Grit Chat: Helen Wyman at the Milton Keynes World Cup CX
At the age of 33, Kona Factory Racing’s Helen Wyman is a British cyclocross institution, with eight National and two European Championships to her name. Having dedicated her life to the sport, she has been an integral part – intentionally or otherwise – of bringing the third round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup to Great Britain, in the first race outside of mainland Europe.
Milton Keynes had a lot to live up to, following the legendary Koksijde in Belgium and in front of a home crowd and with travelling fans from all over the world including America, Canada and New Zealand, this would be an historic and emotional race for Helen, and one she would dearly love to win.
Simon Burney and his team had organized a fantastic event at Milton Keynes’ Campbell Park, and with an estimated 10,000 spectators at the side of the course, it is hard to imagine how it felt to ride the incredibly slippery course as a wave of noise followed the British riders. The atmosphere was electric and goose pimple inducing, the PA booming rock ‘n’ roll tunes and the traditional scent of beer and frites in the air. Before the race began, with her husband and manager Stef making final preparations, I observed Helen chatting to fans and signing cards. It was evident that she truly appreciates the massive support she gets when she’s slogging it out in the mud and sand, and whereas other top-flight riders can be seen to do this type of thing because they think they should, Helen seemed to really want to connect with the people who had travelled to support her.
Unfortunately, the race didn’t pan out the way Helen would have liked, as only a few hundred yards in she came a cropper and landed heavily face first into the mud. Although she was immediately back up and in contention for the win, ultimately the podium was not to be and it was an 8th place finish for her. Despite missing out she was there at the finish line flashing her trademark smile and high fiving those supportive fans like a true champion.
It’s not too surprising that there were almost tears when she was invited on stage before the podium and asked by the commentator what it meant to her to have an international race back on British soil for the first time since 1992, neither is it that this week she has written an open letter to future British cyclocross racers urging them to get involved. Helen is an incredible role model and it was a privilege to ask her a few questions to gain an insight into her world and to find out what motivates her. This is what she said…
GC. How have you prepared for the cross season whilst being heavily involved with Matrix Vulpine Team?
HW . For me the summer is very relaxed. It’s just training. I take on a mentor role with the Matrix team for any young riders that want some advice, and sometimes I race along side them. I enjoy road racing, but it’s not something I want to focus on. I’ve done that before, but cross is where my passion lays. I love cross, and for me the summer needs to be relaxed as the winter is very intense. MK World Cup was very special in terms of the atmosphere, but we have that kind of thing at most races I go to. There isn’t as much support for me, but there are more fans and huge noise and focus on each event. You can’t keep up that intensity of competition all year round.
GC. How important is mental strength in races like these?
HW. Its very important. The amount of things I had to do off the bike were pretty insane to be honest around the MK bike. I spend about 4 hours on Friday have interviews, doing TV things etc. Around that I had to try to ride the course, and absorb the features and come up with some tactics. I don’t have a PR crew, I do everything with Stef, so you just have to be careful. I’m not moaning at all. It’s a total pleasure to have these opportunities and this interest in the sport. I love that part of the job, and hopefully, some young riders can see the interviews, the race, the TV coverage and want to be a rider in the future.
I guess another part of it is dealing with the disappointments when i doesn’t go your way, but I’ve had enough ups and downs now to cope with all that and have a good, supportive, crew around me who ensure my environment is positive.
GC. Stef is obviously close to you but who else is important to you within the team?
HW. My team is Kona Factory Racing. My boss is Barry Wicks. He’s a great guy, and a top racer himself. I enjoy my time with them at the start of the cx season in USA. He’s really helpful and makes sure all of my requests are dealt with in terms of equipment. I’ve had 6 years on the same team, and they are hugely important to me.
Aside from Kona, Stef is important, he’s my coach and also helps me understand whats happened in race, where I can improve, where I’m better or worse than others, and what we need to do in training. I also have 2 people I ride courses with when they’re available. Jon Page and Mike Garrigan. The input they have is very important.
Then there is Patrick and Monique. They are my start and finish line crew. They are the nicest people of the planet and without them, life wouldn’t be quite as simple.
GC. I was going to ask you how you find grip on a slippery course like yesterday’s, but I think that was answered on the first corner.
HW. Crashing is part of racing. If you never crash, you aren’t riding hard enough. To win a race like MK, you have to take risks. You have to put the pressure on others. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. I have won 10 championship races in my career, and I didn’t win them by soft pedalling in corners, or walking when it gets slippy. Cross is a fast, aggressive, slippy and great sport. I fall off often, but then I know my limit.
The key to reducing the amount of issues you have is practice and equipment. Having good equipment, and understanding how to use it is very important, like the right tubulars and understanding the right tyre pressure for you.
GC.You inspire a lot of women and are a great role model, does this feed back into your racing?
HW. I’m lucky to be in the position I’m in. I might inspire people, but I’m not so sure about that. I want to help the next generation of riders make it. I want to help them understand that CX is a good career, rewarding, fascinating, and financially pretty good (And getting better). But to be honest, very few people ever get in touch. So it’s not that easy to pass on the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years. Thats a shame. All I can keep doing is being myself, being honest, being open, and hoping there are some good riders to take over from me, Nikki and Gabby when we stop.
GC. You clearly race to win so how do you pick your self up when a race doesn’t quite go to plan?
HW.You can’t win them all. But I do ok. I’ve had around 50 career wins in Pro CX races. Thats not bad for a girl from the UK. I’ve travelled the world, I work with great people, and I love my job. This is a job. When people go to work and process insurance claims for a living, if they don’t quite get a job finished in the way they wanted, they don’t consider retiring, or giving up. It’s the same for me. I go to work every day to do my best. I try to make people proud, I try to represent my sponsors in the best way i can, and Whatever happens, I look forward to going to work the next day. It’s the best job in the world.
If I get second, sometimes people tell me I’m no good (They really do). If I win, I’m a hero and people tell me (Again, seriously, they do. This includes the postman knocking on the door to deliver post if I have good result, or people in the supermarket.). I just say thanks, and smile, if they tell me I’m good, or if they tell me I’m bad. I’m doing this for me ultimately, and it’s great to have people along for the ride, but i’m not sure I’ve ever let those comments get me down, or give me a big head.
GC. Was Super Ted with you?
HW. I have a lot of Teds. They’re all over the place although they don’t like being called Teds. They’s known as “the boys”. They are my children, and certainly the closest i’ll come to having kids. They’re some of my best friends, they never say bad things, and always want a cuddle. I like those qualities in people.
Thanks to Helen for her time, and all of us here at grit.cx want to take the chance to wish her good luck for the rest of the season.
Cheers!
We’ve got a whole heap stories that include Helen on grit.cx, so check them out if you want to know more about one of the finest CX riders the UK has produced.
In the mean time, we have this great gallery of the ‘Lady of Cross’s’ grand day out.
