Looking through Calum Moir’s races for 2024 we can see he’s ridden mostly in Spain this season, and mostly on the road, with a few top 20 results – one of them third place in the Gran Premio Ciclista Ciudad de Fuenlabrada, but there’s a lot more to this young man, who’s capable of a 1’03” Kilometre and a 3’22” Individual Pursuit on the track.
After a couple of seasons riding with Flavio Zappi‘s Junior team in Italy in 2022/23, and following a superb Commonwealth Youth Games last season where Calum won four medals in the velodrome – two of which were gold – as well as four Scottish titles last December, he moved to Spain and a ride with Brocar-Rali-Alé.
Calum’s strong rides on the boards together with his evident promise on the road meant he was selected for a 2024 Braveheart Fund Award in the Spring. We caught up with him recently for a piece for Scottish Cycling, and reproduce it here.
How did you get started on the bike Calum?
“As a kid I had always been on a bike but then when I was around seven I stopped enjoying gymnastics which I had been doing and so went to Redbridge Cycling Centre to have a go at road cycling, and I enjoyed it a lot!“
So you rode with Welwyn Wheelers CC as a youth, mixing track with road, circuit racing etc.?
“Well, I was in a few clubs as a youth but Welwyn Wheelers was where things really started to pick up.
“They had everything dialled with the sessions throughout summer and winter and I started to win some bigger races on the road as well as on the track.”
What’s your Scottish connection, you appear occasionally in Scottish race results over the years?
“My father is Scottish so I’ve been racing the Scottish Nationals since I was in the Under 12s category and because my grandparents are in Edinburgh I spend a decent amount of time there.
“It’s also a nice change of scenery coming from London.”
You rode with Flavio Zappi’s Junior team last year and in 2022, how was that?
“I didn’t have the best results racing Junior but the team itself was class; they had a really great race calendar and my teammates were a good laugh which made race trips even better.”
Zappi took you to quite a few races in Europe, what are your best memories from those trips?
“The best trip was to the Basque country for Bizkaiko Itzulia.
“The weekend before we were racing Menen-Kemmel-Menen so we had a long drive down with a beach stop in Bordeaux.
“The whole team then did well at this race and it was just a blast.”
You can go pretty fast on the track (eg. a 1 min 3 second kilo) and are strong in endurance events and on the road too. What type of rider do you reckon you are / will develop into?
“I’m definitely more the sprinter-type, however I’m also quite light which helps when it comes to climbing as I don’t have a big engine.
“There’s lots of work to do but slightly hillier stage sprints is probably where I can perform best.”
You were 8th in the Scottish RR Championships last year, as a junior, a great ride. What’s your memory of that day?
“That was a very tough race for me; I remember the Wheelbase team had a strong presence so I expected them to send riders away and that would be the race over.
“So I got in multiple moves and was also solo for a bit, it was looking promising and I felt good, our break was cooperating well and there were three Wheelbase riders in the move but for some reason their team mates chased them down and it came back together – but then went and won anyways.
“My legs were cramping all the way up the final climb so I couldn’t sprint but still managed to roll in to a decent place.”
You brought home four medals from the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago last August, with Golds in the Points Race (the only rider to take a lap gain) and Individual Pursuit, Silver in the Kilo (with a 1:03″) and Bronze in the Scratch Race, a great games for you.
“Yeah, I went into it a bit unknown because I wasn’t sure how the other riders would be as the Road World Champs were on at the same time so the competition wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been, but it was still tough!
“After the races you always think you could’ve done better and I think I could have as well – especially with the Kilo as I was having to do the podium ceremony for another event five minutes before my start…
“But I was happy getting medals in all my events, for sure.”
Do you reckon those rides brought you into view of the Braveheart Fund?
“Definitely. I mean just being selected to race for your country is already a big achievement, and a major event like the Commonwealth Youth Games will always put you in spotlight.
“Then the medals were an added bonus.”
You’re racing mostly on the road in Spain at the moment with Brocar-Rali-Alé, how are you finding it?
“It was tough moving into U23 and racing with older guys but I was fortunate to be sharing a flat with some great guys who are also really good on the bike, they encourage me and push me on which is the kind of atmosphere you need to be in to improve.
“A lot of people under estimate the level of racing there – and so did I – so I definitely surprised myself, and it’s given me something to aim- and train-for over the winter.”
How did you get the ride with the Brocar-Rali-Alé team?
“It was pretty straightforward really – one of the dads at Welwyn has contacts with the Spanish teams and was able to get me a ride.”
There are a few English speakers on the team too (Brits Taylor Carr, Leo White and fellow Scot Louis Sharp, Americans Jorge Zapata and Anson Sperry, and Irish riders Ewan Warren and Eoin Kelly), it sounds like a good group?
“Yep, there’s a good mix of people from many places and as I’m still not great at Spanish it’s been nice to have people not from the same place but that I can still speak to!”
You’ve had a few top 10’s in Spain this season so far, what’s been your favourite ride/result?
“I got a podium in my second race which was nice but the race certainly wasn’t; we had all kinds of weather in the race and ended in some pretty heavy hail.
“It wasn’t a long race but I was in the break early and it stayed until the finish and I managed to do a decent sprint with what was left in me, all while frozen stiff!”
In what ways has the Braveheart Fund award helped you this year?
“The Braveheart Fund has helped me so much this year with my nutrition, being able to have a good diet and get all the nutrients from fruit and veg…
“It can get expensive, and the fund helped me by taking a lot of pressure off the shopping bill.”
What are the targets for the rest of the season?
“I think it’ll be mainly “times targets” on the track, preparing for next year’s track Nationals.
“I’ll also be racing the Scottish Track Nationals at the end of this year.”
Can you share any of your plans for 2025?
“A good result in the Kilo at the British Nationals would be nice, and more good results on the road too, but I don’t have any specific races set as yet.
“As usual it’ll just be trying to continue to get stronger and then perform my best and hopefully with a bit of luck, some bigger races will go my way.”
With thanks to Calum for his time with this interview, we’ll keep a close eye on his progress on the boards and en España.
This interview was originally published on the Scottish Cycling Foundation site.
