Fast Track To Sharp Focus

Honing his mind to overcome an attention-disrupting disorder, Kieran Blay has become a razor-sharp racer.

- Josephine Perry

Being able to pay attention, to focus hard, to precisely control efforts and stay alert at all times: all these mental skills are crucial for a racing cyclist. They’re also traits that people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) struggle to develop. Around one in 20 children is diagnosed with the condition, but the underlying cause is not yet fully understood. Those affected exhibit hyperactivity, impulsiveness and wandering attention — serious problems for a bike racer. Kieran Blay, now 27, was diagnosed aged five, and has had much to overcome en route to becoming an accomplished racing cyclist.

“I was a problematic child,” says the Londoner. “I didn’t fit in with the other kids. I was bouncing off the walls. School was difficult and the medication made me worse — the first time I took Ritalin, I swung a kid round the playground by his coat and was almost excluded.”

Blay’s mother encouraged him to take part in sport as an outlet for his apparently excessive energy. He began with football, then hockey and basketball, and then motocross. He found cycling at 21 and became hyper-focused on realising his potential — another hallmark of ADHD.

“My first ride was 10 miles at 14mph, but I came away saying I was going to join a club and race.”