Dylan Hicks interview: “As one door closes, another opens”
At just 20, Dylan Hicks has already tasted UCI victory and forged resilience through setbacks. Now, with Raptor Factory Racing, he’s targeting consistent performances and a return to the top in 2025
At the age of only 20, Dylan Hicks is a rider with experience beyond his years. A UCI race winner with Saint Piran in 2024, the South Coast native signed a dream contract with the development team of WorldTour giants dsm- firmenich after taking victory in the Junior CiCLE Classic in 2022. Now a third-year under-23, the talented all-rounder spoke to The British Continental after the launch of his new team, Raptor Factory Racing, with Hicks hoping to carry forward the momentum he built up in 2024 as the ambitious team targets success at home and abroad.
I feel I have the potential there, but the last couple of years it’s been sometimes I’m on it, sometimes I’m not
“Over the last couple of years it’s just been one big learning curve,” begins Hicks, when asked about his aims for 2025, his answer revealing the maturity beyond his years that team manager David Streule alluded to in his interview with The British Continental recently. “For 2025 it’s just to step up another level in my personal performances,” he continues. “I feel like I’ve taken in a lot and this season coming it’s just going to be putting it into practice consistently. I feel I have the potential there, but the last couple of years it’s been sometimes I’m on it, sometimes I’m not, and it’s just putting pen to paper and getting some performances.”
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Hicks will be targeting a variety of races in 2025 as he looks to build on past achievements, with a calendar based in both the UK and Europe on the cards; the team targeting the National Road and Circuit Series. “I actually have quite limited experience in National As,” says Hicks, whose sole outing came last year and resulted in a 4th place in the East Cleveland Classic. “They’re hard races and I’d definitely be keen to show myself in them,” he continues, before turning his attention to a UCI calendar, knowing it is these races which increasingly garner the attention of professional teams.
Ideally I want to get onto the continent and start performing more at UCI level, and with the calendar available that should be possible
“Ideally I want to get onto the continent and start performing more at UCI level, and with the calendar available that should be possible,” he explains. “Obviously we’ve got the CiCLE Classic in the UK which is going to be a big one. There’s going to be a lot of riders targeting that and it’s a really cool race to win, as I did as a junior.”
Raptor Factory Racing have assembled one of the strongest lineups of any domestic team, the closure of Saint Piran drawing Hicks, and two of his former teammates to the London-based outfit. “100%,” he answers when asked if he feels the strong team spirit on the Cornish squad will transfer over. “I think we’ve got some great guys on Raptor this year,” he explains. “I went and met David [Streule] and Brad [Wright] at the Raptor bike shop in Putney and they seemed really motivated with the way the team was going, the riders seem really motivated. Obviously I know Rowan [Baker] and Brad [Symonds] really well from last year so we’ve already got that chemistry between us, and with the other guys, I know Alex Franks quite well, I think it will be a smooth transition.”
Hicks describes himself as an all-rounder, his fast finish, particularly decisive at the end of a hard day, bringing him a number of wins, most notably his maiden UCI success on stage 4 of the Tour of Hellas last March. However, there are more strings to his bow, his climbing ability highlighted by his ride in the East Cleveland Classic, which finishes atop the fearsome Saltburn Bank. “Really my wins have come from bunch sprints because I’ve got quite a fast kick, but I can also get over ‘mini mountains’,” he declares after pausing for thought. “I wouldn’t count myself against a climber, but if you put me in a race where the bunch gets smaller and smaller due to the terrain, that’s what suits me best.”
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Hicks enjoyed what he describes as his best season to date in 2024 with Saint Piran, a combination of a year with minimal disruptions, until an injury sustained at Kreizh Breizh Elites in July ended his season, and a supportive environment bringing out the best of him. “Honestly, I loved the environment, I loved the opportunities they gave and I loved just, the team,” he emphasises. “Just from a bit of consistency and being positive in the head, happy where I was – it showed. I was way more confident in races, got my first pro win and all of these things came from that.”
I had nowhere else to go. It was quite a big shock at the time, but as one door closes, another one opens
Hicks also reveals that he had turned down opportunities to move away from the squad for 2025, such was his content. “Any opportunity to go elsewhere that did arise, I almost just dismissed it, I was so happy where I was. Why fix something that wasn’t broken?” he asks, the closure of the team late on in the year coming as a shock, his injury and the lengthy rehabilitation process leaving him fully focused and motivated for 2025, months before the announcement. “I had nowhere else to go. It was quite a big shock at the time, but as one door closes, another one opens,” he reflects. “I think if I get the right opportunities again I will perform again. Hopefully, with Raptor we can work really closely together and get some good results as a team, then I would be happy to move up again.”
