ADAM LEVENTHAL

The sports news anchor and cycling convert reveals all about the unofficial ‘Team Sky’, and the lure of the Lake District

My wife converted me. I cycled as a kid but I was a devotee driver until about five years ago when my wife took up cycling for her commute. She’d arrive home hot, sweaty but invigorated and I thought ‘I need to get my fitness regime in order too.’ That’s how it began. Families make cycling a challenge. Having our children was also a spur for me to get into better shape and I haven’t looked back. It’s a juggling act to work cycling around a young family, so making it part of my commute was key. That said, I had to work out a safe route because I have those added responsibilities now. I’m sticking with my first bike. I bought my first proper bike – a Trek Domane 2.0 – when I began to take cycling seriously and I’m still riding it now. I wanted something relatively entry level, though it still cost just shy of a grand, to learn the cycling process, how to ride properly and to get me 11 miles to work and back every day. I’ve flogged the car. I had this big, flashy car but as I started to spend each morning wheeling my bike past it in the garage I realised there was no point in having it. We hire a car now if we’re taking our bikes with us on holiday. We made the conscious decision to cut our cloth to fit and it’s made a big difference to our lives. The rewards were almost instant. Not only did the weight immediately drop off me but the benefits of cycling to and from work have been multiple. I now arrive in a better state of mind than when I’d be sat in the car – partly because my cycle commute takes me through Richmond Park. It’s spawned new pursuits too – and it helps me switch off between work and home. Bike-friendly firms are the future. Working for Sky there’s obviously a big focus on cycling as a sport, but the organisation is very big on getting staff on bikes more too. We have an on-site cycle repair and parts shop, thousands of bike racks and plenty of showers and changing facilities. I don’t know many firms that are so committed to it. I get to meet the elite. Meeting Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas after the Tour de France victory was fascinating. Like many newcomers to cycling I’ve been bitten by the bug. I follow the classic rides and get fixated with the ‘marginal gains’ approach. Talking to Dave Brailsford about his work with elite riders and the experiments around life on the road has been a perk of the job too.

While driving to work you can almost be on auto-pilot, when you cycle you wake up your body and mind

Cycling changes your attitude. I wasn’t anti-cyclist ever but I was a driver and didn’t really appreciate what cycling involves. Since riding through London especially I’ve learned to develop the presence you need to stay safe on the road. While driving to work you can almost be on auto-pilot from the bed to the office, when you cycle you wake up your body and your mind – handy when you’re going to be sitting at a desk all day especially. I’m on a ride to new destinations. What began as a commute has become a passion. I’m doing triathlons now too – the bike opens doors to other sports and wonderful places. I’ve done Prudential RideLondon several times, a number of sportives and cycled through Tuscany, among other places. The Lakes are the place to go. Cycling in the Lake District has become an annual holiday event for us as a family. We’ll head up there and, if I can, I’ll get out early in the morning for a solo ride or with one of my relatives to take on the climbs of Wrynose and Hardknott passes. I’ve discovered that I like climbs, though it may not feel like it at the time. Adam cycles to raise funds for awareness of mitochondrial disease, see thelilyfoundation.org.uk