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Matt Brammeier

@mattbrammeier85

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Dad to Ida & Dayer | Husband to @nikkibrammeier | GB Cycling Senior Coach | @mudiiitacoaching Coach | 5 x National Champion | 15+ Years pro cyclist

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A week of World Champs. 🇬🇧🇨🇦 Proud & frazzled at the same time!

Six road races, 9 TTs, multiple squads, a huge amount of work behind the scenes — and one hell of a trip.

The Men’s Elite Road Race is naturally the one that gets the most attention, and it’s the one I want to reflect on most.

We came to Montréal to win.

We had a clear plan. We knew what we wanted the race to look like, where we needed to be and how we wanted to race it.

And for the most part, we did what we planned (other than the crash and the wheel out the window but that’s another story for another time).

Tom’s crash obviously changed the shape of things. Having to chase back into a World Championship at that point was far from ideal.

But he got back.

And from there, the mentality never changed.

Keep racing. Keep believing. Keep going forward.

We didn’t ride for a result.

We rode to win.

When the opportunities came, we took them. All the way to the line.

There are always moments in a World Championship where you can wait, calculate, protect a result or hope someone else makes the race.

That wasn’t us. Not any more.

We put ourselves in the race to win and kept doing that until the end.

It didn’t quite come off this time. One day it will.

I’m incredibly proud of the riders and staff who delivered that plan under huge pressure.

And while the men’s elite race will probably be the one most people remember from Montréal, I’m equally proud of the work that went into every GB jersey we put on across the week.

Different races. Different riders. Different challenges.

Same expectation: prepare properly, race bravely and give ourselves the best possible chance of success.

A World Championships is the culmination of months and years of work — planning, conversations, recon, preparation, problem solving (lots of problem solving) and then, finally, the bike racing.

I’m proud of every rider and every member of staff who contributed.

We raced with ambition. We raced together.

And we raced all the way to the line.

Now 3 days at home and on to Slovenia!

🇬🇧 @swpix_cycling @gbcyclingteam @tompidcock @oscaronley @backstedt_zoe @adamyates7 @andypink9 by @mattbrammeier85

Building to bigger things and having fun whilst doing it. Enjoyed tearing up the rule book with the lads this week. Thanks for having us @thetourofbritain and thanks @benwiggins05 @_elliot.rowe_ @jacobush1 @willsmith_004 @mattbostock97 @olliewood95 for being bold and brave, respecting the jersey and going all in every day. #🇬🇧 by @mattbrammeier85

Great to be back at Otley last night for the National Crit round. It’s always one of our favourite races to watch, not just for the racing, but for catching up with so many familiar faces. Riders we coach, riders we’ve coached, riders we’ve raced alongside, and friends who have supported us over the years.

It was great to be there, cheer everyone on, and be part of such a fantastic event, well done everyone !

Thankyou to everyone that stopped us for a chat 🙌👌 by @mattbrammeier85

Some sights and sounds from my day at the TT Nationals…Good to spend some time with our nearest and dearest. Although I did start to go a little stir crazy after 15 laps. Great to see Ben take the win after 34 years of hurt 😛 Congrats to all the winners yesterday. 👏🇬🇧

#lazoo @gbcyclingteam #la2028 by @mattbrammeier85

Volta Castello Junior Nations Cup. 🇪🇸

My first Junior road race as a coach, what did I see?

- I saw riders racing to power ignoring feel and letting numbers get in their heads. There’s a time and a place to look at a number, riding on the front, in a break away - but not all day long (IMO). What’s on your screen in a race?
- I saw riders prioritising their individual performance over the team performance. Thankfully not our 🇬🇧 lads, but I saw it elsewhere more than I have before. At this age and level perhaps riders are chasing results every single day and trying to impress to hard? Here, at 🇬🇧 we are constantly improving our relationships and communication with the Devo & Pro teams and helping them get a better picture of a rider and person beyond numbers.
- I saw lots of ego. Riders & teams playing it safe, not willing to loose or get dropped in pursuit of a podium. This is something we worked hard at last week and something we did very well. Our mantra at GB is ‘All in’ and we’re starting this from the ground up.
- I saw a rider weigh his rice then eat 3 pieces of chocolate cake. Nothing wrong with either but just understand why you’re doing what you’re doing.
- I didn’t see much fun (other teams) this made me sad. Cycling has gotten too serious on occasion for my liking. It’s too hard not to have fun (IMO) - Thankfully we 🇬🇧 faired well in the fun department, probably a bit much at times though @milo__wills ?
- I saw a group of lads hungry as hell, who all wanted to learn and who were all proud to represent their country!
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@milo__wills @sam_delamare @danieljettdavies @willlbrwn @will.coles @leon_atkins_ @gbcyclingteam by @mattbrammeier85

@milo__wills @willlbrwn Will Coles @sam_delamare @leon_atkins_ @dandavies.06 Have fun today? by @mattbrammeier85

It’s that time of year I get asked 100 times about this, so here we have it. As a bit of a joke, I challenged myself to win my weight in beer at the Tour of Flanders at an unofficial prime. Unbeknownst to me, I ended up in the early breakaway. Of course I had to go all in for the prize. It paid off and the beer was delivered the following Wednesday at the Schelderprijs. It did not last long. #🍺 by @mattbrammeier85

One of the moments that changed me most — literally and metaphorically — happened back in 2015 at the Tour of Utah. I was pushing hard downhill to get back to the peloton, took a few too many risks 🤨 and nearly paid the price big time.

I remember everything up until I hit the car 🤯 — then nothing until I woke up in hospital. A few broken ribs, a broken pelvis, plenty of damage, but I was lucky to get the chance to go again.

