Hamish Armitt interview: from runner to neo-pro in just one year
Injury derailed Hamish Armitt's Commonwealth Games dreams, but cycling offered a second chance. Just a year after his first bike race, the 22-year-old Glaswegian is turning heads as a neo-pro with Team Novo Nordisk
As far as meteoric rises go, Hamish Armitt has experienced one of the most remarkable. A neo-pro with Team Novo Nordisk for 2025, the 22-year-old Glaswegian signed his maiden professional contract within a year of his first senior race. His impressive stint with the Novo Nordisk Development Team in the latter part of this season showcased his potential as a GC rider.
I was a sub-14-minute 5k runner when I was 17, so I had a really high trajectory to go into professional running and make that my career
“I was a high-level runner,” Armitt tells The British Continental, describing his unconventional path to the professional ranks. “I went to the European U20 Championships and finished in the top ten. I was a sub-14-minute 5k runner when I was 17, so I had a really high trajectory to go into professional running and make that my career.”
Supported by Sportscotland and based at the University of Stirling, where he is studying Sports Marketing, Armitt was also part of a Commonwealth Games-focused triathlon development programme. However, persistent injuries derailed his ambitions.
“I tried to lose too much weight, basically,” he says, honestly. “Over two years, it just resulted in constant injury really. I was always picking up stress fractures because my bone density wasn’t very good because I wasn’t eating enough. There were a whole host of issues. From 2021 to 2023, I was still on the Scottish Institute getting loads of support, but I didn’t race for two years because I’d get an injury, come back, train really well, focus on an event and then I wouldn’t make it because I’d get injured again, and that kept repeating itself.”
Image: Team Novo Nordisk
Frustrated, Armitt turned to cycling after watching the World Championships on the streets of Glasgow last August. “Because I was on the triathlon programme, I’d been doing a lot of cycling and racing at a high level. I was just fed up with getting injured running, so I thought I’d try bike racing and see how it went,” he explains, revisiting a sport he had last competed in almost a decade earlier in the youth categories.
“It was September, end of season, so I did some Regional Cs and Bs stuff, starting from scratch in Scotland, did the Scottish Championships, and got talking to a fellow rider and signed for Project1 for 2024.”
Project1, the short-lived team run by Debbie and Darren Brown, proved pivotal for the talented Armitt. “The big thing with Project1 was that it was a massive opportunity for UK riders. It was set up as a one-year team to get as many British riders on a good Conti level or Pro level team.
I think in the UK scene nobody really knows what Project1 did last year, and that’s partially because we didn’t really race much in the UK, but in Europe we had massive opportunities
“Obviously, it’s hard to get over to Europe from the UK right now. If you’ve not gone straight from junior to a development team, it’s hard to get noticed. I think in the UK scene nobody really knows what Project1 did last year, and that’s partially because we didn’t really race much in the UK, but in Europe we had massive opportunities.”
2024 Lloyds Bank National Individual Time Trial Championships. Hamish Armitt of PROJECT 1 Cycling Team. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
With bases in Italy and Belgium, the team’s calendar comprised some of Europe’s most prestigious U23 races, providing him with a baptism of fire as he made his way in the sport only months after turning to it.
“We started off the season in France doing the biggest amateur races and obviously the level was super high. First race, I went in the breakaway, and the breakaway ended up making it, but I just sat at the front of it all day until the last 10km. It was just silly stuff like that really,” he reflects. “I had no racecraft, and this year has been the perfect year to gain that in a fast-track way.”
I had really good power numbers which got me a lot of attention from teams, but I wasn’t able to use them to my advantage because of how much learning I had to do in terms of positioning
Returning to the team’s Italian base, Armitt’s performances caught the eye, his talent garnering him a lot of attention from the cycling world, even if tactically he was still very much a work in progress. “I think the first few races I progressed well,” he notes. “I had really good power numbers which got me a lot of attention from teams, but I wasn’t able to use them to my advantage because of how much learning I had to do in terms of positioning, etc.
“I did [Trofeo] PIVA, which is a really big race, and I went solo with 50k to go, which is obviously stupid, but it got me a lot of attention. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of [Team] Novo [Nordisk] at that point, and then Darren said to me, why don’t you think about Novo? It seemed like a good platform for me because the calendar was quite good for development, and with it being for Type 1 as well, you’d be able to get a lot of extra help, to pick up things.”
Image: Team Novo Nordisk
A Type 1 diabetic, Armitt explains that on the bike, at least, he does little differently to other riders, keeping himself fuelled throughout a race. “It’s more before the race, making sure you take the right amount of insulin. If you take too much it’ll go too low, if you take too little, it’ll go high,” he explains.
