Interview with Alec Briggs:
What inspired you to pursue a career in cycling, and how did you become associated with the G brand Lightweight?
Watching motorbikes as a kid, I was always on a bicycle riding around a tiny oval in my garden pretending to be my motor powered heroes. I eventuallyfound a much bigger oval at Herne Hill Velodrome and fell in love with cycling there. As I got older I started racing cyclocross at a higher level. At my firsttime racing in Belgium, I saw the Fidea Team with their bikes outside the team truck, with Lightweights equipped with white hubs and the insides of thespokes painted white, I thought it was so baller. Since then I’ve always noticed a pair of Lightweight adding some panache to a bike.
Can you share a memorable experience or race that significantly impacted your cycling career?
There’s always those moments as a kid / Junior when you race so well you get the excitement of realising you might be quite good at cycling, but it didn’tturn out as I imagined. It was actually my first big race after taking some time out of cycling when I was 21 years old racing Red Hook Crit for the first time.I got that exciting feeling back, suddenly I was introduced to this discipline that was new to me and captured everything I love about racing bikes. Fast,exciting, dangerous. That day showed me a way to fall in love with cycling all over again, and made me appreciate the disciplines I used to race as a junioreven more so.
How do you prepare mentally and physically for a race, and are there specific rituals or routines you follow?
I like a good spin the day before or morning of an evening race, a little max sprint to test the legs and numbers. I’ve recently started setting myself minigoals for the start of the race so I don’t get distracted and lose positioning early on.
As an athlete, how do you handle setbacks or challenges, both in training and during competitions?
It’s something you’re never really prepared for and they always seem to come at the worst time. But I’ve found a way to find a silver lining in most thingsthese days. Usually I find it sends me into a state of no more compromises, my head really gets in the game and finds the marginal gains i might oftenoverlook and you actually come out better for it.
What role does technology and equipment, particularly the G brand Lightweight products, play in enhancing your performance?
Day by day we’re all getting more aware how to squeeze the most performance out of everything. If it’s not ourselves it’s our equipment. Lightweight for solong has been seen in my eyes as the premium brand in innovation and quality that makes no compromise. I believe everyone at Lightweight is striving forthat excellence where they take the bar to a new level, working with them makes you want to have your game on on the highest level to perform too.
How do you balance the demands of professional cycling with personal life, and what sacrifices have you had to make to excel in your sport?
I’m never really sure how to classify my profession, I make a living out of racing and riding my bike, but I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a professionalcyclist. I’ve carved my own niche and made my own balance work.
What advice would you give to aspiring cyclists who aim to reach a professional level, especially those interested in aligning with the G brand Lightweight?
Find your own style and run with it. Find what you’re good at and use it to your advantage. Eventually you’ll find your own panache and align with thosethat you want excel with.
Let us know your day-2-day Lightweight wheel model
FERNWEG EVO 63 - because it looks so good.
What else we need to know?
Our collaboration is going to reach beyond the the eyes of cycling.