Caithness cyclist is world-beater
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A CAITHNESS athlete has fulfilled his dream of becoming a world champion.
Team GB cyclist John Paul joined the ranks of cycling greats, such as three-time Olympic gold medal-winner Sir Chris Hoy, when he received a coveted Rainbow jersey – worn by the reigning world champion in any bicycle racing discipline.
The 18-year-old, originally from Lybster, took the world title on Saturday for the under-19s individual sprint at the Junior World Track Championship held in the Krylatskoe Velodrome in Moscow.
Now living in Oxfordshire, the young sportsman said that it was a surreal experience to finally achieve his goal. "It was a really hard two days with really close competition, so there were a lot of nerves flying about and it was definitely an emotional roller coaster," he told the John O’Groat Journal.
"When I won it was such a surreal feeling because I’d dreamt of being world champion every night for two years. It still hasn’t sunk in."
John battled his way through the sprint qualifiers over the two days and met the cream of the cycling crop in the run-up to the final of the event. He managed to hold his nerve in the semi-finals where he beat current world record holder Max Niederlag, from Germany, before taking on and beating Frenchman Julien Palma to earn his first world title. To top the weekend off he also set a new British national record in the 200m time trial on his way to winning the title, posting a new time of 10.175 seconds.
It all came as a bit of a surprise for the athlete who said he was never sure if he could make the leap to this level of competition.
But intensive training and determination won through in the end.
"You spend two years training all for one moment; when that moment comes it passes by so fast you don’t realise it," he said.
"It’s what all the hard training I do is all about. That’s why I get up early and go to the gym. That’s why I push myself – to reap the rewards.
"Aspiring to be world champion is what gets you out of bed in the morning."
The outstanding achievement comes around a month after John was crowned a double European champion at the Junior European Track Cycling Championships in Portugal, where he picked up gold medals in the individual sprint and Keirin event.
"The Euros went really well for me," he said. "I knew I was in good form and just needed to continue on like that for the world events and ride really well. I managed to do that and I’m just delighted about it."
John is currently in Manchester competing in this week’s British National Junior Championships, where he is looking to defend his title as British National Sprint Champion.
