STATS:
Hometown: Essex, UK
DOB: October 3, 1988
Height: 6′0″
Weight: 161 lbs.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
2010:
Signed with Team Sky for the 2011 season
2nd – Commonwealth Games – Time Trial
1st – European Championship U23 – Time Trial
1st – Stage 5 – Cascade Cycling Classic
2nd – Prologue – Cascade Cycling Classic
Yellow jersey holder – Stage 2 – Tour of Utah
2nd – Prologue – Tour of Utah
2nd – Stage 1 – Tour of Utah
4th – Prologue – Holland Olympia’s Tour
8th – General Classification Tour of Battenkill
12th – Stage 4 – Tour of Oman
2009:
7th World Time Trial Championships U23
1st British Time Trial Championships U23
1st Richmond Grand Prix
ABOUT ALEX…
How did you get started in bicycle racing?
When it wasn’t windy my Dad and his windsurfing mates used to go mountain biking, and I got fit enough and joined them at 11 years old. Eric Smith was one of the guys who rode and used to race, and I asked to have a go on a road bike. I went to watch his son, Glen, race a local 10 mile Time Trial. After seeing the speed, aero lid, and disc wheels, etc., I was hooked.
Tell us about your first race.
I was 13, and rode a local 10 mile time trial on Glen’s Eddy Merckx road bike, and Eric sat on my wheel to make sure I went the right way. We got round the course in 27minutes 35 seconds. I still ride the same course a lot today, often in preparation for big events, except a fair bit quicker.
What is your favorite memory or experience on the bike??
Winning an unexpected first major race as a first year Junior, the Junior Tour of the Peak which was a National Series event, I had never ridden big hills as it’s flat where I live so I decided to let my team mates use the carbon wheels on my assumption that I wouldn’t finish or would be well off the pace. I was in the break from the start and attacked it with a lap to go finishing on my own with a minute on the others. Putting both hands in the air, especially when you least expect it was, and still is, the best feeling in the world. I was in tears after!
What makes you most excited about riding for the Trek-LIVESTRONG team?
I feel honored to be selected, at this level Trek Livestrong is one of the most well respected and well known teams in the World and I’m proud to be racing for the name and the cause. The team and races will provide me with the best possible platform to make the step up into the Protour as well as achieving my short and long-term goals as a bike rider.
What is your favorite place to ride?
I’ve spent the last 2 seasons in Tuscany the GB Academy. The roads and scenery there are amazing and makes a 5 hour ride seem like 2 compared to the flatter roads of Essex in the UK.
What accomplishment or career achievement are you most proud of?
7th in the 2009 U23 World Championship Time Trial. That result has overtaken my tan-lines as the most well used chat up line on a night out!