A UCI ProTeam, Team Novo Nordisk started life as Team Type 1 and is exclusively for Type 1 diabetics. A natural fit for Armitt, a contract was on the table almost straight away. “I went to meet them in July, just for them to see me. From there, Project1 had finished the bulk of its European races, so I switched to Novo on their development team, and it was agreed I’d join the ProTeam next year. I did the Tour of Bulgaria and the Tour of Istanbul, which was a massive learning curve.”
I was one of the strongest climbers there, but I was 18th in a group of 20 going down a descent. It’s things like that I need to work on
Armitt finished a very credible 11th in Bulgaria, although he believes it could have been so much more had it not been for a mistake on the opening stage. “It was a bit disappointing,” he says, unexpectedly. “I was going for a top three in GC, and I definitely had the legs to do that, but on the first day I lost 45 seconds. It was just, again, experience. There was a group of 20 that went over the top of the final climb and I was just too far back in the group, and someone crashed on the descent.”
A talented climber, Armitt has the potential to become a bona fide GC rider as he continues to develop, although it is something he is not rushing into. “I’m still figuring out what type of rider I am, I’m so new to it. I’ve got good numbers, but it’s trying to translate that into races. Bulgaria is the perfect example – I was one of the strongest climbers there, [but] I was 18th in a group of 20 going down a descent. It’s things like that I need to work on.”
Image: Team Novo Nordisk
Being on a ProTeam will aid the Scot in terms of the level of support at his disposal, Armitt himself noting that his ride in the U23 British National Time Trial Championships was eye-opening, especially viewed with an eye on riding for GC success in the future. “I knew I had good numbers, but I didn’t have any support from a team,” he explains, describing a makeshift set-up based around an old Giant Trinity frame. While the result – 15th, less than two minutes off the victory – may have been as expected, Armitt also saw what could be. “Position-wise, it was a disaster, but it was good to see guys who had all that support on development teams, seeing how dialled they are, and now with Novo I’ve got an option to have a good setup,” he explains.
I feel I’ve got the physical ability to compete. It’s just whether I can learn quickly enough to do that
Speaking after attending the team’s media camp, one of his first tastes of life as a professional away from the bike, Armitt is positive about the next two years with Team Novo Nordisk, knowing there is still a lot of room for improvement. “It’s all [about] learning from everyone,” he states, when asked about his aims for his neo-pro season. “There’s 20 riders on the team who have been doing it a lot longer than me, even the staff and Sports Directors. I’m working with a different coach now, it’s all completely new to me, so I think I just need to learn as much as I can, really.
“The big thing about Novo is that they’re really supportive. I’m sure this year I’ll have a really good calendar, and there’s definitely some races I’m looking forward to hopefully doing. I feel I’ve got the physical ability to compete. It’s just whether I can learn quickly enough to do that. Just from doing the Tour of Istanbul, it’s just another level even from the U23 UCIs and .2 races. You have proper teams working solely for one guy. It’s completely different with guys who have ridden the Tour doing it.”
As far as meteoric rises go, Hamish Armitt has experienced one of the most remarkable. A neo-pro with Team Novo Nordisk for 2025, the 22-year-old Glaswegian signed his maiden professional contract within a year of his first senior race. His impressive stint with the Novo Nordisk Development Team in the latter part of this season showcased his potential as a GC rider.
“I was a high-level runner,” Armitt tells The British Continental, describing his unconventional path to the professional ranks. “I went to the European U20 Championships and finished in the top ten. I was a sub-14-minute 5k runner when I was 17, so I had a really high trajectory to go into professional running and make that my career.”
Supported by Sportscotland and based at the University of Stirling, where he is studying Sports Marketing, Armitt was also part of a Commonwealth Games-focused triathlon development programme. However, persistent injuries derailed his ambitions.
“I tried to lose too much weight, basically,” he says, honestly. “Over two years, it just resulted in constant injury really. I was always picking up stress fractures because my bone density wasn’t very good because I wasn’t eating enough. There were a whole host of issues. From 2021 to 2023, I was still on the Scottish Institute getting loads of support, but I didn’t race for two years because I’d get an injury, come back, train really well, focus on an event and then I wouldn’t make it because I’d get injured again, and that kept repeating itself.”
Frustrated, Armitt turned to cycling after watching the World Championships on the streets of Glasgow last August. “Because I was on the triathlon programme, I’d been doing a lot of cycling and racing at a high level. I was just fed up with getting injured running, so I thought I’d try bike racing and see how it went,” he explains, revisiting a sport he had last competed in almost a decade earlier in the youth categories.
“It was September, end of season, so I did some Regional Cs and Bs stuff, starting from scratch in Scotland, did the Scottish Championships, and got talking to a fellow rider and signed for Project1 for 2024.”
