Harry Hudson interview: the Sheffield climber chasing a pro career
At just 18, Sheffield climber Harry Hudson has already conquered Liège-Bastogne-Liège Juniors, soloed to victory at the CiCLE Classic and tested himself against Europe’s best at Valromey – now, as he prepares to step into the U23 ranks, he is focused not on the spotlight but on the simple ambition of turning talent into a career.
As part of a generation raised on instant communication, 18-year-old Harry Hudson is surprisingly hard to pin down. One of the most talented juniors not just in the UK but in the sport as a whole, the Sheffield teenager seems to have turned his attention away from the limelight and fixed it firmly on his bike. Trying to arrange an interview with the highly rated climber felt less like a sprint to the next signpost and more like an ascent of the mountain passes he was busy training on.
I’ve been in France pretty much since I finished my exams
“I’ve been in France pretty much since I finished my exams,” Hudson explains, finally speaking to The British Continental from his Sheffield home as he prepares for the UK’s biggest race for his age group, the Junior Race of South Wales, before heading to Spain for the Vuelta a Cantabria in September.
“I did a first block of races, then I did a block for training,” he says, chronicling his time abroad, first competing as part of his Harrogate Nova Race Team squad at the end of June in two one-day races similar in format to the Challenge Mallorca, before riding the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour in early July, a historic race in the south of France that has a list of winners to rival any WorldTour race, as a guest on the U19 Academy Région Sud presented by Giant team.
Harry Hudson (Harrogate Nova Race Team) wins the 9th ANEXO CAMS Junior CiCLE Classic. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
“Valromey was super high level because it’s like the junior Tour de France,” he explains, providing a useful point of reference for those not as familiar with the U19 calendar as himself. “It was hilly. I learned a lot in that because it was my first race at that super, super level,” he notes, having finished in 12th place overall over the four stages.
Hudson entered the race in great form, testing his legs with a victory the weekend prior, going solo on his preferred mountain terrain to a summit finish at Super Dévoluy, a ski station almost 1,500m above sea level. “That was still a UCI race so that was a really high level, but it’s really nice, closed roads, hilly, just the sort of racing I do well in and I like.”
For those not already familiar with Hudson, now a frequent winner on the UCI scene, he initially made a name for himself as a schoolboy, floating up some of the toughest ascents on offer in the UK, winning the U16 National Hill Climb two years ago in an incredible time that would have taken the bronze medal in the senior field. As his time in the junior ranks now draws to a close his talent continues to astonish, gaining international acclaim as a road racer by winning the U19 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April.
It was a bit controversial, the finish, which was a bit of a shame
“It was a bit controversial, the finish, which was a bit of a shame,” he says as soon as the aforementioned Ardennes Classic is brought up, a viral clip of a motorbike obstructing second-place finisher Leander De Gendt, who Hudson was sprinting against for the win, bringing the race, and Hudson’s win, to the attention of the world.
“It wasn’t really my fault. I’ve seen a couple of videos of it. I’ve seen a side-on one, and I’ve seen the front one,” he continues, unprompted. “Obviously, he gets slowed up a bit. I think it would have been very, very close if it hadn’t happened because I was coming off the wheel just before it happened to start my sprint, so I was obviously coming past with more speed.”
Regardless of the circumstances around the sprint to the line atop La Redoute, the ride produced by Hudson was confirmation of his potential, making all the crucial moves over the hilly parcours in only his second race at UCI level, as he debuted with the Fensham Howes-MAS Design-CAMS team as a guest.
“You’re not really thinking about it then because you’re focused on the positioning,” he reflects when asked what it felt like to hit the bottom of the famous climb in an elite group of fewer than ten riders fighting for the win. “But it was big because since I knew I was going with Fensham, that was my number one goal for the early part of the season. I really appreciate them giving me the opportunity.”
Hudson’s La Doyenne victory was in keeping with his season to that point: one of near perfection. A dominant stage win in the Holme Moss Hill Climb stage of the Peaks 2-Day may have been business as usual for the rider who is at the centre of calls for Cycling Time Trials (CTT) to change the competition rules so that youth and junior riders are eligible for the senior medals at the National Championships, but a 5th place overall after finishing the first stage at the sharp end of the race with the likes of Rowan Baker and Will Truelove proved he was no one-trick pony.
“It was a good race. I enjoyed it,” he says, the setting far removed from UCI races he has since experienced. “It’s the only race I’ve done against [seniors]. It was my first proper race of the year. It definitely felt a bit different, it’s maybe a bit less aggressive – there are always attacks in junior racing. It was quite early season as well so that gives it a bit of a different feeling.”
Harry Hudson (centre).. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
With one of the toughest National B races under his belt, Hudson’s next target was the opening round of the Junior National Road Series, the CiCLE Classic, a 104km race which on paper offers little for a rider at home among the snow-topped mountain passes as opposed to the windswept farm tracks of Leicestershire.
