Colin Andrew Sturgess (born 15 December 1968) is an English former road and track cyclist, who last worked as a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' ( French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

for UCI Continental team . On the track, he won a gold and a bronze medal in the individual pursuit at the world championships in 1989 and 1991. He competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in the 4 km individual pursuit and finished in fourth place. On the road, he won the

British National Road Race Championships The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. History Between 1943 and 1958, two separate bodies – the British League of Racing Cyclists The British ...

in 1990. In 2010 he was inducted to the

British Cycling Hall of Fame The British Cycling Hall of Fame was established in 2009 as part of British Cycling's 50th anniversary celebrations. On 17 December 2009, the names of fifty one people involved in cycling to be inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame wer ...

Early life

Sturgess was born in

Ossett Ossett is a market town in the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated between Dewsbury, Horbury and Wakefield. At the 2011 Census, the population was ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, England, the only child of Alan and Ann Sturgess, both from London. When he was six, his family moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. The family subsequently returned to the UK, settling in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, in order to help Sturgess make progress in his cycling career. He took a silver medal in the individual pursuit at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, finishing ahead of

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 19 ...

Professional career

Sturgess turned professional after the 1988 Olympics. Among his professional teams was ADR, where he was a team-mate of

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

. He became celebrated for his showmanship on the bike; rather than maintaining an even pace as was the conventional tactic, he would hold back until the final lap and kick hard. In his World Championship win in 1989, where he trailed

Dean Woods Dean Anthony Woods OAM (22 June 1966 – 3 March 2022) was an Australian racing cyclist from Wangaratta in Victoria known for his track cycling at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. On Australia Day 1985 he was awarded the Order of Aus ...

by over a second going into the last lap, he employed this tactic and crossed the finish line 1.66 seconds ahead of his rival. He won the

British National Individual Pursuit Championships The British National Individual Pursuit Championships are held annually as part of the British National Track Championships The British National Track Championships are held annually and organised by British Cycling (formerly the British Cyclin ...

professional event three times in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Disillusioned with the sport, in part due to drug-taking in the peloton, he had interrupted his career around 1993, when he graduated in English literature from

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

and moved with his partner to Sydney, Australia. In Australia, he resumed competing, while working as a sports journal editor, and later returned to England. He finally retired in 2000, after winning a silver medal at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

as part of the England team pursuit squad alongside a young

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

, and worked as a wine maker and wine educator near Sydney, winning national awards for his work. According to Sturgess, the immediate reason for his retirement was a dispute with British Cycling's management regarding money, however he later identified the falling out as a symptom of a then-undiagnosed case of

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, which contributed to the break-up of his two marriages, problems with alcoholism, and a suicide attempt.

Post-cycling career

Sturgess returned to the UK in 2013, and has since involved himself with coaching. In 2014 he returned to competition, winning the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists time trial championship in September of that year. In May 2016 he joined the Metaltek–Kuota team in a dual role as a rider in veterans' races and also as the team's

. After guiding Metaltek rider

Daniel Fleeman Daniel Christopher Fleeman (born 3 October 1982) is an English former racing cyclist, who rode as a professional between 2007 and 2011. He competed in the Under-23 road race at the 2004 UCI Road World Championships in Verona Verona ( , ; ...

in the 2017 Rutland–Melton International CiCLE Classic, in October of that year Sturgess was announced as team manager with , but left the team one year later.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgess, Colin 1968 births Living people Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 1988 Summer Olympics People from Ossett UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Sportspeople from Yorkshire Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England English male cyclists Cyclists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling Cyclists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games People with bipolar disorder Sportspeople from Leicester English track cyclists Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games