S1 Ep1: Brother UK Cycling Podcast - Dean Downing (part one)

Welcome to the first episode of the new Brother UK Cycling podcast. Co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK, talk to Dean Downing, a legend of the British road scene. Dean is the former British circuit race and madison champion and is now among the sport’s most sought-after coaches.

In part one, Dean talks about the early phases of his career. He begins by describing a happy childhood spent in the Yorkshire mining village of Thurcroft, where he and his brother Russell were taught how to race by their father, Ken Downing. Dean then discusses moving to London to pursue a career in construction management and later to Belgium to begin racing full-time.

He describes winning the British madison title with Russell and representing Great Britain in the same event at rounds of the 2003/04 UCI Track World Cup and the 2004 World Championships. He describes forming lifelong friendships through cycling from Australia to Flanders and reveals how he discovered training with power data late in his career. Dean explains how this revelation now helps him to coach the new generation of British professionals.

Dean, Phil and Tim are joined by Larry Hickmott, founder and editor of VeloUK.net and unofficially the hardest working man in UK cycling. Larry shares his memories of Dean’s career and offers insights from his hard-earned position at the heart of the domestic sport.  

Please note, this episode was recorded before UK Government measures to enforce social distancing. Brother UK strongly endorses the government’s advice and urges listeners to this podcast to #stayhomesavelives.