Brother
  1. Home Brother
  2. Cycling
  3. Brother Cycling Podcast
  4. 2022
  5. Episode 23: “Grace Lister Interview”

Brother UK Cycling Podcast – Episode 23

Episode Description

Grace Lister is a young rider in a hurry. Already this year, she’s represented Team England at the Commonwealth Games, pulled on a Team GB jersey for the junior European track championships and won four British titles in the colours of Team Brother UK-Orientation Marketing.

We caught up with Grace during a rare week at home in Shrewsbury as she prepared to fly to Israel for the world junior track championships in her pursuit of a rainbow jersey to add to the maillots of European and British champion already hanging in her wardrobe. 

Enjoy this interview with a blossoming talent. At 18, the cycling world is already Grace’s oyster, but she is mature, grounded and willing to work hard for every accolade. As co-title sponsor of her domestic road team, we’re delighted to play a small part in her blossoming career.

 
The Brother UK Cycling Podcast

Subscribe to the newsletter keeping domestic road cycling fans up to speed

Subscribe

Episode 23: Grace Lister Interview

Episode contents

  • 00.02 – Introduction
  • 00.39 – Hello And Welcome
  • 01.37 – Part One: A Dream Season
  • 06.20 – Part Two: London Calling
  • 12.38 – Part Three: This Sporting Life
  • 19.23 – Part Four: Brother UK - Orientation Marketing
  • 24.52 – Part Five: International Engagements

Transcript

Introduction

Timothy John

“If your passion lies in elite British road racing and you want an inside line on the teams, riders, organisers and sponsors that make this sport such a compelling spectacle, you’re in the right place.

“I’m Timothy John and joining me for every episode is my co-host, the Managing Director of Brother UK, Phil Jones.”

Phil Jones 

“Thanks, Tim. It’s great to be here. We’re going to use this platform to talk about all the key issues surrounding the sport. With special guests, deep dives into hot topics and plenty of chat, we’ll keep you informed about all things UK racing. Stay tuned!”

Hello and welcome

Timothy John

“Hello and welcome to this new edition of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, where today we’re joined by Grace Lister from Team Brother UK-Orientation Marketing. 

“Grace is a young rider in a hurry. She joins us soon after winning three titles at the National Youth and Junior Championships at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome in Wales and soon after helping Dame Laura Kenny to win scratch race gold at the Commonwealth Games.

“Grace started this year as she meant to go on by winning the senior national women’s team pursuit title with Brother UK-Orientation Marketing team-mates Ellen Bennett, Holly Ramsey and Izzy Sharp. 

“And if that wasn’t enough, Grace is also a member of British Cycling’s junior Olympic Academy. She was part of the Team GB quartet that won the junior European women’s team

pursuit title in 2021 in a world record time, and this year has gained valuable experience in Nations Cup events on the road. 

“Her appearances on UK roads have been few this season but impressive. She finished in the top ten at the Women’s CiCLE Classic and sixth at the Otley GP, both in Team Brother UK-Orientation Marketing colours: two very different races demanding very different skills. 

“Grace’s season is not done yet. Later this month, she’ll travel to Israel to represent Great Britain at the world junior track championships, and she hopes to head on to Australia for the world road race championships in September. 

“Grace, thank you very much indeed for joining us.” 

Grace Lister

“Thank you for having me.”

INTERLUDE

Part One: A Dream Season

Timothy John

“Well, Grace, thanks again for joining us, and thank you for sitting through that very lengthy intro, but it’s been a heck of a season, hasn’t it?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, it’s been really busy, and it’s not finished yet. 

“I’ve had quite a busy block of racing in the last two weeks. It’s been good, but it’s also been quite tiring, but it’s all been worth it, which is the main thing.”

Timothy John

“So are you enjoying a rare night off this evening? It’s a pretty boring Wednesday in August. What have you been doing today? Booking flights? Training? Or have you actually had a day off?”

Grace Lister

“I have been training today. I’ve got a day off tomorrow, so that’s something to look forward to. I had a two-hour ride this morning. I’ve actually got this week at home, which is not normal for me. It’s going to be quite nice to relax. It’s going to be my first week at home since about June.”