That experience rewired how I think about a lot - risk, resilience, gratitude and responsibility — not just for myself, but for every rider I coach.

In 2016 I was still racing; today I’m a dad, husband and coach, still obsessed with performance, just in a bit of a different way. I still love seeing the look in riders eye when they do ‘their’ something special — because I know how much work is behind those moments and what it means and feels like.

Progress isn’t always linear. It isn’t always flash. But those ‘2016 days’ — the work you put in and the people around you — stay with you long after the races end.

#2016trend by @mattbrammeier85

This is former pro Matt Brammeier, Irish road race champion and a valued member of World Tour teams like HTC-Columbia and Quick-Step with his close friend, Mark Cavendish.

He currently overseas British Cycling’s elite road race programme and ran the under 23 academies when BC last had one, which is ironic because Brammeier, and Cavendish, were part of its first intake.

It was led by Rod Ellingworth, himself a former pro and a mastermind coach. Ellingworth was behind a lot of British Cycling success over the years, but he was a tough taskmaster.

“He’d make us do circuits of a punishment lap if he caught us messing about. If we didn’t do as we were told in a race, he’d make us ride back to where we were staying. Things like that. And they were on top of the training regime, which was very tough.

“We were at the track 10 hours some days. In winter our training was based on team pursuit and Madison. Then on Tuesdays after morning and afternoon track sessions we stayed to race in the Manchester track league. We were expected to win too, but mostly we did. Rod was there all the time; he was so dedicated, he gave us a lot.

“It was the best training regime you could have, the best preparation for becoming a pro. In between training we had French lessons, so we’d be able to give interviews. You had to take them as seriously as we took the bike training. We’d get homework from Rod, like write an essay on cycling tactics, or the history of a big race like the Tour of Flanders. And they had to be done properly; you had to put thought into it.

“We got taught the basics of nutrition, bike maintenance, how to look after yourself when you travel, food hygiene and lots of other stuff, and it sticks with you. John Herety was one of the coaches. He was a qualified chef. He’d come round to the house where we stayed with a big bag of food and show us how to cook it properly. If I do Spaghetti Bolognaise today, I still cook the meat for ninety minutes so it’s easier to digest, like John taught us.”

📸 Cycling Legends
🖋 @chris_sidwells

#cyclinglegends #cyclinghistory #cyclingstories by @mattbrammeier85

Every January, right about now, i see the same thing.

Riders bursting with motivation, ready to train “like the pros”… and making mistakes that ruin their season before it’s even started.

Pro training camps are in full swing. Our feeds are full of sunny rides and fast legs. Those extra mince pies are still on our minds. It’s very easy to get excited and carried away.

When you work at WorldTour & Olympic level, you learn pretty quickly that talent isn’t everything. The riders who make it to the top aren’t just strong ….they’re smart (yeah, there’s the odd idiot 😁… but you get my drift).

They understand that early season is about patience. Doing the basics over and over. Building the right habits, day in, day out. A good winter isn’t made from massive gains in a few weeks ….it’s made from the little things repeated consistently.

But every year I see riders (young and old… mostly young) fall into the same traps 👇

🚫 Too hard, too soon
Motivation is mega….but smashing intensity in January is a fast ticket to burnout. Pros aren’t chasing peak form in winter. They build layer by layer so they can peak when it actually matters and unless you’re racing TDU… you’ve got time.

😴 Ignoring recovery
Training is only half the job. Sleep, nutrition and active recovery are what turn work into performance. Top riders hit recovery just as hard as training, because without it, you’re just digging a deeper hole. Want better numbers next season or not?

🏋️ Skipping strength (or ditching it when the hours go up)
The best in the world don’t just ride bikes. Core, mobility and functional strength keep them healthy and explosive when it counts.
The gym isn’t just a winter hobby… if you’re not committing year round, I’d question why you’re doing it at all.

My advice 👇
If you want to ride like a pro (or maybe even be one), start by thinking like one. Early season isn’t about proving how hard you can go…it’s about laying the foundations for the year ahead.

Be patient. Follow a plan and don’t go crazy… yet.

Over and out ✌️

Matt

Questions or thoughts? Drop a comment or DM us and we’ll get back to you. 💬 by @mattbrammeier85

Who wore it better? #midlifecrisis😂

I’ve convinced myself to rewrite this post. Even though I flipping detest most things about social media. I initially labelled this as a midlife crisis… a good mate told me, it’s not a midlife crisis it’s a mid life development - I liked that. I’ve also just read Brad Wiggins book, flipping heck, what a human. He talked lots about being crap at accepting his achievements and making jokes of them all, something I think lots of us can resonate with, I definitely do.

So I guess, yeah it’s a little win. It’s not a Tour de France but I guess some kind of validation that I’m actually quite good at pushing myself, and working hard. Something I’m proud of because I know it ain’t easy.

I do it to stay fit and healthy, to set a good example to my kids, to set an example to the athletes I work with (I never listened to an unfit, unhealthy, overweight coach.. sorry not sorry)

So yeah. That’s me.

Sport is good. If you don’t do it, I think you should. by @mattbrammeier85

Run club in Rwanda, seems like a hundred years ago. Pollution was hard, made me a bit soft.
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However, 1 week at home now (quick jaunt to Euro TT champs after Africa) (thanks UEC 👏) and 1 week training with @nikkibrammeier and I’m in full form already!
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Want to get flying fit in 1 week? Talk to @nikkibrammeier @mudiiitacoaching 😜 by @mattbrammeier85