Hicks started 2024 strongly off the back of a consistent winter, his first away from the track. Growing up only minutes away from Brighton’s Preston Park Velodrome, he started out cycling there, racing on the boards a natural progression for a rider also on the GB Academy, culminating in a UCI win at the 4 jours de Genève in 2022. “I found the track was disrupting the road. Some people say it compliments it, but I found in winter I was doing track races when I should have been training,” he explains, feeling the effect during his time with dsm-firmenich. “It meant by the time I got to the start of the road season I had really good track legs, but as soon as I had to do a four-hour race in crosswinds in Holland, I just didn’t have the engine.
Hicks with Rowan Baker at the 2024 RCR FatCreations Road Race. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
“For the near future I just would like to just stick to focusing on the road, get a few consistent seasons years on the road backed up, but then I’d definitely be open to returning back and trying the track again,” explains the 20-year-old, time on his side for such ambitions in the future.
Hicks signed for the dsm-firmenich development team straight out of the junior ranks, something of a dream come true for any young rider, with the team providing a proven path to the WorldTour. “I think it was a situation of right place, wrong time,” Hicks states, his tenure on the team lasting only one season.
I went from a kid who lived with his parents, riding a bike for a laugh, to suddenly full-time, moved out of home, moved country and was expecting to be performing as if I was a professional athlete, and I just wasn’t
“I was riding for the GB Senior Academy at the same time, and it was a lot for someone who was 18 years old and didn’t really know what they were doing,” he admits, the realities of life as in a professional set-up a big adjustment for any rider making such a move. “I think it was a big shock, I went from a kid who lived with his parents, riding a bike for a laugh, to suddenly full-time, moved out of home, moved country and was expecting to be performing as if I was a professional athlete, and I just wasn’t. In my head I just wasn’t ready for it and I think that showed through that season. I broke my collarbone that year as well and it was all pressure piled onto me.
“I think if that opportunity came at a different time, it would have been a completely different story. At the time, yeah it was a dream come true, but I just couldn’t perform.”
As Hicks enters what will be only his third season as an under-23 in 2025, he does so as a rider transformed from the one who made his debut in the senior ranks only two years ago, a reminder that there is no one size fits all path through the sport. Clearly ambitious to reach the very top of the sport, Hicks is determined to continue his upward trajectory in pursuit of that goal.
At the age of only 20, Dylan Hicks is a rider with experience beyond his years. A UCI race winner with Saint Piran in 2024, the South Coast native signed a dream contract with the development team of WorldTour giants dsm- firmenich after taking victory in the Junior CiCLE Classic in 2022. Now a third-year under-23, the talented all-rounder spoke to The British Continental after the launch of his new team, Raptor Factory Racing, with Hicks hoping to carry forward the momentum he built up in 2024 as the ambitious team targets success at home and abroad.
“Over the last couple of years it’s just been one big learning curve,” begins Hicks, when asked about his aims for 2025, his answer revealing the maturity beyond his years that team manager David Streule alluded to in his interview with The British Continental recently. “For 2025 it’s just to step up another level in my personal performances,” he continues. “I feel like I’ve taken in a lot and this season coming it’s just going to be putting it into practice consistently. I feel I have the potential there, but the last couple of years it’s been sometimes I’m on it, sometimes I’m not, and it’s just putting pen to paper and getting some performances.”
Hicks will be targeting a variety of races in 2025 as he looks to build on past achievements, with a calendar based in both the UK and Europe on the cards; the team targeting the National Road and Circuit Series. “I actually have quite limited experience in National As,” says Hicks, whose sole outing came last year and resulted in a 4th place in the East Cleveland Classic. “They’re hard races and I’d definitely be keen to show myself in them,” he continues, before turning his attention to a UCI calendar, knowing it is these races which increasingly garner the attention of professional teams.
“Ideally I want to get onto the continent and start performing more at UCI level, and with the calendar available that should be possible,” he explains. “Obviously we’ve got the CiCLE Classic in the UK which is going to be a big one. There’s going to be a lot of riders targeting that and it’s a really cool race to win, as I did as a junior.”
