Nick Knight – HPC Senior Coach

Sport for me started at an early age with the usual football, running and other team sports at school until at aged 9 i was asked to train with Thurrock Harriers athletics team, competing in short distance events and cross country which i also did for the county on 2 occasions. A long hiatus after the age of 15 then ensued until i hit my early 30s, at which point the call of athletics could be heard again and i became heavily involved with a local running club, both competing in all distance and endurance events to a very good standard, and leading the A group who were the clubs Elite running section. This led me to my first taste of coaching as well as my own heavy training schedules for Marathon events i worked with a number of athletes to help them achieve their goals of being far better runners and athletes while transforming their training regime.

Cycling for me became a natural progression as i picked up injuries from consistent hard 70-80 mile weeks on the road running, and the need to remove the pounding from my knees and ankles. I needed to maintain a level of fitness and also needed the competitive element to keep me fired up. I had always cycled for leisure and mainly mountain bike’s but never to any level, so this was a new challenge and one that i relished. Joining my first Cyclocross race was nothing like lining up on the cross country start line, but everything felt the same. My first race was a disaster. Gale force winds, and lashing rain as well as only a basic idea of the intensity left me wanting for more but not able to compete at that point.

Fast forward 7 years, my cycling is transformed, i am an accomplished CX racer, with 2 x 3 peaks completed under the 2nd class certificate qualifying times (dubbed the hardest CX race anywhere in the world), Time Triallist and performance Coach working with individuals to make them deliver the best of themselves at every given point while on the bike. A totally rewarding and enthralling experience, i feel my background of strength and endurance sports, as well as the strong desire to compete brings the best out in all coached athletes, to ensure their goals are exceeded at every point.