Timothy John

“Do you get out on the local loops that you’ve ridden for as long as you’ve been a cyclist?”

Grace Lister

“I’ve lived in Shrewsbury for the past three years. I’m pretty used to all the roads now. It’s not far from where we used to live, so, yeah, I’m on local roads.”

Timothy John

“This time last week, you were winning national titles. I think in the intro, I only mentioned two of them: points and Madison. Have I got that right?”

Grace Lister

“I won the scratch as well, yeah.”

Timothy John

“My goodness. Three national titles in a single week. Which of them gives you the greatest satisfaction? Two individual titles, of course, the points and the scratch, and one with your team-mate Izzy. Which one do you cherish the most?”

Grace Lister

“The Madison was definitely one. That was the one at the start of the week. I wanted to win that with Izzy. It had  always been a target – a small target - from the start of the year: if we could win that together, it would be pretty nice. 

“But the points races was my first individual jersey, so that was pretty special as well. Yeah, they all mean quite a bit.”

Timothy John

“Of course, you already had a national senior title that you’d won with Brother UK-Orientation Marketing back in March. Did that come as a surprise, given the youth of the team: three juniors and an under-23?”

Grace Lister

“I was not expecting that in the slightest. We’d done a couple of sessions together just to prepare a little bit, and we went in saying: ‘If we get a medal, it will be a good result for us.’ That was one that wasn’t expected.”

Timothy John

“And last week, as we say, three titles in one week. Did you know you had good form? Had you kept the form that you had in the Commonwealth Games?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. I went into it pretty, you know…I didn’t know how I was going to go. I was pretty tired. I was pretty…I’d been racing like…Obviously, I’d gone straight from Portugal to London, and I’d had a heavy few weeks, and I’ve got Israel next week, so it was kind of a week that I had to train through, so I wasn’t really sure how I was going to be feeling, but it turns out I was alright, yeah.”

Timothy John

“You’ve raced at the best-known velodromes in this country. You were in London, of course, at the Olympic Velodrome for the Commonwealth Games. You were in Newport for the junior National Track Championships. Do you have a favourite venue?”

Grace Lister

“I think…I wouldn’t say I have. London, that was quite special to ride at a home games, so that was pretty cool, but I’m pretty central to all the velodromes. I’m here, there and everywhere all the time, at each one of them all the time so, yeah…”

Timothy John

“Do they all have individual characteristics? I mean, they’re standard 250m tracks at all of the major velodromes in the UK: at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome in Newport, at the Olympic Velodrome in London. Do they feel different?”

Grace Lister

“I always think that, like, UK velodromes are all pretty similar, I think. Glasgow is the one that I always get on, and that is a little bit different. The straights are a bit longer, and the bankings are a bit steeper, but London, Newport and Derby, they’re all very similar.”

 

Part Two: London Calling

Timothy John 

“Well, we mentioned the Commonwealth Games a moment ago and the Olympic Velodrome in London. I’m going to ask you to put that in some kind of context, starting right at the beginning.

“I know a bit of this story, but, for our listeners, can you tell us when and how you discovered that you’d been selected by Team England for what is arguably the biggest competition outside of the Olympic Games?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, it was my 18th birthday. I think I was still at home at this point. They’d sent out an email a couple of days prior, saying, ‘You’ll get the email in a couple of days as to whether you’re going or not.’

“I knew it was going to be around my birthday time. It just came by email. I wasn’t really sure when I first got it, which way it was going, but it was a pretty cool birthday present.”

Timothy John

“Not a bad way to celebrate your 18th birthday! But you needed some sort of clarification, didn’t you, from a friend? You’d read it and still not quite sussed that you’d been picked.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I sent it to my coach because, because I didn’t really understand what it was saying at the time. She told me that I’d been selected. It was a nice surprise.”

Timothy John

“Was it a jumping around the kitchen moment? Or did you just get on with your day?”

Grace Lister

“I went down and told my parents. I think my dad was home at the time. My mum was away with work, so I rang her and told her on the phone, which was quite cool.”

