Alastair Kay

IF ever there was a spokesman for all things Great Britain then it has to be York’s newest world champion. In ruling the globe, Alastair Kay, the have bike will take on the rest maestro, imperiously displayed an indomitable bulldog spirit.

And his ace accomplishment was achieved amid an environment steeped in empire and resonating with the unquenchable spirit of its most famous modern-day resident.

Kay stunned the cycling world when he seized the world Brompton cycling championship.

Not only did he defy the odds of being up against a top-calibre and multi-professional field, he also did so in only his second time aboard one of the celebrated Brompton machines.

These particular bicycles, initially designed to be the city commuter’s best transport friend, fold away to an easily carried dimension. Indeed, such are the unique rules of the Brompton world championship that competitors have to dress like city gents, donning a suit, collar and tie as they pedal furiously around the chosen track.

This was the third Brompton world championship, the first held in Britain and the first to be won by a Briton.

And to cap a memorable day, the 32-year-old Kay’s KO of his illustrious opponents was achieved at none less a venue than Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of Britain’s Second World War inspirational leader Sir Winston Churchill.

To say that Kay demonstrated Churchillian virtues in claiming his world crown was an understatement.

All expectations among the 1,000-strong field and the assembled spectators was that one of a pack of professional cyclists from Europe would win. The overall feeling was that former three-time Tour de Spain winner Roberto Heras, a former team-mate of Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong, was the favourite to conquer the two laps of six and half kilometres around the historic home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough.

As the first wave of finishers rattled home, Heras was already proclaimed the winner. But when the second wave of riders got in, headed by Acomb-based Kay, he had shaded the Spaniard by three seconds.

Recalled Kay: “They all thought Heras had won. But then, at the last minute, I was invited on to the podium, and I discovered to everyone else’s surprise that I had won. There I was up on the stage with my two daughters (Libby, aged four and Jessie, aged one) and they announced I had won. To many of those people watching they probably couldn’t believe that here was ‘this old guy’ taking the championship from one of the world’s top riders.

“It was quite a scene and I had to chuckle to myself that I had seen off almost an Armada of Spanish riders to win the event.” Besides Heras, places three to six were occupied by Spanish riders from the Cap Problema works team.

Kay, who has been riding as ‘an enthusiastic amateur’ for the past dozen or so years for the York Cycleworks team, out of the co-operative shop of that name based in Lawrence Street, trailed Heras by 11 seconds after the first lap. But the true Brit brilliantly erased the deficit to come home first in the second lap for an overall time of 21 minutes and 59 seconds, the only rider below 22 minutes.

Not bad at all for a rider who had only had one outing on the Brompton bike which was in the York Cycleworks store run by Andrew Manson and Martyn Miller.

All three had had a chat about the event just a few weeks before and Kay decided to take up the opportunity of entering the championships, which had previously been held in Barcelona.

While Kay was being modest about his ‘old guy’ status, there was barely a fitter competitor on duty at the Oxfordshire-based stately home.

Besides cycling the 18 miles each day there and then back from his home in Acomb to his work as a recruitment officer in Bubwith near Selby, Kay has been cycling for about 15 years, competing at elite level across the country for the past decade.

He first took to the sport alongside Charlie Wegelius, who also hailed from North Yorkshire and was one of the few Britons to compete in the 2007 Tour de France.

He has also represented Scotland and competed abroad, though has mainly raced competitively in Britain.

Besides Wegelius he cited the likes of the late Peter Longbottom and John Watson, plus the efforts of his former club VC York, as evidence of how the sport boasted a rich heritage in and around York.

“The city has produced quite a number of top riders over the years. There’s a tradition here and it’s being carried on by Clifton Cycling Club who are presently enjoying a lot of success,” said Kay.

“The renaissance in cycling has also been helped by the recent superb successes of the British cycling team in the Beijing Olympics. With the team doing so well it has rubbed off in enthusiasm and in such a positive response.”