Paul is our basic supervisor right here at Merlin in addition to a member of The Merlin Cycles Rivington Brewing Co. Racing Workforce. On the weekend, his consequence from the UCI Gravel World Sequence spherical at The Gralloch, Scotland put him right into a qualifying place prepared for the world championships within the Netherlands this October. However what’s actually behind his love for driving? We sat down with him to search out out.
What acquired you into driving?
I used to be drawn to the liberty biking gave me — the power to simply head out and discover. My dad additionally had an outdated race bike hanging within the storage that I used to admire. I wasn’t sufficiently big to experience it on the time, nevertheless it undoubtedly sparked one thing.
Favorite bike you’ve had?
Undoubtedly my first correct racing bike. I keep in mind each element: it was a blue Reynolds 531c body, full Campagnolo Mirage groupset, and Mavic CXP33 rims. I completely beloved that bike — I rode 1000’s of miles on it and it actually cemented my ardour for the game.
Dream place to experience?
Belgium, indubitably. The brief, punchy climbs swimsuit my driving fashion completely, and the post-ride beer choices aren’t unhealthy both!
What’s the hardest experience you’ve been on?
That will be the UCI Gravel Race in Turnhout earlier this 12 months. I went in barely underprepared, considering the flat terrain would make it simpler — I couldn’t have been extra fallacious. It turned out to be brutally laborious however an incredible expertise all the identical.
Your largest achievement on the bike?
One in all my proudest moments was putting third within the North West Junior Highway Race Championships over 20 years in the past. I shared the rostrum with none apart from Mark Cavendish and future WorldTour rider Matt Brammeier — a reasonably particular reminiscence!
To search out out extra about our employees riders right here at Merlin, observe our ‘Get to Know Merlin’s Employees’ weblog collection.