Timothy John

“I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate an 18th birthday than finding out you’d been picked for the Commonwealth Games.

“Did you get to the opening ceremony? I know you were busy winning national titles during the closing ceremony, but did you get to witness that incredible opening ceremony?”

Grace Lister

“No. It was the night before the first race, I think, and with us being in London, it was kind of difficult to get to. That was the only thing: we didn’t get to go to [the opening and closing ceremonies]. But the experience as a whole was pretty big.”

Timothy John

“It seems a heck of a long time ago now to me, goodness knows to someone of your age, but at the London Olympics in 2012, the velodrome was the place to be. Sir Paul McCartney turned up; so did Bradley Wiggins. I mean, everybody who’s anybody wanted to be in that velodrome. 

“I think it’s always retained that aura, hasn’t it? Wiggins set the World Hour Record there in 2015. A year later, he won the world Madison championships there with Mark Cavendish. Inevitably, Laura and Jason won world titles at the same championships. I mean, it’s a very special place.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I think having a home crowd. I mean, the races on the track that I’ve done, you don’t get crowds, never mind home crowds. It was something that you had to get a little bit used to, but I had the IP to settle me in a little bit to it. 

“It was pretty fun. It was pretty loud at times, but I think that all adds to the whole experience, and having it at home as well.”

Timothy John

“As you say, you kicked off your campaign at the Commonwealth Games with the individual pursuit. You set a personal best. You hit the boards running, so to speak. 

“But I guess the standout performance was that incredible ride in the scratch race final for Laura. Was that a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment, having watched Laura in 2012?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I think London 2012 set it off really well. I remember watching that when I was, like, I would have been about eight-years-old, and at that time, I didn’t understand what was going on, but you could still tell it was a pretty cool atmosphere.”

Timothy John

“Can that be daunting as well as inspiring? Or do you just challenge yourself to rise to the occasion?”

Grace Lister

“Not really. I think it’s pretty cool having someone like that in your own team, someone who’s done so well in the past and whom you’ve watched. You take a lot from them.”

Timothy John

“To share a track with Britain’s most successful female Olympian at the velodrome where she first entered the national conscious with Jo Rowsell and Dani King. They were arguably the poster girls for the entire Games.

“To ride out with Laura ten years later at the Commonwealth Games must have been a magical experience, and boy, did you seize the opportunity with both hands. 

“Tell us about that attack because that set up everything, didn’t it? It set up the last phase of the race.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. I think by this point that I knew the race was coming down to a sprint. Laura was obviously the best choice in most situations. It came round, five laps to go, and I knew that Laura would want the race lined out and want it to be quick. I knew that would suit her. I saw Sophie near the front and Laura on her wheel. 

“I thought, ‘Now is the time to go and just line it out and help Sophie do that,’ so I kind of started it off. Neah [Evans], one of the Scottish podium riders came with me. Sophie then was in front of Laura, and, as I came back, Sophie took over with about three laps to go. 

“Then, with about a lap-and-a-half to go, Laura came round and gap-rushed to Neah, and, yeah, she got the sprint in the end.”

Timothy John

“Amazing presence of mind here. It sounds like you weren’t entirely caught up in the moment; that you were cool enough to assess what was going on and to seize the moment. Clearly, you understood the tactical implications of what you were doing. That’s a pretty calm head on young shoulders.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I think watching it back, I definitely read the race in the last few laps quite well. At the time, you don’t really have time to think about it; you just kind of have to do it. Those are the decisions you have to make in a split second. Sometimes, you get it right, and sometimes you don’t, but you have to learn from it. 

“In that moment, I think, I just saw it, and I knew in that second the best thing to do to help Sophie and Laura.”

Timothy John

“What do you take away from that, Grace? That must send your confidence sky high: that you’re there on one of the biggest stages imaginable, and in that split-second of time, you get it right; you make the right decision. That must make you feel 10ft tall.”

