Luca Bednarek - Youth Cyclist and LBU Supported TASS Athlete

How it started

Luca took early inspiration from his father who participated in triathlons and was the initial catalyst for Luca following suit. However, with swimming and running becoming somewhat tedious, Luca prioritised cycling.

“I just really enjoyed racing and stuck with it over triathlons which was the right decision because I still love racing to this day.”

A key catalyst in the success and persistence Luca displayed towards cycling was lockdown, as from a young age Luca had previously played for Manchester City and really enjoyed football. However, due to the lockdown restrictions on close contact and cycling becoming a popular form of exercise in the UK, Luca began to ride on his own and enjoy cycling much more.

“Cycling started to take over from football for me because you can cycle by yourself but you can’t play football by yourself so it was just about using my initiative.” 

2024 so far

Luca currently cycles for the Fensham Howes Cycling Team who is run by Olympic gold medallist Tom Pidcock’s parents, and places great significance on their help and how beneficial they are in assisting him to achieve his full potential.

“They have been really helpful so far, even in such a short space of time, Giles (Toms’ Father) has so much insight on the sport and knows everything, he’s well connected and is really helpful when in races.”

Luca has had a very busy year so far and its not slowing down anytime soon. With two races in Belgium earlier this year freshly in his new age category, he described the challenges faced in those races and the differences between racing abroad.

“The racing style is completely different, In Belgium within races they tend to push you out of the way and are a lot more physical compared to racing at home it’s a bit more polite.” However, Luca does not seem to be phased by this which is a testament to his maturity and grit which will inevitably take him to the top. “I’m still growing and learning because it is my first year in this age category and there are people a year older than me but I’ve learnt a lot from those races.”

What's next?

Luca is very driven and has his sights set on the national championships and excelling in the road race and time trial next year, “My main goal is the national championships because you can win a jersey and wear it for the rest of the year and also learn from my previous races.”

Luca recently completed a race out in Italy and he had an amazing result as a first-year junior rider. Eroica Juniores is a 5 stage race held over 4 days and is arguably one of, if not the, biggest races Luca will complete in this road season. 164 riders started on day one with only 92 making it to the end of stage 5. Luca finished an impressive 19th on GC and was the 5th 1st Year out of 63 riders - less than half of the 1st years finished.

With Luca completing the race in Italy and striving for the championships, it’ll be interesting to see how far he can go, and we can’t wait to see it.

Written by Andre Parkes, Sports Journalism Student on behalf of Sport & Active Lifestyles.

You can find out more information on the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) here.