It is rare, unheard of in fact, that riders at the British National Track Championships have maths homework due the following week. But that was the case for 16-year-old Henry Hobbs, still in his first year of A-Levels, who rode to a surprise podium on his senior debut on Saturday night.
The teenager sealed bronze in the men’s kilometre time trial, clocking a PB of 1:02.574, and finishing just four tenths of a second off gold.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly afterwards, Hobbs said it “feels amazing” to win a medal, visibly stunned by his feat.
“I was hoping to just enjoy it,” he explained. “To come away with a medal, and be on the podium, feels amazing. It’s a shock. It’s more than what I expected.”
What is more impressive is that, just a few hours after his effort, the teenager then took the start line in the points race, merging sprint and endurance disciplines.
“I didn’t realise they’d be so close together,” Hobbs laughed. But the short recovery time did not stop him launching a 10-lap solo rampage, soaring another two and a half kilometres alone around the track.
“I was hoping someone would go with me, but it didn’t happen," he said. "In hindsight, I probably should’ve pulled up a bit earlier and saved myself. But yeah, I ended up killing myself.”
The 16-year-old went on to withdraw from the points race early, and watched from the track centre as his older brother, Noah, who rides for Groupama-FDJ's development team, stormed to third place in the event. Henry will now trace his brother's footsteps in the GB programme, having found out earlier this week that he has been selected to join the junior academy.
The news, he said, “gave me a lot of motivation”, and opens up opportunities for more road racing abroad. “I can do junior races like Paris-Roubaix and Gent[-Wevelgem],” Hobbs added. It is a step closer to emulating his role models in the sport: Mark Cavendish and “prime Peter Sagan”.
For now though, his focus is on development with his Dutch team, Willebrord Wil Vooruit, all the while studying for A-Levels in maths, further maths and PE. “It’s obviously very hard,” he said of the balancing act, “but I find my way around it. My brother has done the same, so it’s clearly possible. The coaches at GB are helping me out a lot and are very considerate with training.”
Did he have to miss school for the Nationals? “I’ve been on half-term this week,” the teenager said. “There’s been a few times I’ve had to miss Fridays, but I’ve been catching up [on the classes].”