Grace LIster

“Yeah. I think to know that I can go and do it at that level and put myself at the front of that bike race with five laps to go. Obviously, the biggest race I’d done before that would have been the junior Euros; people of my own age group. To know that I can go into bigger races like that and still hold my own…

“I didn’t know where I would be at that level, going into it, what to expect, but it gives you a good idea of where you’re at.”

INTERLUDE

Part Three: This Sporting Life

Timothy John

“The training, the physical side, is one thing, but having the tactical brain and the calmness to execute the strategy and to seize the moment when you see it, that’s something else.

“I guess part of that is hours and hours and hours of training and a lifetime on the bike. When did you first fall in love with cycling?”

Grace Lister

“I think it’s probably a gradual thing. When I was younger, I did a lot of sports, and it kind of gradually narrowed down to cycling, and, as I got older, I wanted to take that more seriously and felt that it was the one that I could do well in.

“I think I was about seven or something when my dad took me down to his old club in Wolverhampton, and I just started their youth training sessions. It was just another after-school activity and gradually became a bit more serious over time, really.”

Timothy John

“Which other sports were you pursuing?”

Grace Lister

“I started off doing swimming, tennis; just things after school; after-school clubs like netball. I ran cross-country for school and things like that, so it was a bit of a mix of everything.”

Timothy John

“What were you looking for in sport? Are you naturally a competitive person? Do you like to challenge yourself? Is it a sense of achievement that drives you? What attracts you to sport?”

Grace Lister

“I think as I was younger, I just got enjoyment out of it. It was something that you could do with your friends; just challenging yourself, as you say. 

“As I’ve got older, I’ve realised that this is something I could potentially do in the future; do it as a job and do it as a career. That would be pretty cool.”

Timothy John

“We had a long conversation in our most recent episode. We had Daisy with us, your team-mate from Brother UK - Orientation Marketing, and Ian Watson, who manages the Brother UK-LDN team and who has pretty much single-handedly built the women’s racing scene in London. 

“It’s funny, you know, even ten years ago, I wonder if it would have been such an obvious career path for a young female rider? It obviously hasn’t crossed your mind that it wouldn’t be, Grace. It’s clearly been a question of: ‘Cycling is something I do very well, and it could provide my living.'”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. I’ve grown up with it, watching over the last few years lots of people’s careers now, and I think the younger generation can take that forwards and realise that you haven’t got to work alongside; that it can be your career, for as long as it is. It’s good for everyone to see that and to inspire the younger generation of people coming through.”

Timothy John

“Yeah. 100 per cent. Who was your earliest inspiration? Was it watching Laura and Danni and Jo on the television at the Olympics? Or was it closer to home? Was it your Dad? You mentioned that he had been a member of Wolverhampton Wheelers.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I think my dad was definitely the one. Cycling, I don’t think, would have been something I would have chosen or got into if it hadn’t been for him. He’s definitely the one who started it off.

“And watching the Olympics when I was growing up, mainly London 2012. I mean, I didn’t really understand much about bike racing then, but I thought it was pretty cool. And then going on and watching Rio. I was a bit older and had been racing for a couple of years, so I had a better understanding of what was going on at that point.”

Timothy John

“It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? If you’ve watched a lot of cycling or, like you, done a lot of racing, you kind of just absorb this stuff, don’t you? But quite often, I’ll watch cycling with my family or my friends, and they haven’t got a clue what’s going on, especially with track racing, and you end up delivering long explanations, and you realise, actually, to an outsider, this is pretty confusing.”

Grace Lister

"Yeah."

Timothy John

“You’ve mentioned a couple of times, ‘getting serious’ about cycling. What sort of age were you when you first realised, ‘I can really do this’?”

Grace Lister

“At the end of 2020, I went onto the junior Academy, and I think, at that point, it became more of a lifestyle, and things started to revolve around my training, rather than my training fitting in with anything else. 

“At that point, I started thinking about taking it up a level, and the last two years I’ve had on the Academy have been pretty full on.”

Timothy John

“And how did that Academy opportunity present itself? Were you already on the books, so to speak, at British Cycling? Had they been following you as a youth? Did you have to go to a test session and prove yourself? Did they analyse your training data? How did the opportunity come about?”

