Lockdowns have been the unfortunate theme of 2020 and, so far, 2021, with stagnated training the norm for both the pros as well as us mere mortals looking for their group ride fix. For WorldTour neo-pro Matt Walls, taking part in group physical activity was less of a problem because his house-mates Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Fred Wright (Bahrain- Victorious) form arguably the strongest household training bubble in the United Kingdom.
“I couldn’t exactly complain, because you could ride with your household so the three of us riding together was pretty cool,” Walls says.
“We moved in just before lockdown in March, just after the Worlds so it was good timing. We were all on the academy together, I lived with Fred in Manchester in the academy house for a year or two years and then I lived with Ethan when I was out in Italy with the academy. So we have all lived together at some point and all get on well so might as well get a house together.”
During the spring lockdown, these training days were common – Wright was pictured with an old race number fashioned into a sign reading “we live together” on his back. At that point Walls still had dreams of going to race on the track at the Olympics in August 2020, just a couple of months later he’d sign a contract with BoraHansgrohe as the German team’s road sprinting protege for 2021. But as summer rolled around and the Olympics were shifted to 2021, Walls’s track commitments and his housemates’ WorldTour schedules left him training alone once again. It wasn’t the ideal lead up to what is now a 2021 season pregnant with possibility but the amiable and upbeat Walls seems unfazed.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2021-Ausgabe von CYCLING WEEKLY.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2021-Ausgabe von CYCLING WEEKLY.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike