Dean and Russ Downing have explained how they managed to turn lockdown to their advantage by moving their coaching business to a virtual model with the help of online platforms such as Zwift.
The ex-pro cyclist brothers from Rotherham, launched Downing Cycling as their racing days came to an end.
Dean, the older of the two, told The Yorkshire Post: “We’d both been doing little different bits within the industry, both had our own little companies, but it was Russ’s idea to put our ideas together and have a brand.
“That happened in summer 2017. We didn’t really do much that first year until I was looking to have my own coaching brand.”
He had initially moved into team management as sports director of the Holdsworth Bikes team, but said: “The No 1 thing I’ve learned from a lot of great people down the years is just how hard work that job really is.
“Jon Herety was a massive help for both of us, but I saw how hard he had to work to keep British teams on the road and then experienced it first hand with Holdsworth – it’s a massive juggling act.
“You never felt like you were in control, because the person with the money is. If you want to do something radical it needs approval from above. If something goes wrong, it’s your fault.”
That experience helped him decide that coaching was where his future lay, but as races were cancelled in March this year as lockdown began, he became anxious about the future.
“Don’t get me wrong, I was panicking in February when races were getting cancelled. Would I lose clients due to races being cancelled?” he told the newspaper.
“Do I stick my head in the sand and worry about it, or do I put my name out there to get more clients? That extra time of not being away at races, probably eight weeks, I used wisely and took on more riders.
“They started coming on board in April because people need to be training and needed help.
“It’s a full-time job, coaching every day, taking phone calls, setting bespoke training programmes. This year has been tough, but generally the client base has grown, whether they’re young or old, male or female, pro or amateur. That’s the enjoyment for me, the mix.”
Online platforms such as Zwift – the pair were ambassadors for the brand at last year’s UCI Road World Championships – have helped the business maintain its momentum, as Russ explained.
“I was one of the first guys to have a go with Zwift and I even remember getting a bit of ribbing about it”, the 2005 British road race champion recalls.
“A guy asked me to give it a bit of a nudge, this is back in 2014.
“And then lockdown came. Nobody was meeting up, your chain gang meets were no more than six people.
“So I came up with the idea to get together online. We were doing Saturday mornings as a coaching initiative under the Downing coaching arm, and from that Doncaster Chain Gang was formed. That’s been a big part of my involvement. We have people from all over the world coming online on Tuesday and Thursday nights, everyone knows it’s
Russ, and we broadcast it on YouTube.”
“It’s been a crazy 2020 but this has provided a lot of good for a lot of people,” he added.
Eh? How does that work? Surely congestion in a cycle lane would only cause delays to cycles?
Wow! Lots of vitriol for poor old Dave and road.cc here, not to mention for the tyres....
Has the poster re-recorded the sound because that sounds like nothing I've heard while biking along a road
Norfolk. It happened in August 2019.... Was supposed to go to court in April last year, but kept getting delayed because of covid....
I don't see why she shouldn't be allowed to be a teacher if she so wants (and has relevant qualifications). As long as someone hasn't committed a...
The Goodyear Eagle All-Season TLR is a proper tough tyre, mine feel like they'd plough through anything undamaged.
Great - thank you
Have Evans run into any problems, don't know about stock availability, but being owned by Mike Ashley is probably a problem.
I have last years model without the dropped seat stays. Its a great winter/do it all bike. I wasnt using it much off road after I stopped commuting...
Thank you