Great British Bake Off winner is champion track cyclist

Cake and cycling go hand in hand – who doesn’t like a slice of something sweet on a mid-ride café stop? – but Sophie Faldo has elevated it to a new level.

Named the 2017 Great British Bake Off winner on Channel 4 yesterday evening (or on Twitter that morning, if you follow the show’s host Prue Leith on the social network), Faldo is also a national masters track cycling champion.

And the winner is…
Sophie spills the baking beans on her new life as a #GBBO champion: https://t.co/nxq02so6Ax pic.twitter.com/9Cdo322QEP

— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) November 1, 2017

The 33-year-old former army officer from Surrey won the 2-kilometre pursuit for the 30-34 age category at the Wales National Velodrome in Newport in July last year.

 

PMR domination! Winning the National age group track cycling championships in the individual pursuit and being able to share the podium with my team mates. Good moment @pmrtoachimhouse @kalascycling @contityres @stealth_secrettraining #trackcycling #cycling #racing #pursuit #athlete

A post shared by Sophie Faldo (@sophiefaldo) on Jul 6, 2016 at 1:22pm PDT

At the same event, riding for the PMR @ Toachim House team, she also picked up a silver medal in the 500-metre time trial and bronze in the sprint.

In 2014, when she rode for London Dynamo, she won gold in the sprint in the 30-44 category at the same competition.

 

Warming down on my @dolanbikes1771 forza. #looknohands #cycling #trackcycling #cyclinglife #PMR

A post shared by Sophie Faldo (@sophiefaldo) on Jun 10, 2016 at 2:47pm PDT

A ride captain for the charity Mylema’s London to Paris ride, in her profile on its website she describes that initial triumph as her proudest moment, saying that she had only been cycling “for a few months.”

Describing how she got into the sport, she said: “I started cycling to rehabilitate myself from a back injury when I was a full-time rower.

“My back took longer to heal than I thought and it turned out that I preferred cycling anyway!”

She said that she trains at the velodromes at Lee Valley VeloPark and the Derby Arena as well as “a fair amount on the rollers in my bedroom,” and prefers the track to the road.

“I prefer the training for it,” she explained. “Much more time in the gym and other cross training and no miserable cold, wet road rides!”

Faldo revealed that her inspiration is the Australian former world and Olympic champion, Anna Meares, saying; “As well as being an absolute track legend, she’s done some amazing things for charity.”

She also shared her top training tip: “Train hard, fight easy… one I stole from my Army days.”

Unsurprisingly, cakes have replaced cycling as the main subject matter on her Instagram feed, but hopefully Faldo, who is training to be a stuntwoman will find time to indulge both passions.

 

My medal haul from last season's rowing and track cycling age group national championships #britchamps #MNTCchamps #notenoughgold

A post shared by Sophie Faldo (@sophiefaldo) on Feb 22, 2016 at 7:27am PST

She's in good company, though. In August, former world champion Becky James, a year after winning two silver medals on the track at the Rio Olympics, announced that she was retiring from the sport to set up a cake-making business.