"I could taste blood in the back of my throat and I thought I was going to pass out" - Zeb Kyffin on what it felt like to fight for sixth overall at Tour of Britain

Zeb Kyffin was working in a regular everyday job up until last December. One year on and the 25-year-old Briton has a job that’s far from normal. Kyffin has just signed his first professional contract with TDT-Unibet and joined the Dutch squad on a two-year deal from Saint Piran.

"It's all quite something really," he reveals to Cycling Weekly. "I never expected to be in this situation. It's not like it's a childhood dream, which sounds very bizarre. I didn't grow up wanting to be a professional cyclist, I just always enjoyed riding my bike. We raced so much more abroad this year that it's all fallen into place quite nicely."

"Joining a new team and having Jack Rootkin-Gray and Alex Richardson as teammates, both really inspiring people and really motivating people, has been a huge factor in my growth this year," Kyffin explains. "I don't recognise myself compared to this time last year, the change is just astronomical. My performances in the UK and abroad and then finishing it all off at the Tour of Britain was quite an unexpected journey for me."

Kyffin then impressed with 6th overall at his home Tour of Britain. "I was in such a world of pain, especially on the last two ascents of Caerphilly mountain I was just fully seeing double," he says. "I could taste blood in the back of my throat and I thought I was going to pass out. That's how deep I was going to not get dropped. I'd love to progress to be able to attack in that situation I was in and be even better. I think that's what I'm excited about. I feel I haven't yet reached my potential."