Is this Britain's next great rider? Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider Imogen Wolff reveals her journey so far in the professional peloton: "I’m still absolutely kicking myself"

At just 18 years old, Yorkshire’s Imogen Wolff has already begun making waves in the cycling world. Riding for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Wolff’s journey to the top has been anything but conventional, and she is clearly one of the most talented up and coming British riders right now.

Wolff recently spoke to Cycling Weekly about her unique path into professional cycling and the remarkable achievements she’s already chalked up on the world stage.

For many young riders, securing a place in a WorldTour team requires patience and careful planning. Wolff, however, took a different route.

“I messaged every single DS from every single WorldTour team on Instagram, which I wouldn’t recommend you do,” she admitted. “It’s not very good for negotiating power. When I told my agent, he was like, ‘Why have you done that?’ But from then on, I started having conversations.”

While unconventional, Wolff’s direct approach opened doors, setting her on the path to a professional career with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.

Wolff’s passion for cycling stems from her family, where the sport has always been a cornerstone of their lives. “Cycling’s always been a big part of our lives as a family,” she said.

Wolff is the second of three siblings, and followed in her mother’s footsteps, starting with triathlon and cyclocross when she was still a child. By her early teenage years, she turned her focus to track cycling, despite the closest velodrome to her being over an hour away.

“My dad was like, ‘You might as well do deep-sea diving, the sea is pretty much as far,’” she said.

Fresh off the back of completing her A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, and Maths, Wolff played a key role in Great Britain’s team pursuit squad. The team not only claimed the gold medal but also shattered the world record in the final at the Junior Track World Championships.

“I’d not really slept the night before, and I woke up with a chesty cough,” she revealed. “I can’t really remember the second half of the race. I was vomiting up blood and just in a mess.”

While Wolff has achieved remarkable success, her journey has not been without setbacks. At the World Championships time trial in Zurich, she experienced a moment of frustration despite finishing with the third-fastest time and taking home a bronze medal.

“I just completely lost my head and panicked,” she admitted. The experience still weighs heavily on her. “It’s difficult to speak about,” she said, groaning in exasperation. “It still gets my back up thinking about it. I’m still absolutely kicking myself.”