A LOCAL mountain bike rider has aspirations of becoming one of the world’s best after he recorded his highest-ever finish at a Cycling World Championships event.

Tom Martin, 24, from Kirkby-in-Furness, represented Great Britain in the Mountain Bike Cross County Marathon event at the 2023 UCI World Cycling Championships on Sunday finishing 42nd place.

120 starters from 35 nations embarked on the 62-mile course at Glentress Forest near Peebles in Scotland which saw riders climb in addition of 10,000 ft over open moorland before descending down tricky trails.

 

“I was really pleased with how I raced,” he said. "I got into a good rhythm with a former European and World Champion as well as some other strong guys. I was close to the front of the race in a solid group all day."

Tom drastically improved on his 90th finish in the World Championship last year in Denmark, and he now has his sights set on finishing even higher.

He added: “It was a big improvement from last year. I was one of the top amateurs to finish. It’s nice to know I can compete with professional athletes who are full-time riders.

“It was an unreal feeling to be racing in front of a home crowd and being cheered on by so many people. Some of my family came to watch.  It was a very special occasion.

“It wasn’t as hard as I expected, but it was still extremely hard. It’s all about if you have the legs on the day to do it, not really a case of how hard it is.

“I can take this forward now and improve even more.”

The 24-year-old who works full time at BAE Systems is now preparing for a British National Road Series race on August 20 before going road racing in Italy.