Professional road cycling in Great Britain went though a heyday of sorts in the 1980s. With two major international stage races (Milk Race and Tour of Britain) held each year, as well as a fairly comprehensive domestic road racing calendar, the “bread and butter” for most of the UK-based professional riders involved a fully televised series of criteriums sponsored by Kellogg's. This meant that there were quite a few home-based professional teams too. As far as the cream of the crop of this racing scene was concerned, one name that stood out was that of Chris Lillywhite. A prolific winner on the criterium circuit as well as victory in the last ever edition of the Milk Race, a lesser known fact is that Chris plied his trade abroad on several occasions, including regular soujourns to the Southern Hemisphere. Case in point the Commnwealth Bank Classic of 1995.
'I was part of the British national team that competed in the World Championships in Duitama in Colombia that year,' says Chris. 'And this meant we had the opportunity to prepare at altitude in Colorado for a good few weeks leading up to the championships. So I was in good form.'
The 1995 Worlds were held in the city of Duitama. Located northeast of Bogotá, Duitama lies at over 2,500m above sea level. The combination of this high altitude and a parcours of extreme difficulty saw just fifteen or twenty finishers in the pro men's road race, famously won by Spain's Abraham Olano on a flat rear tyre.
'I wasn't expecting to feature in Colombia at all,' he explains. 'Simply put, I wasn't up to the standard of the European-based riders and was just there to play a part in helping Max Sciandri in the pro road race. I lasted around half of the race before pulling out.
'From there we went straight to Australia,' he continues. 'And we were pretty much flying once we arrived. The combination of almost a month of full time training at altitude together with competing in one of the hardest Worlds in history meant that we were in pretty good condition for the Commonwealth Bank Classic. Plus there was very strong field that year.'
'You could earn a pretty good living racing in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s,' he explains. 'And with teams like Raleigh-Banana, we got to ride some pretty good races abroad too. So we had the best of both worlds really. Back then, it was far more difficult for an English-speaking rider to make it on the continent. Which just made me admire guys like Sean Yates and Robert Millar even more. Bearing in mind that one would have to leave home and family behind and ride in Europe, often for much a lower wage to just get going...for me it was a no brainer really. Things worked out really well in for me racing in the UK, but I can't help but look back and think what might have been.'
Interestingly, Chris had the distinction of turning pro with one ill-fated British squad trying to “make it” in European racing, only to finish his career with another short-lived project of similar ambitions. What then were his impressions of these two experiences?
'To put things in context, I turned professional with ANC-Halfords as a 19 year old,' he remembers. 'My 1987 race program included Paris-Nice, Ghent-Wevelgem and the Amstel Gold Race; that wouldn't happen nowadays for a neo-pro. But it was the experience of a lifetime and I actually finished all those races. Then I was actually selected for the Tour de France that year but turned it down as I figured that I was way too young. But ANC-Halfords went bust during the Tour. And to finish off my career, I spent a year riding for Team Linda McCartney, before moving into a managerial role with them for the 2000 season as the squad began to grow.'
But Team Linda McCartney was on borrowed time. Despite a steady upward trajectory , including selection for the 2000 Giro d'Italia, the team imploded through bankruptcy in Australia before the 2001 season even got underway. Like all of his fellow riders and staff, Chris was left unemployed overnight. Nevertheless, he returned to the UK and got on with life.
'After the McCartney fiasco, I pretty much turned my back on the sport,' he says. 'I got on with real life, fortunately having my heat engineering qualification to fall back on. It was a good ten years before I got involved with sport again, working with some teams as a sporting director. I spent five years working with Team Wiggins, and that was really good. One thing I've realised is that I really enjoy working with young riders, helping them and nurturing them. The young guys are generally eager to learn, so it's rewarding to work with real talent.'
And what about his own health and fitness? Does Chris still ride a bike?
'Of course,' he says emphatically. 'I never really stopped riding once my career ended, and have always kept as fit as possible. Look, I'm not going to do any sportive rides or vets races – that's not my style at all. But I do ride fairly regularly as work and family commitments permit.'
Header image courtesy of @PhilOCPhotos
