MY TRAINING SPACE: Simon Collins

I took up cycling in 2014 to get back into fitness after I'd put on some weight.

-  David Bradford

At first it was just commuting to work, but I got more and more involved and joined a local cycling club. In 2019 I got my first BC race licence, started to take it more seriously and hired a coach. Within six races I'd earnt my cat-three licence and in just 18 months pushed my FTP from 210 to 331 watts. At the start of this year, I signed with the Scott Redding Cycling Team, run by the World Superbike motorcyclist. Unfortunately I had a big accident in June: I was hit at the finish line of the Tour of Cambridgeshire, breaking ribs and my clavicle.

I used to train in a converted summerhouse in my garden, but after separating from my wife I decided last autumn to convert the spare bedroom to a training studio. I use a Wahoo Kickr bike, running Zwift from an Apple TV box. My TrainingPeaks account is linked to Zwift, so the sessions set by my coach are always automatically ready to go. I've two TV screens: one for Zwift, the other for entertainment.