Interview: Hannah Mayho
November 2006 British Cycling sent Andrew Kennedy to interview a teenage cyclist from Bradford who was showing some promise. Hannah Mayho was 15 years of age and making an impact on the local road and track scene, she had also just bagged her first national titles with victory in the youth circuit champs and individual track pursuit championships.
Two and half years later we asked Andrew to go back and see how this young woman was developing as an athlete and capture some images of her training on the moors near her home in Yorkshire. This is his report:
At the moment cycling is having a lot of success attracting young riders, but it's a hard sport and we all know at whatever level you compete you spend time watching other people win, just ask Sir Chris Hoy how the World Cup keirin final in Copenhagen went. So it's no surprise to anyone given the rigours of our sport that there is quite a high turnover of young riders who for one reason or another fail to make the grade. We all know riders who showed early promise then moved off to pursue different career goals and objectives.
When I first met young Yorkshire cyclist Hannah Mayho in 2006 I was very impressed with her attitude, dedication and clear thoughts on what she had to do to become a cycling champion. However I had a question in the back of my mind that maybe she wouldn't last. Would she be able to deal with the cold and wet of a winter training schedule? Would she be tempted to leave the bike in the garage and go off with her friends? Would she be able to deal with failure and illness? Both her parents are teachers and at 15 she was doing well at school, so would she be under pressure to ditch the bike for a university or college course?
Well her results since 2006 answered most of my doubts, at 18 years of age Hannah Mayho is part of British Cycling's under 23 Women's Academy, she is the reigning European Individual Pursuit champion, and with Alex Greenfield and Jess Booth won the Gold medal for team pursuit at the same championships. A very strong indicator of her potential is that last summer she broke the National 2000m pursuit record previously held by Joanna Rowsell and before her Nicole Cooke.
I travelled to Cullingworth near Keighley to catch up with Hannah and get some photographs of her training on the moors. Walking into her garden on a bright sunny Saturday afternoon I was met with an immediate telling off, "the last time I talked to you, you printed that I didn't wash my bike, I got some stick for that, so look my team bike is spotless, I've been out this morning with Chris Young and the Keighley lads and rushed home to wash it just for you". Sure enough the team issue carbon TREK Madone was clean and shiny.
From her home in Cullingworth Hannah can drop down the valley to Bingley and Keighley and have a relatively flat training ride, or she can venture high up onto the moors above Haworth for a more challenging workout. Today was just for the camera so after a discussion about what team kit to wear we headed for the scenic moors. The roads from Cullingworth to Haworth are very quiet and ideal for cycling if you don't mind a bit of climbing. Hannah told me, "this is where I prefer to ride, the road from The Dog and Gun pub towards Haworth is my favourite route, when I've been out with the Keighley lads I put a loop in to ride back this way". With the photos in the bag we swooped back down the valley to Cullingworth and a mug of tea in the Mayho family kitchen.
As a warm up for the interview I began by asking 8 quick fire questions, here goes:
BC. Fake tan or natural?
HM. You can't ask me that, that's outrageous, oh go on then fake.
BC. Nicole Cooke or Nicole Kidman?
HM. Cooke of course, she's brilliant.
BC. Pizza or Pasta?
HM. Pizza, but you should probably put pasta.
BC. University or chance of glory?
HM. Definitely chance of glory.
BC. Muesli and yoghurt or pain au chocolate?
HM. Muesli and yoghurt actually.
BC. Harry Potter or Heat?
HM. Heat magazine just wins.
BC. Driving test, how long did it take to pass?
HM. 2 theory tests, 34 lessons and 1 test.
BC. Which shampoo?
HM. Pantene Ice-shine all the way.
BC. You are just about to sit you're A' levels in Human Biology, Psychology and English Literature, what's' the plan when they are finished?
HM. I finish school on Wednesday 17th June and if everything goes to plan by Thursday 18th June I will be in Holland with the GB under 23's team preparing to ride a stage race. That day I will become a full time bike rider. I've already spent quite a bit of time in Belgium with the academy girls, but shared the time with 6th form.
BC. I know you will have set yourself goals, what are your short term objectives?
HM. For the rest of this season my main objective is to find my feet as a full time bike rider, I need to get used to longer road events, to be useful as a team member, as the girls out in Belgium are doing really well on the road and learn as much as I can.
BC. What do you hope to have achieved by the end of the season?
HM. The World Cup in Manchester in October is a major target for me this year. I hope to be selected for the women's squad, with rides in the individual and team pursuit. The squad at the moment is based around Rebecca Romero, Wendy Houvenaghel, Joanna Rowsell and Lizzie Armitstead. They are all champions and well established so it will be tough fighting for a place, but I hope I can get up there with them and challenge them for a spot in the squad.
BC. How do you think going full-time will affect your performance?
HM. Hugely. It will give me more time to ride, but I won't have loads of time on my hands, the academy will take care of that. I won't have to worry about A' level coursework and deadlines, that will be the main difference.
BC. Where will you be based?
HM. The BC academy house in Oudenaarde, Belgium for the summer, and one of the BC apartments in Manchester for the winter. In Belgium I will be sharing with Anna Blyth, Joanna Rowsell, Katie Colclough, Lucy Martin, Alex Greenfield and Jess Allen.
BC. Who structures the academy week?
HM. Simon Cope (BC Women's coach) structures the training and racing but the girls are left to themselves to sort out the house and apartments.
BC. Surely with all those World and European Champions BC arranges for someone to come in fill the fridge, do the washing and look after your every need?
HM. You are joking, we do all that, and we wouldn't expect anything else. We are there to ride our bikes, the staff look after us when we are racing but we do the rest. The cooking is shared out so it takes the pressure off as you only have to cook a main meal about once a week. The house is well equipped with everything a bike rider needs like washing machines, wireless internet, so we can keep in touch with family and friends via email, and keep in touch with Simon (Cope) with our training diaries and schedules.
BC. What about things to do off the bike in Belgium?
HM. We are there to ride our bikes, and it's just the same as having a job, there are certain expectations, but it's a dream job and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, anywhere else. There are periods of time when you can travel home, but you can't just come home when you feel like it.
BC. What drives you to pursue a career as a cyclist, you could easily have chosen to go to university and had a relatively easy life.
HM. University wouldn't have been an easy option it can be very hard work, but I want to be Olympic champion, that's what drives me, I don't want to waste any talent I might have. I'm OK at cycling and I want to make the most of it. I don't do it for my family or any of the coaches I've had, I do it for myself.
BC. London 2012 or 2016, which will be your Olympic year?
HM. Well I've got to get selected first. 2012 I will be 21, and 2016 I will be 25. Nicole Cooke was 26 when she won Gold, Jason Kenny was 20. I don't know, I just hope to keep improving, I'm under no illusions about what I have to do to get up there. At the moment I have a long way to go, but I'm steadily getting there.
The interview and photographs over I packed up whilst Hannah and her family got ready to travel to Windermere for the Bank Holiday weekend. I can confidently report back that Hannah Mayho is well on course for a glittering career as a cyclist. Since I first interviewed her in 2006 she has dealt with the inevitable loss of form and setbacks which affect most bike riders, but she has not lost the grit and determination I saw in that 15 year old novice rider. As I drove away I wondered if it might be a good idea to go straight to William Hills and get my bet on, what odds would they give me for this 18 year old Yorkshire girl winning the individual or team pursuit at London 2012? I could store the betting slip with the one I have for Ben Swift winning the Tour de France within the next 10 years, the double will make me not only a proud Yorkshire man but more importantly a few quid in my back pocket!
Allez, Allez Hannah.