I knew I had to go solo from about 40km. That was the latest I could leave it
“It’s not exactly hilly, is it?” he asks rhetorically, giving an insight into his plan that day. “It’s a technical, twisty, turny, punchy course. I knew from the profile it has the hilly bit with about 60km to go, but I knew I had to go solo from about 40km. That was the latest I could leave it, because after that it was pretty much flat.”
Hudson played his cards exactly as planned on the rain-soaked course, attacking first with Matt Peace after barely 40km of racing, going solo soon after, using his cyclo-cross experience to navigate the broken roads and hold an advantage verging on a minute all the way to the finish in Melton Mowbray.
“I was surprised,” he admits. “I was actually ill the day before so I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to race. It’s not my perfect course, but there were a couple of climbs lined up together, and that’s where I went. It worked out that it suited me quite well because it’s attritional. It was nice to confirm I had the good legs for not just the hard stuff and that I could also do more of a racers’ race. [Over the] last year or so I’ve obviously developed to be a bit bigger, so I can hold my own in a normal race in the UK where it’s a bit flatter.”
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Hudson’s solo win did more than just prove that he could win any sort of race, marking a maiden victory after a broken arm mid-way through 2024 ruled him out of the majority of his first junior year; a season becoming ever more significant with World and ProTour development teams casting an eye over the next generation.
“It’s good for confidence, isn’t it?” he states. “I had a reasonably good end to last year because I managed to get in one UCI race [ed. La Philippe Gilbert Juniors] at the very end of the year where I got a decent result. It worked out at 8 or 9 months where I basically did one race. So it wasn’t ideal, but it’s good to come back and get results, get the confidence going and get back into racing.”
I’ve really enjoyed the last two years with them. The calendar is building more and more so I think in the next couple of years they will be really good
Hudson’s win in the CiCLE Classic and his continued success in Europe over the course of 2025 have helped put his Harrogate Nova Race Team on the map, the team a relatively young enterprise in junior racing, with Junior Race of South Wales winner Magnus Denwood also among the flagship talents currently on the squad. “It’s our second or third year as Harrogate Nova Junior Race Team. I’ve been with them for two so they’re quite new,” he explains. “They’re obviously building new talent there which takes a while in junior racing. They’re great, they give loads of support at the races and we’ve got some really strong riders this year. I’ve really enjoyed the last two years with them. The calendar is building more and more so I think in the next couple of years they will be really good.”
As his time with the team draws to a close, Hudson remains tight-lipped about his plans for 2026, his first in the U23 ranks, instead placing the focus on the elements he can control. “Basically just ride my bike and race at the highest level possible,” he declares, adding, “if I can turn it into a career, that would be great.”
It is a dream that is perhaps closer to reality than Hudson is prepared to admit, the penchant for teams placing their faith in younger riders in recent years drawing comparisons between him and the likes of Matthew Brennan and Josh Tarling, stars of the sport in their teenage years. “You’ve just got to see what you can do, haven’t you? We’ll see where it goes,” he responds when their names are raised, for now his focus remains fixed solely on the journey, and not the destination.
As part of a generation raised on instant communication, 18-year-old Harry Hudson is surprisingly hard to pin down. One of the most talented juniors not just in the UK but in the sport as a whole, the Sheffield teenager seems to have turned his attention away from the limelight and fixed it firmly on his bike. Trying to arrange an interview with the highly rated climber felt less like a sprint to the next signpost and more like an ascent of the mountain passes he was busy training on.
“I’ve been in France pretty much since I finished my exams,” Hudson explains, finally speaking to The British Continental from his Sheffield home as he prepares for the UK’s biggest race for his age group, the Junior Race of South Wales, before heading to Spain for the Vuelta a Cantabria in September.
“I did a first block of races, then I did a block for training,” he says, chronicling his time abroad, first competing as part of his Harrogate Nova Race Team squad at the end of June in two one-day races similar in format to the Challenge Mallorca, before riding the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour in early July, a historic race in the south of France that has a list of winners to rival any WorldTour race, as a guest on the U19 Academy Région Sud presented by Giant team.
“Valromey was super high level because it’s like the junior Tour de France,” he explains, providing a useful point of reference for those not as familiar with the U19 calendar as himself. “It was hilly. I learned a lot in that because it was my first race at that super, super level,” he notes, having finished in 12th place overall over the four stages.
Hudson entered the race in great form, testing his legs with a victory the weekend prior, going solo on his preferred mountain terrain to a summit finish at Super Dévoluy, a ski station almost 1,500m above sea level. “That was still a UCI race so that was a really high level, but it’s really nice, closed roads, hilly, just the sort of racing I do well in and I like.”
For those not already familiar with Hudson, now a frequent winner on the UCI scene, he initially made a name for himself as a schoolboy, floating up some of the toughest ascents on offer in the UK, winning the U16 National Hill Climb two years ago in an incredible time that would have taken the bronze medal in the senior field. As his time in the junior ranks now draws to a close his talent continues to astonish, gaining international acclaim as a road racer by winning the U19 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April.
