“My mates joke that I’m the most amateur professional rider around,” Paul Double laughs, recounting another one of his tales from the past. “I try to do things properly, be respectful, be on time, but I just have some quirks like the washing-up gloves.” Wait, what? “Yeah, so do you remember at school you had those tiny, fluffy, cheap black winter gloves?” he continues, “well I’d wear them under some washing-up gloves on the Tuesday night chain gang in Winchester.” 

Double has a story like few others in professional cycling. He started racing at age 17, spent lockdown cutting down trees on Mount Etna (that’s a story for another day), became fluent in Italian, worked in cafes, bars and hotels, and finally, after almost a decade of scrimping on savings and hand-me-downs, has finally made it as a WorldTour pro with Jayco-Alula at the age of 28. “It all feels a bit surreal,” he tells Rouleur. “We had a team meeting yesterday and in a jokey way, we said that we’re not family because everyone was chosen to be here. It’s just super exciting.”

This article was published in Rouleur in December 2024. You can read the full article here.