‘I’m a proper bike rider now’ – Late starter Double grabs first WorldTour win in Guangxi

“It feels like I've turned into a proper bike rider now,”  Double said, the red jersey of race leader on his back.

The podium ceremony in these parts is always an exercise in pageantry. Double was only feted on the dais after a display of choreography that featured a group of antler-hatted dancers swaying to Chinese rap. It had to be seen to be believed.

Double, for his part, was still absorbing the surreal realisation that he had just scored the first WorldTour win of his career at 29 years of age. Asked when the emotion of the occasion had started to hit, he smiled again.

“Probably now speaking to you guys,” he said. “At the finish, we’re all so cooked that you just need to sit down. You can’t take it in up there, but now on the podium as well with this spectacular scenery, it’s super special.”

Double has enjoyed a fine debut season at Jayco-Alula since joining from Polti-Kometa last winter, and victory at the Tour of Slovakia was confirmation of the strides he has made. The Winchester man only started racing a bike at 18, and his graduation from cycling's school of hard knocks has been a long time coming.

He raced as an amateur in Italy, first with Zappi and then with Mg K Vis before turning professional with Human Powered Health in 2023. A spell with Polti-Kometa followed before Jayco signed Double on a two-year contract. It marked a watershed. Until that point, Double finished most seasons wondering if it would be possible to continue for another year.

“I think most years, apart from signing with Jayco this year and then a few years ago, there’s never really been security, especially in the Continental teams when I was trying to progress,” Double said. “I think only three out of the last seven, eight years I've been confident to continue, so it’s nice to be here now.”

Double certainly wasn't lacking in confidence here, striking out early on the final climb in pursuit of Mikkel Honoré before hitting out alone. He convincingly held off the pursuit of men like Victor Lafay and Jhonatan Narváez to take the stage win and put himself in prime position for overall victory.

"I said amongst the boys ‘We're going to win today,’ but the reality is with the level of the field here, I probably didn't expect it, so to pull it off is really special and this season has turned out to be super good for me," said Double, who made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, placing 98th in Rome.

“There was a lot of getting my head kicked in over the years – and there still is, you know. This year I had a real low period after the Giro. It turns out I was cooked, and Austria was really bad, but we just rebuilt steadily, and I've come back to a good level, so I’m really happy."

Double was never much given to using heart rate monitors or power meters in his younger days, but the analytic accoutrements aren't the biggest change he has experienced since stepping up to the WorldTour.

“Probably now it's the confidence. Before Slovakia, I knew I was a good bike rider, and I was kind of waiting for the win to come," Double said. “I think now it has, it's given me that extra confidence and I've done it again here today, and having a strong team around me, the boys have been great all week.”

Double will look to finish the job in the grand finale in Nanning on Sunday, before thoughts begin to turn to 2026. “It would be nice to go back to the Giro,” he said. “I had a strong first week, then I discovered what it was all about…”