Grace Lister,

“As a Youth A, I was on their apprentice programme. That’s a small group of riders from around the country; the best youth riders. We didn’t do a lot that year because it was lockdown. From March onwards, we didn’t get many opportunities. 

“I just remember getting selected for that - I think it was August, September time - and then going to Manchester for the first few camps of junior Academy. Normally, there’s a confirmation phase or something like that, but we didn’t have it that year. I think they knew at that point whom they wanted to take on.

"Yeah, I think when I got onto the junior Academy, that’s when I knew it was a getting a little bit more serious.”

Timothy John

“You mentioned that sudden change of priority: it wasn’t any longer a case of fitting training around other parts of your life; it was fitting other parts of your life around training.

“How challenging was that? You’ve just finished college, haven’t you?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. I think I get my results tomorrow. I think, with college, I’ve done it for the last two years, and I did a diploma in sport. I think I was in college only for two-and-a-half weeks. I’ve been able to work my training and timetable around that pretty well. It also gives me a bit of time to relax and do other ‘normal’ things, I guess.”

Timothy John

“Is that encouraged by the Academy? Do they want you to get an education? Do they give you time? Do they understand?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. They definitely want you to have an education. I think it’s always good to have something else to do. It lets your mind switch to something else if that makes sense. It’s good to combine both.”

Timothy John

“And when will you go up to the senior Academy? It seems like a formality. Is there a particular age at which they say, ‘Ok, now we’d like to push you forwards.’ Could you go up early?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. I should be going onto the senior Academy at the end of this year. Hopefully, I’ll be more based in Manchester on their track programme.”

Timothy John

“That’s the big time, right? That’s the pathway to Paris!”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, hopefully. I think Paris is pretty close for me. I’ll only be twenty. I mean, you never know, but if I’m looking at Olympics, it’s probably going to be…what will it be, 2028?”

Timothy John

“Yeah, 2028 in Los Angeles. And you would be the ripe old age of?”

Grace Lister 

“I’d be 24. I feel that would be a better age.”

INTERLUDE

Part Four: Finding Team Brother UK-Orientation Marketing

Timothy John

“Wow. Incredible stuff. The Academy has already passed into the folklore of British cycle sport, hasn’t it? The riders who have come through it; the champions, no less. And yet, equally, a lot of people don’t make it. It’s a tough school, isn't it?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, it is a tough sport, but the pathway has proven itself and has come up with some of the world’s best riders. There’s still a long way to go for me, so we’ll just have to see how it goes for the next few years.”

Timothy John

“Closer to home, from a Brother perspective, is Brother UK-Orientation Marketing, which is a team that Brother has sponsored for several years now and which has produced a number of excellent riders, notably Anna Henderson, who, of course, now rides in the Women’s WorldTour with Jumbo-Visma. 

“How did that all come about for you? How did you meet team manager Mark Botteley? How did you meet general manager Simon Howes?”

Grace Lister

“It would have been last October, and I was going into my second year on junior Academy. I just wanted a team that was going to be flexible around me and my commitments but still allow me to come in and race the National Series races on the road and the track. 

“Imani was on the junior Academy at the same time as me, and she was on Team OnForm. I had a conversation with her. She always came back and said good things about it, and that was when, I think, my coach put me in contact with Mark. We each had a few conversations, and it felt like the right move for me for this year.”
 

Timothy John

“That’s Imani Pereira-James, another huge talent who’s no longer in the sport. I remember Imani finishing sixth in a round of the Tour Series last year, racing against senior riders. I guess it shows that the Academy isn’t for everybody.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, I guess for her, she just came to a point where she stopped enjoying it. You never know, she may come back to it and take a different route, but I think, at the time, it wasn’t the right thing for her.”

Timothy John

“We’d love to see Imani back in the sport and back in a Brother UK-Orientation Marketing jersey. She’s a huge talent, and as long as she’s not in the sport, it’s a huge loss, I think. 

