To put it simply, Ed Clancy loves bikes. He may be the most successful Team Pursuit cyclist in history, having won gold with Team GB at three successive Olympics, but the sport means more to him than medals, rainbow jerseys or accolades. That simple love for being on two wheels was where it all began for the 39-year-old when he was a child, spending hours riding around his hometown of Barnsley in Yorkshire. Then, he wasn't aiming for time splits or aero gains, but doing it because he enjoyed it.
It was when Clancy turned 16 that he was spotted by British Cycling, and his long and illustrious career in the sport began. He won his first gold medal with the Great Britain Team Pursuit squad at the 2005 World Championship, aged just 20, and went on to compete on both track and road, notably riding for the well-known British team, JLT-Condor, from 2011 to 2018. Alongside his teammates, Clancy won gold in Team Pursuit at both the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Olympics in 2012, and was World Champion in Omnium in 2010, winning a bronze medal in the discipline at the London Olympics.
“Nobody believes in the transformational power of sport more than me. It’s got a way of grabbing youngsters' attention for some people who won’t engage in school. I learnt everything through sport, you learn about performance principles, the power of an effective team, how to overcome adversity, be disciplined and turn up on time,” Clancy states.
“You utilise those skills in every walk of life. I don’t think it matters if you go to the Olympics or not, I believe in health and activity and that inextricable link between physical health and mental health. I love cycling in the commuting sense, we’ve already got a viable alternative to a car for city centre transport, also as a leisure tool. I’ve seen business people turn their entire lives around by setting a sporting challenge and having a go at it. Two wheels are the best thing ever.”
It’s perhaps his infectiously positive mindset that has helped Clancy sustain his career for so long. His resilience in the face of setbacks is impressive, notably when he fought to return from a back injury and surgery in September 2015 to win a historic third gold medal in Team Pursuit at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
“London was an amazing experience in terms of a sporting highlight, but my career highlight probably is Rio for more personal reasons. It was meaningful for me because it was a real struggle to get there,” Clancy remembers. “But honestly, the older I get the less I care about what I’ve won and lost. I don’t mean that in a dismissive way but for me the bike is fun, freedom and exploration. I feel like a massive kid every time I get my bike and I wouldn’t change that for the world. I'd sacrifice everything I’ve won on the track to get on the bike and clear my head on a Sunday morning with my pals.”
Since his retirement from professional cycling in 2021, Clancy has continued to be involved in the sport. He currently works part time for British Cycling's Research and Innovation Team and consults for British Triathlon. In January 2022, he launched performance consultancy business Pursuit Line with his long-term mentor and business partner, Phil Kelly. Sharing the benefits of cycling with the next generation of talent is also important to Clancy: in 2020, along with former road teammate Graham Briggs, he launched the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy, aiming to get children learning and enjoying riding a bike. In February 2023 Clancy was announced as the new active travel commissioner for South Yorkshire.
The British rider’s dedication to the sport has rightly been recognised by many: Clancy was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours, and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to cycling. Most recently, Clancy was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame after spending much of his career within the British Cycling Development system.
“This is a great privilege,” Clancy smiled a few moments before being officially inducted. “I grew up aspiring to be like so many people on that wall. Even outside of cycling, looking at the people and what they have done outside of sport, it’s a great honour.”
