Making memories afresh: One young racer's indomitable double comeback

As a super-ambitious young racer, Tom Townsend devoted himself to chasing results – until two serious crashes forced a change in perspective

Tom Townsend on his bike
(Image credit: Andrew Sydenham)

This article was originally published in Cycling Weekly's print edition as part of the long-running MY FITNESS CHALLENGE series.

In 2018, his last year at school, Tom Townsend added 80 watts to his threshold power and only A-levels stood in the way of his making a serious tilt at bike racing. By summer 2019, school was finally out and he was free to unscrew the lid on his teenage ardour. “That season I went from fourth-cat to second-cat and raced a few National Bs,” says the 22-year-old, speaking to me by video call from his living room in High Wycombe. “But then the first crash wiped me out.” 

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David Bradford
Features editor

David Bradford is features editor of Cycling Weekly (print edition). He has been writing and editing professionally for more than 15 years, and has published work in national newspapers and magazines including the Independent, the Guardian, the Times, the Irish Times, Vice.com and Runner’s World. Alongside his love of cycling, David is a long-distance runner with a marathon PB of two hours 28 minutes. Having been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2006, he also writes about sight loss and hosts the podcast Ways of Not Seeing.