“Tell us about Mark Botteley. I’ve spoken to Mark a number of times. I've never met him in person. On the phone, he comes across as a super encouraging, super cheerful guy who

clearly has a very sound tactical brain as well. He plotted the strategy for your senior women’s team pursuit victory back in March.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah. He really helped out with that. He got the sessions going. He’s always really supportive at races. I think we just have a nice team atmosphere, wherever we go, and he really encourages that.”

Timothy John

“You haven’t had a huge number of opportunities to race on the road this year for Brother UK-Orientation Marketing. You’ve been busy at events like the Commonwealth Games!

“How has it been, though, on those occasions when you have raced on the road for Brother UK-Orientation Marketing? I mentioned in the intro that you were in the top ten at the CiCLE

Classic, sixth at Otley. Where does that fit into your jigsaw of racing?”

Grace Lister

“I’ve been able to do some on the road, quite a bit on the track as well, actually. It’s always nice to come back and race for them. I’ve got quite a few team-mates whom I’m good friends with. It’s just a nice atmosphere when I come back and race on the UK scene. I do really enjoy it.”

Timothy John

“How do those UK races compare with Nations Cups? Is it possible to make a comparison? Are they raced in a similar way? How do they measure up?”

Grace Lister

“I think Nations Cups are just a little more hectic sometimes. I’d say the National Series races are a bit longer; they’re getting on for a few hours long. I think the senior races are more similar to the Nations Cups.”

Timothy John

“It’s an interesting point. I remember many years ago interviewing Ryan Mullen, who’s now on Bora-Hansgrohe, and he used the phrase ‘dog eat dog’ about Nations Cups; that it was every rider for themselves. He gave the impression that it was chaos. I don’t think he was sorry to leave it behind. Is that a fair assessment?”

Grace Lister

”I think so, yeah. I think they are quite hectic. On Nations Cups, you have national teams, so you get to team up with different people, and you come back and race with different riders. 

“The junior Nations Cups are definitely quite chaotic, but they’re a good experience; good for your learning and development and hopefully going forwards into the senior ranks next

year.”

Timothy John

“And how do you rank the class of 2022, so to speak? There’s so much talent in British women’s road racing at the moment, and you, of course, are at the sharp end.

“There’s almost too many riders to mention, both on Academy programmes and the domestic scene, not least Zoe Backstedt, who, of course, is already a double world champion. 

“It’s a special group, isn’t it?”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, the standard of British racing this year has been really good. I think that only pushes it forwards and only makes it better. The racing is really good at the moment.”

Part Five: International Assignments

Timothy John 

“We talked earlier about the world track championships in Israel, or perhaps only mentioned it in passing. I’d kind of assumed you’d be going. When was it confirmed?”

Grace Lister

“I think I’ve known for a little while, but I’m not sure if there’s been some main confirmation of it, but, yeah, I’ll be doing the scratch race, the omnium and Madison next week. I’ll be doing the Madison with Zoe [Backstedt]. Hopefully, we’ll have a good chance with that, but we’ll see.”

Timothy John

“Well, I’m placing my bets now. I’m going to get down to the local bookmakers. Grace Lister and Zoe Backstedt doesn't sound like a bad combination to me.

“Travel, I guess, is another aspect of this incredible year you’re enjoying. You may even go to Australia before the year is out. Do you enjoy that, or is travel a necessity? Airports can be a chore. Long-haul flights are tiring. It’s easy to pick up bugs etc.

“Or does the travel simply add to the excitement? You get to see different places and different cultures as part of your career.”

Grace Lister

“I think it’s pretty cool. You go to places that you probably never would have been to. I mean, I’m going to Israel next week. I didn’t think I would be going there! 

“I’ve been to France, Belgium, Holland, Italy. I’ve been pretty much everywhere this year. It can get quite tiring. When I came back from the Euros and Commies, that was quite a big block of travelling. It can get to you sometimes, especially continuing your training around that. 

“But when you're racing as well you don’t always get to see much of the country, which sometimes is a bit of a disappointment. You’re there, you race, you go back, and you move on to the next one. 

“But it’s pretty cool to say that you’ve been to these places.”
 

