The lives of professional cyclists are not only about challenges and triumphs since in the pursuit of peloton race, they miss out on a lot of things in their personal lives. Professional cyclists like Wout Poels, Geraint Thomas and Toms Skujinš expose a glimpse of their lives peeling layers about the experience of being fathers on two wheels.

The landscape dominated by competition often intersects with the demands of parenthood leaving the cyclists at the crossroads. While pushing the limits of physical endurance, a significant chapter of their lives-fatherhood often remains unexplored. 

Missing milestones while sacrificing time on cycling track

For cyclists, prolonged absence from their families due to frequent traveling poses an emotional strain on the athletes that is more immense than the physical exertion they have to put in. Thomas points out that as their children grow up, they feel the absence of their father when they need them the most. Similarly, the cyclist fathers also miss out on witnessing the small milestones that their children accomplish way back home. 

Tom Skujinš shared his experience with Global Cycling Network about how the responsibility of taking care of the child often falls on the working mother. However, the cyclist took care of the baby when his partner, a cycling journalist was away for the women’s tour and he was solo parenting, “There were days where I would get ready with our daughter at seven in the morning, drop her off at daycare at eight, get changed in the parking lot, go ride, get changed in the parking lot to pick her up again and come back home. And it would just be the two of us, I wouldn’t shower until she went to bed, I’d try to feed the both of us, and the whole day was just trying to get long training in, and still make sure at the same time I’m there for my daughter. I don’t think many pros prep for a race like that.”

The time away from home in training camps followed by various cycling sprints robs of the athletes of their precious time. Hence, there develops a need for maintaining a delicate equilibrium accepting the lesser explored side of parental responsibilities and preparing oneself for the biggest races. 

In the meanwhile, since motherhood comes with a lot of physical hindrances, the efforts of the cyclist fathers often go unnoticed amidst the maternal sacrifices. However, perspective have changed since athlete fathers are now making sacrifices devoting their time with the children as their better halves continue with their goals.

Parenthood as a motivational factor for cyclists

The setbacks on cycling tracks take a toll on cycling fathers since they put a lot of effort and sacrifice into practice by staying away from their families. For example, Thomas has been going through a rough phase in his professional career and the frustration of less-than-ideal performance paired with the difficulty of staying away from his family had been a grueling experience for the cyclist. Since the caregiving role often falls on the mother, it is more of a balancing act. Therefore, the impact is much greater compared to a father taking care of his child. 

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On the other hand, Poels while being part of the Vuelta a España has somehow come to terms with the improper balance between the professional and personal life of a cyclist and shared his views stating, “Of course you miss them, but also it’s part of the job.” He succinctly acknowledged the difficulty of the physical distance from their child but emphasized that it is a part and parcel of the job. It is the sense of purpose, that the cyclist derived from supporting their families even after staying away from them serves as a powerful motivator helping them to navigate through their challenging profession. 

The experience of cycling fathers demands appraisal for accepting the sacrifices in order to acquire rewards in the form of balancing family life and elite sports. As the struggle continues, the cyclists wish to make their families proud not only by winning the races but with their constant resilience to move forward without surrendering. 

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