THE DOWNING BROTHERS

RUSSELL DOWNING
The last few years have been a bumpy ride for National Road Race Champion, Russell Downing. Three times he’s stood at the door of his dream, racing full-time as a European pro, and three times he’s had it slam shut in his face. Now he’s knocking again, hoping this time someone will answer.

It looks good, his new team, the amalgamation of DFL and the Cyclingnews squads, will be based in Belgium for the whole of 2006 and are putting together a European programme that should at last give Downing a platform to show what he can do.

Right from his schooldays, Downing has wanted to be a pro rider in Europe. “When I was 19 and signed for Linda McCartney I thought I was taking the right route, but then the team just fell apart,” Downing says.

What happened next was bizarre. Downing went and raced in France with a club based in Troyes. He won plenty of races and attracted the attention of the Madiot brothers at Francaise des Jeux. They offered him a place in their team as a stagiare at the end of 2002, but UCI rules wouldn’t allow it as Downing had held a full pro licence with Linda McCartney, even though he never actually rode a full pro race for them. A big opportunity had gone.

Then came a dilemma. “I was offered a place with CC Étupes, which is a really big French club with direct connections to what are now ProTour teams. In hindsight I should have taken it, but at the same time the chance came to go pro again with I-Team Nova, so I chose that basically to work with Sean Yates and to be a pro without having to wait another year,” says Downing.

Downing upped sticks and moved to Ghent with his girlfriend, Helena, but right from the start there were problems. Promises weren’t kept and there were deep divisions within the team. Eventually the money ran out and Downing had to return to England.

“I’d had enough by then. I just thought it wasn’t going to happen so I may as well get a job. I stopped racing, but I’m a cyclist, my dad is a cyclist, my brother, my uncle. I couldn’t turn my back on it and within a few months I was going out with the my local club again,” Downing recalls.

One club run was to watch the Lincoln GP. “I stood there and thought, what am I doing watching this? So I rode flat out home and started training the next day.”

Downing and his brother Dean had always been very good track riders, so they decided to change tack for a while and concentrate on that. They won the National Madison Title, and were quickly offered a place on the world performance plan. “We rode World Cups for the next two years, racing summer and winter. In fact this winter is the first time I’ve been able to have a break for a long time,” he says.

But the pair didn’t quite have it at world level on the track, so it was back to the road, but this time with even more determination. “I went into 2005 knowing I had to show in the two 1.5 races in Britain and in the Nationals. I was still determined to get to where I‘d always wanted to be.”

In the end he won them all, but now Downing found something else blocking his path. At the World Championships, British team leader, Roger Hammond wouldn’t have Downing in the team, despite the fact that, “I was totally committed to working for Roger.”

It was a story that was to be repeated as Downing searched for another team when it was obvious that Re-Cycling wasn’t ready to develop into a European squad. No one doubted his ability, but every pro team he approached had a leader already, and that is how Downing is seen. The fact that his setbacks had cost him too many years also went against him.

Then out of the blue came an offer from a new pro team in France. “It was from someone I trusted. They said they had the budget to pay me 3000 euros a month basic. The programme would have included Coupe de France races like GP Isbergues. It sounded great. Then two days before it was all to be announced I was told that the main sponsor had pulled out.”

But still Downing couldn’t be put off. Within days the DFL deal was done. This year isn’t going to be an easy one for him, though. The team do not have a lot of money. Downing will have to live for most of the year in Belgium in one house with eight other team riders, a bit of a wrench for someone who has settled down, bought a house with his girlfriend, and who has commitments in England.

“I’ve just got to do it. I know I can go further in cycling. I’ve got to do this to prove it,” he says underlining that he won’t let go of his belief until he’s explored every last option.

MY BROTHER DEAN

At 30 Dean Downing is four years older than his brother, and his career has taken a different path, although he is no less determined now to find out where he can go.

“I went to university and got a degree in construction management.Then I worked for about 18 months as a site engineer on a big building project in London. All in all I was out of cycling, only doing a bit of racing, for about four years.

“But then I decided that I could work on building sites at any time of my life and I went to Belgium to see what I could do. I really enjoyed living there. I learned the language, made friends and towards the end of my years there I did some big races, a lot of 1.2s, with the John Saey team.”

Dean returned to Britain to join the world performance plan with his brother. Then the pair formed a formidable partnership on the road in 2005, scoring a one two in the Lincoln GP and dominating many other races. “I had a good season, but if I hadn’t had my bad crash in America it would have been better,” Downing says.

If anything Dean is even more excited about racing in Belgium than Russell. “It’s going to be great stepping up to races like the Nokere Koerse and GP Rudy D’haenens. Then if we get a ride in the Tour of Belgium, which is on the cards at the moment, that will be fantastic.”

With so many of his new team mates on Commonwealth Games duty Dean will have a very busy March. Not that he’s worrying about it; “Bring it on,” he says