One of the benefits of working for Evans is the chance to represent the company in the sport you love. Nine staff members have been chosen to be supplied with bikes for the prestigious Evans Cycles Race Team and are supported by a further 80 who ride and race in Evans’ distinctive kit designed by Louis Garneau. Read on to find out more about its team members, what bikes they ride and just how diverse their backgrounds are.
By Cath Harris
The noble nine, all top cyclists, choose their own top-end bike from one of Evans’ UK exclusive brands BMC, Fuji and also Saracen. Riders wear their gear in races, sportives, and for their commute to work, promoting Evans’ passion for cycling and all-round biking expertise. The team is inclusive, with members required to ride a minimum of 10 road, MTB, track, cyclo-cross or triathlon events each season. It’s competitive too: “You become a marked man covered head to toe in Evans Cycles kit!” team member Justin Coombes says.
Justin, from Evans’ Cheltenham store, is at 51 the oldest team member but, he claims, “none of the kids can touch me on a bike!” He was inspired to compete at 12-years-old when Italian Francesco Moser won three successive Paris-Roubaix races. Justin’s father, Brian, had already won the amateur version of the event and provided Justin with no less than four bikes at his “posh public school”. All were successively locked away in the Masters Dining Room as punishment after Justin bunked swim and run training. Cycling for Britain’s junior squad was, apparently, no excuse.
Justin
Justin had a stint as a pro in France then two decades in the music business, and joined Evans’ Fulham store in 2006. He rides a Fuji Transonic 1.1. “It’s the best bike I’ve ever ridden!” he says. “It’s fast into headwinds and stable on descents. The aero features make it very easy to clean, too!”
Justin’s enthusiasm for the 7kg Fuji is shared by teammates, James Dalton and Thomas Johnson. For James, the bike “climbs and descends well, and feels really stiff when sprinting.” Thomas says its “aerodynamic frame makes it efficient and fast for Criterium racing”. James, 38, worked at Evans’ Deansgate store in Manchester from 2007 after seven years’ racing in Europe. He is now Area Manager for Yorkshire and the Midlands and only recently returned to competition after a long lay-off following a crash. James is an all-rounder, enjoying time trialling and cyclo-cross as well as road and MTB. He prefers events that “make my legs hurt as much as possible.”
Thomas ‘TJ’ Johnson
James should soon regain his second cat licence while Thomas is rubbing elbows with the leaders in third cat races. “I am slowly clawing my way up the overall positioning and am aiming for a podium place over the next few weeks,” he says. Thomas is Store Supervisor at Deansgate. “I thoroughly enjoy working with bikes, surrounded by people who share the same hobby. Evans understands the needs of cyclists so store facilities are very good for those who commute by bike. And we always have some sort of ride planned.”
Planning, for Molly Pearson, is essential. She juggles work at the York store with training and raising three children single-handedly. Molly is an offroad specialist and loves to cross the Pennines to reach Cumbria’s Lake District, her favourite cycling area. Scotland, Wales, the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales and, more locally, Dalby Forest, are Molly’s other top locations. She rides an “amazing” BMC Trailfox TF01 XX1, which she chose “because I wanted to ride something completely different with 29”wheels”. The bike is “light and effortless, like an extension of me with no awkward moments on tight turns”, she says.
Molly
Molly, 42, is the team’s only female. She began working for Evans in 2008 and thrives on chatting to customers about their biking experiences. Single mum-ship can be tough but her 15-year-old son, Harry, is also a great rider and is a regular offroad companion. “Usually I get up early to train or ride between school runs,” Molly says. “I have to be pretty organised which can leave me exhausted. But my love of riding and of the outdoors, and my very competitive spirit, keep me going.”
Chester store manager, Simon Marshall is equally competitive and another fan of off-road. Racing is relatively new to Simon who entered his first XC event last summer. He now prefers the extra demands of Gravity Enduro – two day races combining cross-country with downhilling. Simon, 26, also races a Trailfox. “If you release the brakes it rides over anything in its way,” he chuckles.eHe His highlight this year could be October’s European Enduro Series in Malaga.
Brad Wilson (Reading store), Tristan Natlolie (Gatwick HQ), Paul McInally (Braehead) and Martin Dorn (Nottingham) make up the team which was established by Stuart McGhee and Nick Coley last year. They were selected from 35 applicants and must apply again for 2016, when 10 riders will be selected. “Our main aim was to improve colleague engagement,” says Stuart, who manages the team alongside his job as Direct Sales Manager. “We wanted a cycle club but also something that would interest podium chasers or riders who are local cycling heroes.” The Evans set up – riding as individuals as opposed to a team in targeted events – means team members competing in individual disciplines – including MTB, downhilling or triathlon – can be involved. Criteria include “having a clear idea of what they want to do, competing regularly and being well known cyclists locally.”
Martin
Cath Harris is a freelance journalist specialising in cycling and other sports, environment and travel stories. Her work is at www.cathharris.co.uk