Michael Hutchinson
Michael Hutchinson is a writer, journalist and former professional cyclist. As a rider he won multiple national titles in both Britain and Ireland and competed at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He was a three-time Brompton folding-bike World Champion, and once hit 73 mph riding down a hill in Wales. His Dr Hutch columns appears in every issue of Cycling Weekly magazine
As a writer, he wrote the award winning The Hour about his attempt on the sport’s most famous and sought-after record. He followed that up with Faster, about the training, the science the genetics and the luck behind the world’s fastest riders, and Re:Cyclists, a history of cyclists from 1816 to the present day.
He’s written for outlets ranging from Cycling Weekly to the New York Times, and has presented and and commentated for the BBC, Eurosport, Channel 4, and Sky Sports.
Before he did any of that he was a legal academic at Cambridge and Sussex universities. He now lives with far too many bicycles in London and Cambridgeshire.
Latest articles by Michael Hutchinson
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I'm still agnostic on tubeless tyres for road bikes – are they better or just different?
Dr Hutch weighs in on the tubes vs tubeless debate and concludes little
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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TV commentators would make great sports directors, but could they drive in the race convoy?
Dr Hutch has done a bit of TV commentating himself, and he's the first to admit he'd make a terrible DS
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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Science was telling us wider tyres were faster, we refuted this because they looked so slow
Doctor Hutch gets all misty eyed over rock hard, 19mm wide racing tyres - they just looked so Goddamn fast!
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'I've known occasions where a star's bike has attracted more attention than they did' – how to race against your heroes with Dr Hutch
Staying cool when a big name turns up at your local race is mandatory.
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'If you look hard enough, there are always things to complain about' – Dr Hutch on the delights of cycling on the coldest days
The Doc's friend Bernard lives for stoicism bragging rights
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'The other problem is that it’s not going to slow things down very much' – rating the UCI's rules and regulation updates of 2025
The UCI’s tireless crusade for a safer, slicker sport produced plenty of talking points in 2025
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'You've heard of junk miles? Well I've invented junk intensity' – Dr Hutch on why you should ditch training and just go for a ride
Half-arsed training isn't even fooling Dr Hutch himself
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'When I get in from a ride I now have to carry out an electronic device charging audit' – Dr Hutch on the tech perils of modern cycling
Weighing up the mixed blessing of cycling gadgets
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'The Tour de France throws a match into the box of fireworks and lets the whole lot go off at once' – Dr Hutch on the madness of cycling's biggest race
The Doc hails the dizzying insanity of sport's most dazzling spectacle
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'When I look back at what has been going through my mind, I find the tapes are missing' – the joys of cycling on your own
Riding alone is a blissfully thought-free zone for this rider
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'It's a dull stretch of tarmac and I've spent 170 hours of my life on it' - Dr Hutch has tackled the same stretch of road more times than he'd like
The Doc takes a ride down memory lane - for the 2,000th time...
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'I’m the cycling equivalent of the reserve goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle' - How Dr Hutch explains why he's never ridden the Tour
The Tour de France is still the only race that counts for ‘them’, says Dr Hutch
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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The UCI's latest rule changes are designed to make us all a little more old-fashioned
Cycling's governing body likes nothing more than to measure things. And then decide they're banned.
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'Even dropping dead on the spot would have seemed overly aggressive on my part' - Dr Hutch on the trials and tribulations of ultra cycling
Saintly helpers make ultra-distance time trials tough to quit
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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The end of the Giro d'Italia was the essence of cycling – 'someone else should do it,' is our mantra
Dr Hutch on Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz vs Simon Yates at the Giro d'Italia
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'My downstairs loo features a couple of pictures of me racing. I look ridiculous' - Dr Hutch wonders if TT helmets have ruined cycling photography
The UCI's new rule, banning TT helmets from road racing, couldn't have come soon enough for some people
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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The stress-free way to deal with a major technical issue on your bike, is to ignore it
When Dr Hutch clattered through a massive pothole, he didn't dare check his rim. He figured he was better off not knowing
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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If you had any talent people would get offended if you didn't make the most of it
Dr Hutch was regularly told that he was wasting his time if he didn't try road racing
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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Some riders joined us on the road, they'd clearly been sent by God just to annoy my friend Bernard
Four riders good. Eight riders very very bad, says the Doc
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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Jeremy Vine has had enough of the online abuse and threats, and you can't blame him for that
Sadly no drivers watched the videos and thought 'Oh my gosh! I did just that the other day, and that poor rider must have been terrified!'
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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'The better it is the less there is to talk about' - the impossible task of the post-ride chat
Dr Hutch fails the post-ride family interview every time
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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Being a pro cyclist was sanctioned selfishness, but now I have to go to birthday parties
Cycling Weekly's columnist, Dr Hutch, is out of excuses to get out of bad social events now he doesn't have to train as much
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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Motor racing drivers take a test, so why not pro cyclists?
Points could be up for grabs for knocking riders off bikes, soaking your manager in energy drinks and dodging TV cameras, imagines CW's columnist
By Michael Hutchinson Published
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If safety was really the priority of racing, we’d be doing it online
We’ll need to get more radical to reduce the risks of racing, says CW's columnist
By Michael Hutchinson Published
