Tom Moses - "Even Now I'm Still Disappointed"

Tom Moses is young and he's a product of the British academy, two of the ingredients required for future success. The main ingredient though is talent and that is something that the Yorkshireman has in buckets as he's shown by his scintillating breakaway success and his heart-breaking near misses. In this interview we talked about breakthrough years, changes in British cycling and charity.

Winning alone is a habit that Moses is developing.

BikeRouteHub: You're only 23 but you've been performing at the top end since you were 19 when you took 16th in the Senior National Championships and also a number of high placings on the British Circuit. How do you feel your career has progressed since then?
Tom Moses: I think when I was a junior I was getting good results week in week out in Britain and in Belgium. Once I turned senior though I struggled with the speed and the distance although I did have some good results like that 16th in the Nationals. It took me a couple of years to progress and then last year was a significant step up with some breakthrough results.

BRH: Yeah so last year you won the Rutland-Melton and took a stage of the Tour of Normandie, was that the best season of your career so far?
TM: Yeah easily by far the best wins I've ever had. But it wasn't just the wins it was also the performances in the rides which was better than anything I could've expected. I took massive confidence from both those wins. In the Rutland I was looking around the group and you could tell that everyone was hurting but I just wasn't hurting that much and that gives you massive confidence.

BRH: You took both those wins alone in a breakaway, is that your forte?
TM: Yeah, I mean I can sprint from a small group but the problem is that it really reduces the number of races you can win. If you race 50 days a year and 20 are bunch sprints and 10 are hill top finishes it narrows it down to the race where you can get away in a breakaway which means your opportunities are limited compared, to say, a sprinter.

BRH: You found some form recently at the Tour of Korea. What is that like as a race?
TM: It's a really good race. It was a lot different to last year, last year GreenEDGE didn't ride so it was a lot less controlled. Obviously they had Caleb Ewan there this year. They knew that if they could get him to the finish in a good position then he could win the stage so it was a lot more controlled than last year. It was also a much flatter route so it was a sprinter's race, it was won on time bonuses really. I was finishing in the same group as Caleb every day but I was 51 seconds down by the end of the race. It was a pretty tough to win, Rich Handley got 5th for us, he got himself into a break and got a mid stage time bonus and that really moved him right up.

Tom has thrived in the hard British racing scene.

BRH: Do you find it easier to race those races where it is so controlled because of the presence of a World Tour team?
TM: I think it's a completely different style of racing to over here where guys just start racing straight from the gun. In the races like the Tour of Korea there's a bit of a lull in the middle but when they do go hard towards the end they go really really hard. I do like that as well because it does give you a chance to race the end well, I think in Britain you can find yourself slogging around a bit towards the finish because everyone's been racing flat out all day.

BRH: Do you think that's changing? I spoke to Scott Thwaites last night and he said that the National Champs would be really hard this year because the domestic teams are now so professional.
TM: Yeah definitely, I remember racing the Elite Series when I started and there would be a break of 15 that would go up the road and every team would have 2 or 3 riders in it and the race behind would just stop. I think you're seeing this year though that a break might go but then it'll be brought back and you'll be racing flat out until the end. Everyone is racing a lot more professionally and having more professional teams helps that as well.

BRH: When you were starting out you seemed to get some really good results on the track. Did you ever think about turning your attention fully to that?
TM: No not really. I've always liked the track and I was good but not like world class good so I always found it hard to be fully motivated to ride on the track. I always preferred racing and training on the road. It was always hard being on the academy and trying to slot yourself into the best pursuit team in the world. I preferred the Madison and the bunch races but unless you are in the top 5 or 6 riders then it's pretty hard to be a professional rider on the track.

BRH: On the team you have guys like Kristian House and Ed Clancy who have been pros for years, how much do you learn from those guys?
TM: Yeah, loads. They're all good guys who are willing to show you how to do it. It's not like they're the big established pros, everyone is on the same level and everyone is giving each other advice. It's good to have them on the team though because they've been pros since before I even began cycling so you can't complain.

