BRITISH TRACK CYCLING STAR WILL TIDBALL REVISITS SPEEDWAY ROOTS

Cycle Speedway is a form of cycling racing performed on a 70-90m long oval dirt track, combining elements of both track cycling and speedway. Similar to traditional motorbike speedway, riders use bikes without brakes or multiple gears.

Last weekend, Will returned to his speedway roots by attending the FIM Speedway of Nations Final in Manchester where he watched the Brits claim the SON world title in dramatic fashion. 

“When I was younger, I wanted to be a motocross rider. I used to go around my grandad's yard, pretending I was riding motocross and doing Speedway, imagining I was Valentino Rossi. 

"My grandad sold turf, and one day someone came to buy turf and saw me riding around the garden. They asked, ‘Does he always do this?’ My grandad replied, ‘Yeah, he’s obsessed with riding around.’ The man suggested I give cycle speedway a go. So, I started at the age of six, and it took off from there. I won my first national title at the age of eight and continued until I was 16. When I was 14, I began track and road cycling because you can’t do cycle speedway professionally.”

Since choosing track cycling, Will has had an incredibly successful career, winning World, European and National Championship titles. However, he will sadly not be able to add an Olympic title to his list of accolades this year. 

“This year has been a bit of a weird one. I had Epstein-Barr, so I pretty much haven't touched my bike for months because I was just so empty and tired. I was sleeping for 18 hours a day, and I couldn't do anything. Sadly, this meant that the Olympics weren’t on the cards. Recently, I've been getting back on the bike and luckily the World Championships are in October so hopefully I’ll be back for that. I’m hoping to win the elimination race this time around! Prior to that is Tour of Britain, which is a bit more touch and go. And then obviously, the UCI Track Champions League is a big focus. I loved it last season and it would be even better to go back this year in a rainbow jersey.” 

Last season, Will finished runner-up in the men’s endurance category after a close battle with Canada’s Dylan Bibic. He hopes to get back on track for another head-to-head this season. 

"I think it was interesting last year because I won Worlds, and he won it the year before. After the Tour of Britain, I completely backed off, took some time off, and just lived a normal life, while he carried on. I spoke to him recently, and he said, ‘I'm going to carry on to the Olympics and have no time off the bike.’ So, we'll have to see what he’s like this season!"

Season four of the UCI Track Champions League gets underway on 23 November in Olympic Games Paris 2024 velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines before heading to Apeldoorn (29-30 November) and London (6 and 7 December).