Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dean Downing – Still Living His Dream

-

HomeInterviewsDean Downing - Still Living His Dream

This is the first in a series of articles in which we explore racing in Belgium, and chat to a few guys that “have done it the hard way”, outside of “The Plan”, and on their own. To kick us off, we caught up with Rapha Condor star Dean Downing between Tour Series criteriums.

Dean Downing
Deano raced in the heartland for several years.

‘Deano’ may be well known for his high-profile wins in Premier Calendar races and riding madisons on the track with brother Russ, but he actually learnt his trade racing on the Belgian cobbles, way back in 2000.

“I raced for the Kingsnorth International Wheelers, and loved the racing and way of life. I stayed on in Belgium for ’01, ’02 and ’03 and raced with the Belgian John Saey team, living with a family in Beveren Waas for those 3 years.”

“The Kingsnorth was run by Staf Boone in Gent, but my contact came via Peter Murphy back in the UK. Numbers in the club went up and down as riders came and went, but it was all English-speaking ‘foreign’ riders: Aussies; Kiwis; Americans; and a few Brits too.”

Dean Downing
Deano – no regrets about doing it the hard way.

To get the ball rolling, Dean took the initiative himself and rang Peter, who passed on Staf’s details. Dean rang Staf from his home and discussed the deal, and in no time flat had jumped on the ferry with his bike, and found himself in a room rented from Staf.

“I got to race in some pretty big Inter-Club races in Belgium and France, and all the local kermis’s.

“In the summer, July / August we could race four times a week, in an area of around 30 miles around Gent, and it was pretty easy to get there – we would either ride one way / both ways, or go in the big van. That was a laugh; it had cinema seats in the back bolted to the floor.

“The Inter-Clubs we did were always selected by Staf and they were usually on current form so we always put on a good show.”

We’ve heard Dean in the races, able to pass on his views to fellow riders in Flemish, and over the four years spent racing in Belgium he ended up speaking the language pretty well.

“At the end of 2001 I worked in the winter with my sponsor John Saey – that was a building company, so my vocabulary was probably a little distorted but the words I learnt were certainly helpful in the bunch! After that I went to school to learn it a few days a week, but it was pretty hard to pick up. The swearing phrases are some of the funniest in any language, I still us them today in the english peloton!”

Dean Downing
Deano is very happy now, racing in the UK for Rapha.

One of Dean’s favourite results was winning his first kermis in August 2000;

“I got away with an ex-Pro six day rider and he was pretty confident of beating me (I was told afterwards). He lead it out and I came round him on the line – I was pretty happy. The best thing about that ride though was that we became friends and I rode some track races with him in the winter at the end of the season.

“I had a lot of Inter-Club podiums in my John Saey colours, and the team director Lucienne DeWilde (6-day legend Etienne DeWilde’s elder brother) was always proud of me – that made me work hard in all my races, and I had some great top five results in those three years.

“I raced against quite a few guys who went on to do something in the sport, such as Tom Boonen, Philip Gilbert, Kevin Van Impe, Jurgen Vandewalle, and Wouter Weylend.

“There are plenty of funny stories I could recount, both on and off the bike, but maybe one day I’ll put them in a book; ‘The Belgium Years’!”

The Belgian sojourne came to an end in 2003 when Dean won the Madison champs with Russ, they were welcomed onto ‘the Plan’ [the GB Track Team World Class Performance Plan] and had 2 good years racing in the World Cups.

Dean Downing
Deano and brother Russ at the Ghent Six, 2004.

“We also rode the World Track Champs in Melbourne, and during those two great years I was with Charlie Jackson’s Recycling.co.uk UK pro team.

“Now I’ve been back in the UK for the last three seasons with Rapha Condor and I’m still ‘living my dream’ – I know I’m loving my bike racing at the minute.

“I have absolutely no regrets about doing it my way, but it wasn’t easy. I know a lot of guys go abroad themselves to give racing a go, and that’s the best thing they can do.

“The guys on the British Cycling Academy Programme have a great opportunity to make a career out of cycling, but it’s not a sure thing – they all have to work very hard towards their personal goals, and so everyone really is in the same boat. Main thing to remember though is that hard work normally pays off in the end.”

Thanks for the time Deano, and all the best for the rest of the season here in the UK.

Martin Williamson
Martin Williamson
Martin is our Editor and web site Designer/Manager. He concentrates on photography. He's been involved in cycle racing for over four decades and raced for much of that time, having a varied career which included time trials, road and track racing - and triathlons. Martin has been the Scottish 25 Mile TT and 100 Mile TT Champion, the British Points Race League Champion on the track, and he won a few time trials in his day, particularly hilly ones like the Tour de Trossachs and the Meldons MTT.

Related Articles

Kyle Gordon – At Altitude on Mount Teide

Last season, after the Scottish Kilometre Championship we said that not many 100 milers have become kilometre riders. We were talking about that man Kyle Gordon, and he's done it again, stepping up to Bronze in the British Kilo Championship with fellow HUUB man and Scot, Jonny Wale taking gold.

Matt Rendell – “I want to X-ray the Colombian National Psyche”

That Matt Rendell bloke, who’s on the tele, always asking folk questions? Isn’t it time someone asked him some questions? Especially since he’s got a new book out about one of his passions; Colombian Cycling – ‘Colombia Es Pasion’...

Star of the Future: Luke Rowe – Already a Winner

It's not every day that a GB rider wins a Netherlands amateur classic; but that's exactly what 19 year-old Welshman Luke Rowe did recently in De 'arjaan De Schipper Trofee'-to give it the full Dutch treatment - a race won by a certain Fabian Cancellara, a few years ago.

Jakob Fuglsang Takes Us Inside His Spring Classics Season

In English we’d say, ‘Birdsong’ – in Danish it’s ‘Fuglsang.’ Despite the fact that he seems to have been around for a long, long time, Jakob Fuglsang is still only 28 with his best years as a stage race rider surely yet to come. We felt we needed a proper look inside an Ardennes Classic; so who better to speak to than Amstel top 20 finisher, said Mr. Fuglsang?

At Random

Harm Ottenbros

Rest in Peace, Dutchman Harm Ottenbros who died recently at 78 years-of-age.

Dave Le Grys – “One day I’ll be happy to ride my bike through the lanes”

Dave Le Grys has been on the British track scene since I was a junior-that's a long time. In part three of our "left-field" track riders we wanted to have a word with the man who was winning track medals in 1973 - and nearly 40 years later is still winning them.

Katie Archibald – Scotland’s Newest World Champion!

It’s not along since we interviewed Katie Archibald – as a member of the GB team which took the world record for the ladies four kilometre team pursuit at the World Cup in Mexico at the end of last year. We make no apology for speaking to her again – but this time we speak to her as world champion in the discipline.

Mark Christian – Raleigh’s Young Manxman Enjoys a Good Season Start

A nice result we spotted recently was Raleigh’s Mark Christian taking a top ten on stage two of the tough Tour du Haut Var. We decided to have a word with yet another product of that sea air on the Isle of Man.