Scouting Report
Madison Genesis’s Alex Peters
The Brits are coming, it seems…
Absolutely. The British Cycling U23 academy gets a lot of credit, and rightly so, for the work it does. Despite it being a track-based programme, there has been a steady stream of riders rising up through British trade teams in recent times. The domestic Premier Calendar has been drastically reduced over a number of years but with teams such as Madison Genesis, formed in 2013 with an emphasis on youth, British riders are getting more opportunities than ever at international level on well-funded, well-structured teams. With so many ways to make it in professional cycling, they have never had it so good.
What makes Alex Peters stand out?
A true all-rounder, the Londoner romped away with the 2012 British Junior National Road Series, beating his then CC Hackney team-mate and current Procycling diarist, Tao Geoghegan Hart, into third place and showing enough potential for Madison Genesis manager Roger Hammond to offer him a contract ahead of the team’s first season. He consolidated that promise throughout his first year, then shot to wider prominence in April with a win at the prestigious British domestic two-day race, the Tour of the Reservoir, a tough race made even tougher by some truly rotten conditions. The victory, which included stage victory on the opening day, made him one of the youngest riders ever to win a round of the Premier Calendar. Hammond said he “never doubted” he had the ability to do so.
What he says:
“When I’m competing, especially in a one-day race, I like to race for first place. I don’t think too much at the start of the race, because once I have a number on my back, I get into the zone. I know what I have to do, I know what it takes to win and I know how much it’s going to hurt. But I also know the satisfaction I get when I’m first to cross the finish line. At this point, everything just feels right.”