“It was a bit controversial, the finish, which was a bit of a shame,” he says as soon as the aforementioned Ardennes Classic is brought up, a viral clip of a motorbike obstructing second-place finisher Leander De Gendt, who Hudson was sprinting against for the win, bringing the race, and Hudson’s win, to the attention of the world.
“It wasn’t really my fault. I’ve seen a couple of videos of it. I’ve seen a side-on one, and I’ve seen the front one,” he continues, unprompted. “Obviously, he gets slowed up a bit. I think it would have been very, very close if it hadn’t happened because I was coming off the wheel just before it happened to start my sprint, so I was obviously coming past with more speed.”
Regardless of the circumstances around the sprint to the line atop La Redoute, the ride produced by Hudson was confirmation of his potential, making all the crucial moves over the hilly parcours in only his second race at UCI level, as he debuted with the Fensham Howes-MAS Design-CAMS team as a guest.
“You’re not really thinking about it then because you’re focused on the positioning,” he reflects when asked what it felt like to hit the bottom of the famous climb in an elite group of fewer than ten riders fighting for the win. “But it was big because since I knew I was going with Fensham, that was my number one goal for the early part of the season. I really appreciate them giving me the opportunity.”
Hudson’s La Doyenne victory was in keeping with his season to that point: one of near perfection. A dominant stage win in the Holme Moss Hill Climb stage of the Peaks 2-Day may have been business as usual for the rider who is at the centre of calls for Cycling Time Trials (CTT) to change the competition rules so that youth and junior riders are eligible for the senior medals at the National Championships, but a 5th place overall after finishing the first stage at the sharp end of the race with the likes of Rowan Baker and Will Truelove proved he was no one-trick pony.
“It was a good race. I enjoyed it,” he says, the setting far removed from UCI races he has since experienced. “It’s the only race I’ve done against [seniors]. It was my first proper race of the year. It definitely felt a bit different, it’s maybe a bit less aggressive – there are always attacks in junior racing. It was quite early season as well so that gives it a bit of a different feeling.”
With one of the toughest National B races under his belt, Hudson’s next target was the opening round of the Junior National Road Series, the CiCLE Classic, a 104km race which on paper offers little for a rider at home among the snow-topped mountain passes as opposed to the windswept farm tracks of Leicestershire.
“It’s not exactly hilly, is it?” he asks rhetorically, giving an insight into his plan that day. “It’s a technical, twisty, turny, punchy course. I knew from the profile it has the hilly bit with about 60km to go, but I knew I had to go solo from about 40km. That was the latest I could leave it, because after that it was pretty much flat.”
Hudson played his cards exactly as planned on the rain-soaked course, attacking first with Matt Peace after barely 40km of racing, going solo soon after, using his cyclo-cross experience to navigate the broken roads and hold an advantage verging on a minute all the way to the finish in Melton Mowbray.
“I was surprised,” he admits. “I was actually ill the day before so I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to race. It’s not my perfect course, but there were a couple of climbs lined up together, and that’s where I went. It worked out that it suited me quite well because it’s attritional. It was nice to confirm I had the good legs for not just the hard stuff and that I could also do more of a racers’ race. [Over the] last year or so I’ve obviously developed to be a bit bigger, so I can hold my own in a normal race in the UK where it’s a bit flatter.”
Hudson’s solo win did more than just prove that he could win any sort of race, marking a maiden victory after a broken arm mid-way through 2024 ruled him out of the majority of his first junior year; a season becoming ever more significant with World and ProTour development teams casting an eye over the next generation.
“It’s good for confidence, isn’t it?” he states. “I had a reasonably good end to last year because I managed to get in one UCI race [ed. La Philippe Gilbert Juniors] at the very end of the year where I got a decent result. It worked out at 8 or 9 months where I basically did one race. So it wasn’t ideal, but it’s good to come back and get results, get the confidence going and get back into racing.”
Hudson’s win in the CiCLE Classic and his continued success in Europe over the course of 2025 have helped put his Harrogate Nova Race Team on the map, the team a relatively young enterprise in junior racing, with Junior Race of South Wales winner Magnus Denwood also among the flagship talents currently on the squad. “It’s our second or third year as Harrogate Nova Junior Race Team. I’ve been with them for two so they’re quite new,” he explains. “They’re obviously building new talent there which takes a while in junior racing. They’re great, they give loads of support at the races and we’ve got some really strong riders this year. I’ve really enjoyed the last two years with them. The calendar is building more and more so I think in the next couple of years they will be really good.”
As his time with the team draws to a close, Hudson remains tight-lipped about his plans for 2026, his first in the U23 ranks, instead placing the focus on the elements he can control. “Basically just ride my bike and race at the highest level possible,” he declares, adding, “if I can turn it into a career, that would be great.”
It is a dream that is perhaps closer to reality than Hudson is prepared to admit, the penchant for teams placing their faith in younger riders in recent years drawing comparisons between him and the likes of Matthew Brennan and Josh Tarling, stars of the sport in their teenage years. “You’ve just got to see what you can do, haven’t you? We’ll see where it goes,” he responds when their names are raised, for now his focus remains fixed solely on the journey, and not the destination.
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