Rebecca Romero

A year in 20 photographs 14/20  – riding with Olympian Rebecca Romero

Part of my job as a chaperone on the many events I work on is to keep the area around the celebrity rider safe. As we ride we have a full support convoy around us, including motorcycle out-riders, the medic car behind, and a tracking car in front of us with a TV camera facing our direction. 

That protective bubble around us is there for safety, and to allow filming. We often get a lot of other cyclists wanting to join us on the road and meet the celebrity. Unfortunately, we need to maintain that bubble as clean as possible, so I often have to ask the cyclists to say a quick “hello”, and then carry on through.

When riding with Paddy McGuinness this year we were heading out of Wrexham when this cyclist rode alongside us. She said she wanted to say hello, then she would keep going. I instantly recognised her as Gold medal-winning track cyclist, Rebecca Romero. I wasn’t going to let her escape with just a “hello”. So I introduced her to Paddy and we had a chat. Her appearance was unplanned, but a wonderful surprise. She was out commuting on her bike and happened to see us ahead, so she decided to catch us.

A golden age of British cycling

Rebecca Romero was the first British woman ever to compete in two different sports at the Olympic Games. In her first sport, rowing, she won a silver medal at Athens in 2004. Then, in 2008 she won gold in the individual pursuit track race at the Beijing Olympics. In winning the gold, she also became the second woman of any country to win a medal in two sports at the Summer Games.

She started cycling, just at the start of the golden age of British cycling that was about to explode. At the Beijing Olympics, Team GB dominated the cycling events winning eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals. This includes the stunning gold win that Nicole Cooke took in the pouring rain at the women’s road race. I remember watching it and marveling at all these riders, knowing that the likes of Rebecca Romero, Nicole Cooke, Victoria Pendleton, Joanna Rowsell, et al, would become household names and inspirations for thousands of cyclists across the UK.

I knew I would be riding with Sir Chris Hoy later that week, so the surprise of riding with another Olympian was the icing on the cake.

Find out more about cycling holidays in Scotland with Skinny Tyres