Holly Waymark: 8 Questions

Holly Waymark is a Franco-British junior rider currently living in central France. TSH was fortunate to meet her through Instagram, which led to an exchange that culminated in us traveling all the way to Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche to discover who Holly is, and more about her bright future in cycling.

Who is Holly Waymark?

I am a 17 year old British girl who has lived in central France since I was 4 years old. I am now riding with the DN17 Nouvelle Aquitaine womens team and am a Junior 2.
On the school front, I have just finished Lycée and I have just taken the Baccalauréat exam.

What is it like to be a young woman racer growing up in the middle of France?

It’s great. I love living in France, the rolling countryside where I live and train is really nice. I am very lucky as there are lots of hills around me to train on. It’s not always been easy at school for example, as the other girls don’t always understand why when they’re partying I say I can’t go because I have a race the next day.

You moved to Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche from England when you were a little girl.. Do you have any memories of those first couple of years?

Yes, that’s right, my parents moved to France when I was 4 years old, so I was very young but I do remember my first days at school and not being able to understand my classmates or teacher…it seemed very strange.

What is the best thing about racing bikes?

I think the best thing about racing bikes has to be that it’s you against everybody else, you sacrifice yourself for your teammates, you push yourself to the limit and you have a sense of freedom, you are surrounded by nature and you just have to give it everything.

What is the hardest thing about racing bikes?

The hardest thing? I think it has to be learning from your mistakes whilst racing, when you have a bad race and you are trying to analyze where you went wrong. The sense of regret, the feeling you could have done so much better but you just made stupid technical mistakes, but I guess that’s all part of learning.

Tell us about your biggest day on the bike? Did it come with a win or something else?

My biggest day on the bike has to be last year where I became junior championne régional Poitou-Charente and junior Championne du grand Sud-Ouest.

How did you learn about Tenspeed Hero?

Well I came across TSH through Instagram and started following them because I loved their style.

You are just about to finish highschool. What does Holly want to do in the next couple years?

Yes, I have just finished my exams. If I pass then in the next couple of years I will be focusing on my cycling and working to earn some money in my spare time. But progressing on the bike will be my main focus.

Fin