Raptor Factory Racing have assembled one of the strongest lineups of any domestic team, the closure of Saint Piran drawing Hicks, and two of his former teammates to the London-based outfit. “100%,” he answers when asked if he feels the strong team spirit on the Cornish squad will transfer over. “I think we’ve got some great guys on Raptor this year,” he explains. “I went and met David [Streule] and Brad [Wright] at the Raptor bike shop in Putney and they seemed really motivated with the way the team was going, the riders seem really motivated. Obviously I know Rowan [Baker] and Brad [Symonds] really well from last year so we’ve already got that chemistry between us, and with the other guys, I know Alex Franks quite well, I think it will be a smooth transition.”
Hicks describes himself as an all-rounder, his fast finish, particularly decisive at the end of a hard day, bringing him a number of wins, most notably his maiden UCI success on stage 4 of the Tour of Hellas last March. However, there are more strings to his bow, his climbing ability highlighted by his ride in the East Cleveland Classic, which finishes atop the fearsome Saltburn Bank. “Really my wins have come from bunch sprints because I’ve got quite a fast kick, but I can also get over ‘mini mountains’,” he declares after pausing for thought. “I wouldn’t count myself against a climber, but if you put me in a race where the bunch gets smaller and smaller due to the terrain, that’s what suits me best.”
Hicks enjoyed what he describes as his best season to date in 2024 with Saint Piran, a combination of a year with minimal disruptions, until an injury sustained at Kreizh Breizh Elites in July ended his season, and a supportive environment bringing out the best of him. “Honestly, I loved the environment, I loved the opportunities they gave and I loved just, the team,” he emphasises. “Just from a bit of consistency and being positive in the head, happy where I was – it showed. I was way more confident in races, got my first pro win and all of these things came from that.”
Hicks also reveals that he had turned down opportunities to move away from the squad for 2025, such was his content. “Any opportunity to go elsewhere that did arise, I almost just dismissed it, I was so happy where I was. Why fix something that wasn’t broken?” he asks, the closure of the team late on in the year coming as a shock, his injury and the lengthy rehabilitation process leaving him fully focused and motivated for 2025, months before the announcement. “I had nowhere else to go. It was quite a big shock at the time, but as one door closes, another one opens,” he reflects. “I think if I get the right opportunities again I will perform again. Hopefully, with Raptor we can work really closely together and get some good results as a team, then I would be happy to move up again.”
Hicks started 2024 strongly off the back of a consistent winter, his first away from the track. Growing up only minutes away from Brighton’s Preston Park Velodrome, he started out cycling there, racing on the boards a natural progression for a rider also on the GB Academy, culminating in a UCI win at the 4 jours de Genève in 2022. “I found the track was disrupting the road. Some people say it compliments it, but I found in winter I was doing track races when I should have been training,” he explains, feeling the effect during his time with dsm-firmenich. “It meant by the time I got to the start of the road season I had really good track legs, but as soon as I had to do a four-hour race in crosswinds in Holland, I just didn’t have the engine.
“For the near future I just would like to just stick to focusing on the road, get a few consistent seasons years on the road backed up, but then I’d definitely be open to returning back and trying the track again,” explains the 20-year-old, time on his side for such ambitions in the future.
Hicks signed for the dsm-firmenich development team straight out of the junior ranks, something of a dream come true for any young rider, with the team providing a proven path to the WorldTour. “I think it was a situation of right place, wrong time,” Hicks states, his tenure on the team lasting only one season.
“I was riding for the GB Senior Academy at the same time, and it was a lot for someone who was 18 years old and didn’t really know what they were doing,” he admits, the realities of life as in a professional set-up a big adjustment for any rider making such a move. “I think it was a big shock, I went from a kid who lived with his parents, riding a bike for a laugh, to suddenly full-time, moved out of home, moved country and was expecting to be performing as if I was a professional athlete, and I just wasn’t. In my head I just wasn’t ready for it and I think that showed through that season. I broke my collarbone that year as well and it was all pressure piled onto me.
“I think if that opportunity came at a different time, it would have been a completely different story. At the time, yeah it was a dream come true, but I just couldn’t perform.”
As Hicks enters what will be only his third season as an under-23 in 2025, he does so as a rider transformed from the one who made his debut in the senior ranks only two years ago, a reminder that there is no one size fits all path through the sport. Clearly ambitious to reach the very top of the sport, Hicks is determined to continue his upward trajectory in pursuit of that goal.
Featured image: Charlie Tompkins
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