Project1, the short-lived team run by Debbie and Darren Brown, proved pivotal for the talented Armitt. “The big thing with Project1 was that it was a massive opportunity for UK riders. It was set up as a one-year team to get as many British riders on a good Conti level or Pro level team.
“Obviously, it’s hard to get over to Europe from the UK right now. If you’ve not gone straight from junior to a development team, it’s hard to get noticed. I think in the UK scene nobody really knows what Project1 did last year, and that’s partially because we didn’t really race much in the UK, but in Europe we had massive opportunities.”
With bases in Italy and Belgium, the team’s calendar comprised some of Europe’s most prestigious U23 races, providing him with a baptism of fire as he made his way in the sport only months after turning to it.
“We started off the season in France doing the biggest amateur races and obviously the level was super high. First race, I went in the breakaway, and the breakaway ended up making it, but I just sat at the front of it all day until the last 10km. It was just silly stuff like that really,” he reflects. “I had no racecraft, and this year has been the perfect year to gain that in a fast-track way.”
Returning to the team’s Italian base, Armitt’s performances caught the eye, his talent garnering him a lot of attention from the cycling world, even if tactically he was still very much a work in progress. “I think the first few races I progressed well,” he notes. “I had really good power numbers which got me a lot of attention from teams, but I wasn’t able to use them to my advantage because of how much learning I had to do in terms of positioning, etc.
“I did [Trofeo] PIVA, which is a really big race, and I went solo with 50k to go, which is obviously stupid, but it got me a lot of attention. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of [Team] Novo [Nordisk] at that point, and then Darren said to me, why don’t you think about Novo? It seemed like a good platform for me because the calendar was quite good for development, and with it being for Type 1 as well, you’d be able to get a lot of extra help, to pick up things.”
A Type 1 diabetic, Armitt explains that on the bike, at least, he does little differently to other riders, keeping himself fuelled throughout a race. “It’s more before the race, making sure you take the right amount of insulin. If you take too much it’ll go too low, if you take too little, it’ll go high,” he explains.
A UCI ProTeam, Team Novo Nordisk started life as Team Type 1 and is exclusively for Type 1 diabetics. A natural fit for Armitt, a contract was on the table almost straight away. “I went to meet them in July, just for them to see me. From there, Project1 had finished the bulk of its European races, so I switched to Novo on their development team, and it was agreed I’d join the ProTeam next year. I did the Tour of Bulgaria and the Tour of Istanbul, which was a massive learning curve.”
Armitt finished a very credible 11th in Bulgaria, although he believes it could have been so much more had it not been for a mistake on the opening stage. “It was a bit disappointing,” he says, unexpectedly. “I was going for a top three in GC, and I definitely had the legs to do that, but on the first day I lost 45 seconds. It was just, again, experience. There was a group of 20 that went over the top of the final climb and I was just too far back in the group, and someone crashed on the descent.”
A talented climber, Armitt has the potential to become a bona fide GC rider as he continues to develop, although it is something he is not rushing into. “I’m still figuring out what type of rider I am, I’m so new to it. I’ve got good numbers, but it’s trying to translate that into races. Bulgaria is the perfect example – I was one of the strongest climbers there, [but] I was 18th in a group of 20 going down a descent. It’s things like that I need to work on.”
Being on a ProTeam will aid the Scot in terms of the level of support at his disposal, Armitt himself noting that his ride in the U23 British National Time Trial Championships was eye-opening, especially viewed with an eye on riding for GC success in the future. “I knew I had good numbers, but I didn’t have any support from a team,” he explains, describing a makeshift set-up based around an old Giant Trinity frame. While the result – 15th, less than two minutes off the victory – may have been as expected, Armitt also saw what could be. “Position-wise, it was a disaster, but it was good to see guys who had all that support on development teams, seeing how dialled they are, and now with Novo I’ve got an option to have a good setup,” he explains.
Speaking after attending the team’s media camp, one of his first tastes of life as a professional away from the bike, Armitt is positive about the next two years with Team Novo Nordisk, knowing there is still a lot of room for improvement. “It’s all [about] learning from everyone,” he states, when asked about his aims for his neo-pro season. “There’s 20 riders on the team who have been doing it a lot longer than me, even the staff and Sports Directors. I’m working with a different coach now, it’s all completely new to me, so I think I just need to learn as much as I can, really.
“The big thing about Novo is that they’re really supportive. I’m sure this year I’ll have a really good calendar, and there’s definitely some races I’m looking forward to hopefully doing. I feel I’ve got the physical ability to compete. It’s just whether I can learn quickly enough to do that. Just from doing the Tour of Istanbul, it’s just another level even from the U23 UCIs and .2 races. You have proper teams working solely for one guy. It’s completely different with guys who have ridden the Tour doing it.”
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