th atop Saltburn Bank, one of the highlights from a strong season domestically which saw him finish second in his inaugural Lincoln Gran Prix. “I came so close to the win there, I’d like to go back and give that a crack again,” he says, turning his attention to 2025 where he hopes to continue with Skyline for a second year.
“It’s all a bit up in the air at the minute,” reveals Lewis, the team suffering the same issues that are plaguing so many in the sport currently. “Essentially we don’t have the budget in place that we need to operate, so everyone in the team, riders included, we’re all scrambling, searching for sponsors. Hopefully, we pull something off, and we get a title sponsor who can put the money in that we need to enable us to do what we’ve done this year. I think as a team it’s been the best year in their history, so it would be a shame if everything comes to an end like that, but there’s a lot of people working hard behind the scenes.”
On the bike, Lewis is aiming to secure a maiden UCI win, having come close this season. “I came close, but didn’t quite pull it off, so that’s my big aim for next year,” he says, knowing that a good season could put him in the running for a move to the professional ranks, something he’d accepted may never happen after moving back to the UK to join Saint Piran mid-way through 2022.
“I’ve said this to a number of people in the past few weeks actually. When I came back to the UK after living abroad so long and joined Saint Piran, I kind of accepted the fact that I would never make it above Continental level and I just wanted to enjoy racing, and see how much longer I could race at that level. I think this season’s reinstalled that fight and motivation to reach the pro ranks, even if it’s just for one season. I’d just love to go and experience the bigger races, the WorldTour races. I know that’s going to be very difficult just because of my age now, teams are looking for younger and younger riders, so I really need to have a standout season next year, or some wins at UCI level. I feel I came close this year, I was on the cusp. I was having a few conversations with Pro teams, but in the end nothing materialised.”
The 29-year-old moved back to Britain midway through 2022 to join Saint Piran, having raced in the competitive French amateur scene since the beginning of 2021, making the move to Brittany after his contract with BEAT, with whom he had spent the previous two years, was not extended, joining the Côtes d’Armor – Marie Morin team.
“My DS was saying a number of years before, you should try France, France would suit you. My coach at the time was also saying for a number of years, why don’t we try France? The situation with BEAT at the end of 2020 forced my hand to find another team and I was like, it’s now or never, why not give France a go?
“I definitely enjoyed my time in France and I’m happy I did it and I can look back and have no regrets, but I think it was just a big shock to the system going from Belgium to France,” the fluent Flemish speaker explains, his experience further confirming his assertion that happiness off the bike is a major factor in what happens on it.
“In Belgium, I built up a good support network around me, it was a good living environment, and I had a good social life off the bike. I then went to France and I was living in the middle of nowhere, really, in a small town in Brittany, and it was still the Covid era really, so there was very little open and you couldn’t really go out and socialise. I think it was off the bike that cracked me, and that’s why I made the decision to come home.”
Signed as road captain for Saint Piran by DS Steve Lampier, Lewis notes that joining the team “turned things around for him” for the remainder of the year, seeing him race the Tour of Britain and return to Belgium for the end of the season, something which he continues to do. “There’s definitely a special place in my heart for Belgium,” he explains. “Even though i’ve not been based there for the past few years, it’s nice to go back September time and do the pro kermesses. This year I did some UCI races alongside them, so it’s a good way to end the year, really. Most of the UK racing is done by the end of August and I like to drag out the season as long as possible: Belgium’s a good way of doing that, it’s hard racing but a relaxed atmosphere around the races.”
Having put together a string of good results in the Saint Piran-dominated National Road Series throughout the second half of 2023, it was a surprise to many that Lewis wasn’t selected for that year’s Tour of Britain, and he would ultimately leave the team having not received clarification of his future with the Cornish squad.
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy at Saint Piran, I had a good end to the season, I was up there getting my best results in National Series races, but there was a big overhaul heading into this year – Steve Lampier was leaving, so I wasn’t really sure how things were going to be run.
“Essentially I never got a straight yes or no from [team owner] Ricci [Pascoe] about whether he wanted to keep me for this season, and that was October time, it was dragging on. I normally start training around the end of October [or the] start of November, and I wanted to go into that new training period knowing what I’m doing for the following season and everything was still up in the air as to whether they wanted to keep me or not.
“The offer came through from Skyline so I jumped at that opportunity. I knew it was going to a be 50/50 move and it’s massively paid off – the rest is history really!”
Featured image: Gary Main
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