Timothy John,

“Yeah, 100 per cent. And I guess that pulling on the Great Britain jersey, that’s got to be a thrill as well.”

Grace Lister

“Yeah, it’s always nice getting GB kit. To race for your country is always pretty special. I’ve had a few opportunities to do it this year, and I’ve still got…I think there’s another Nations Cup coming up in September after the track worlds, so hopefully I’ll have a few more opportunities as well.”

Timothy John

“And what would a rainbow jersey mean?”

Grace Lister

“Oh, I mean…It would top the season off. I’ve had a pretty good season, but it would be special. I got a European title last year. Now I’ve got some national titles. It’s the one left to get, but it’s the hardest one to get, I think. It would be pretty special, though.”

TImothy John

“It would be an unbelievable achievement if you’re able to pull it off, and who would be against you? 

“And even the track world championships might not be the end of the line this year because, as we mentioned again in the intro, the world road race championships will be held in

Australia in September. 

“Let me ask you a big, broad, sweeping question: do you consider yourself a roadie or a trackie?”

Grace Lister

“I think at the moment I just want to keep it open. One definitely benefits the other, for me. I think I enjoy it most when I’m mixing it up and doing both. Going forwards, I want to carry on racing both and training both.”

Timothy John

“Is it hard to continue swapping between the two disciplines?”

Grace Lister

“I think they bounce off each other quite well. Your road helps your track, and your track helps your road. But I think I enjoy being able to switch it up.”

Timothy John

“Have you ever been to Australia? You mentioned that you didn’t think you’d ever go to Israel. How about Australia?”

Grace Lister

“Hopefully, I’ll be going for the road race. Fingers crossed, I’ll be selected. It would be pretty cool. I’ve never been to Australia, and I don’t think I would have been going either if it wasn’t for cycling. That’s another country ticked off the list.”

Timothy John

“We’re looking a long way down the road, there. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but would you want to do the time-trial as well as the road race?”

Grace Lister

“I think, for me, it would be just the road race. Time-trialing is not really my strength. I’m not bad, but the road race would definitely be my main target.”

Timothy John

“Given the strength of the squad, would you be happy to play a supporting role?”

Grace Lister

“Obviously, we’ve got Zoe in from last year. She’s going in as defending world champion, so I think I’d be more than happy to go and support her and help her defend it. 

“The course has a bit of a hill in it. It’s not mountainous, but it is quite hard. It will be tough, and it will be an attritional race, so it will suit me, as well. 

“We’ll just have to see what happens on the day because anything can happen, and it is a course that could suit me as well, too.”

Timothy John

“If Zoe defends her title, it won’t be the first time a British rider wins back-to-back world junior titles, will it? Lucy van der Haar, of course, won the rainbow jersey in 2011 and 2012 as

Lucy Garner.

“What about the long-term, Grace? We were joking about Paris, saying that it might be a bit soon and that Los Angeles in 2028 might be more realistic. 

“Where do you see your career going? Do you look at someone like Laura Kenny and think, ‘Wow’, or do you look across at the Women’s WorldTour and think, ‘That might be where I fulfil my potential’? 

Grace Lister

“I think more and more people now are doing both, being at the Olympics one minute and also racing on the road in the WorldTour the next. 

“That would be the top goal for me, if I could get to that point, but it’s a long way off. On the track, the ultimate goal would be to go to an Olympics, but I still enjoy the road just as much, and to race in the pro ranks at WorldTour level would be quite a big goal as well.”

Timothy John

“Well, it’s been a wonderful time to be involved with your career in a very small way with our sponsorship of Brother UK-Orientation Marketing. 

“Grace, thank you very much indeed for joining us and for sharing some of the highlights of this incredible year: one that we keep saying isn’t finished yet!”

Grace Lister

"Thank you."

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

Brother main blue link list background

Add the Brother UK Cycling Podcast

Apple PodcastsCastBoxDeezeriHeartListen NotesPodchaserRadioPublicRSSSpotify
Brother main blue link list background

Follow us @BrotherCycling

FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn

News

More news...