Fred Wright about a race from when he was 12, that shaped his cycling career: "That was when I realized, 'Oh, I am actually pretty good at this'"

For many riders, their fondest memory would be their first pro win, a solid performance in a prestigious race, or signing for a major WorldTour team. But no so for Fred Wright, who could easily choose any of the above. The race that formed the British champion's career was actually his first race ever when he was about 12, he tells Cycling Weekly.

"I could say a pro race, or something like that, but actually, I think it was probably when I was 11 or 12 when I went to a youth Omnium track event with my Dad," he says. "I can't recall exactly when it was but I was completely new to the sport, it was kind of like a regional level race, I had no idea how I was going to do."

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"I was so nervous," he adds. "I didn't know what to expect or anything like that. I think the first thing you did was just like a one lap time trial. Basically, I managed to win the one lap time trial. My Dad's got a good memory of me walking over to the results sheet, because they'd always just post them up like where the sign on is and stuff, and realising that I was on the top of the list and 12 year old me being like 's**t! I am actually pretty good at this' so I’d say that day."

"I'd say, to be honest, the Tour of Flanders, not this year but the year before, was a kind of similar 'oh yeah' moment," he says about 2022 edition where he placed seventh against some of world's best classics riders.

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