BRH: How happy are you with the team?
TM: I think it's really good. I think it's one of the most organised and most professional set ups in the UK and the way John Heraty runs the team it's all about the riders, it's all about the results and it's all about what's best for the riders and with that brings the results. We're not messing around we're always getting home and getting ourselves looked after and recovered after races. He's run it for so long that he knows exactly what he's doing and exactly how to get the best out of people and I think I fit well with John's style of leadership.

BRH: You race both the international UCI races and the British Elite series races, how difficult do you finding switching between those two?
TM: I think they both compliment each other really nicely. Like you get a big workload over in Korea where you get a lot of racing all done at once and that gives you strength for the British races. At the same time the British races are so hard that they give you form to go well in the longer stuff. I think there's a good combination of each and a lot of races just seems to work perfectly.

BRH: One of your best results last year was 4th in the Lincoln GP where you went on a long range attack and were just caught on the climb to the finish. Can you talk us through that race?

Post Lincoln GP heartbreak.

TM: We only had four riders there because we had most of the team at the Mzanzi Tour in South Africa. So we all knew that we had to be aggressive and as it worked out a group of 16 went up the road and all four of us were in it. Graham Briggs was going really well and Ed Clancy knew that he wasn't going to get very far into the race so he was committed to driving that break and Richard Handley was just back from injury so he was fully committed to me and Briggsy. We had a pretty easy ride until we got to the cobbles and that's when it all kicked off. Every time up we always hit the front first and if you pick your line you can get a pretty easy ride up. Then it whittled down and Briggsy was unfortunate to hit a spectator, he would've been in the front group for sure if he hadn't fallen off there. I could tell I was one of the strongest riders there and I was just saving it and deciding when I was going to go. I went with a long way to go but it was unintentional really, I just looked back on the climb and I had such a big advantage that I just thought this is my chance to go and went for it. The last lap though I was tying up a bit and I could just see them behind and I knew that was it. I was pretty disappointed to be fair, if I'd played it a bit differently it could've been a lot different. I don't like talking about it even now....even now I'm still disappointed.

BRH: You've been promoting the Sue Ryder: Midnight or Bust event, can you tell us a little bit about that?
TM: It's a local charity hospice for people suffering from cancer and I know a couple of people working for them so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get involved for the first year and get some publicity for it. It's like a sportive but it's not a set route where you have to ride around, you set off and you have four hours to go out as far as you can and get back before midnight.
I rode it earlier this year and I went flat out for it and there was a headwind on the route out so I went out for 2 hours 10 and then started on the way back and I was really blowing towards the end. In the last 10 miles I had absolutely gone, I'd gone hard on the way out thinking this tailwind would carry me home but it wasn't as strong as I'd thought. There is a horrible climb up towards the finish and I was absolutely flat out but just going so slow but I knew I only had a few minutes to get there and I got in with a minute and a half to spare.
I think it's a great format though, it's so different to everything else. It's great for all abilities as well because it's not as if you need to go out and ride up these massive climbs or do this 100 mile course. Even if you just do 5 miles you're still part of it.

For more information on Midnight or Bust visit -http://www.sueryder.org/Get-involved/Events/All-events/2015/June/Midnight%20or%20Bust%20ride. Entry is still open.

BRH: As usual I will end the interview with the three question quiz. First question, in which year did your team mate Kristian House win the British National Championship road race?
TM: 2009 (1-0 Tom)

BRH: When you won the Tour of Normandie stage last year you finished ahead of a current World Track Pursuit champion. Who was it?
TM: Ahhh, nah not a clue....Hang on! Hang on! The Aussie.... (It was actually Stefan Kung 1-1)

BRH: Who is the current American national road race champion?
TM: I can't remember his name, he rides for Trek doesn't he? (He does, it's Matthew Busche 2-1 BRH wins)

TM: One out of three, it's not great.
BRH: It's not great but a lot of people have got zero. Will Bjergfelt is actually leading at the moment with 2.
TM: Not too far behind Bjergy then.
BRH: He's a bit older as well.
TM: Yeah, more knowledge!
BRH: Exactly! Thanks a lot for your time Tom.
TM: No problem.