'I’ve heard stories of him head-butting walls - maybe that can be my trademark!' — meet the Grindley racing duo

Seb Grindley is one of British cycling’s most exciting young prospects. Having only just turned 18, he is already a winner on the road and in the winter mud of cyclo-cross, in the UK and in Europe. He is not, however, the first Grindley to enjoy international success as a teenager. Seb’s dad, Dave, won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in the 4x400 metres relay, and his time of 44.47 seconds, aged 19, at the Barcelona Games remains the fastest ever by a European teenager. Though he was ranked as the world’s second-best 400m runner in 1993, injuries stalled Dave’s highly promising career, and he retired from athletics in 1996 aged 24.

After hanging up his spikes, Dave Grindley started cycling with North Cheshire Clarion and raced road and cyclo-cross, achieving a second-cat licence. Having earned his flying stripes in 1997, Dave now pilots passenger planes for TUI as well as teaching trainees at Gatwick airport.

In 2006, Dave and his wife Zoe welcomed their first child, Sebastian, into the world, followed two years later by daughter Elizabeth. Seb began cycle racing aged eight, often competing alongside his father on Wednesday nights. Though Dave hung up his road racing wheels in 2016, Seb has progressed into one of the country’s fastest young riders, winning last year’s junior national cyclo-cross title, and in March he won the fiercely competitive Belgian Classic Nokere Koerse Juniors race.

We spoke with father and son to find out what impact Dave’s rapid running has had on speedy Seb’s cycling.

Seb

Did your dad’s career inspire you?

I didn’t know the significance of the Olympics at the time, but he used to come into my primary school and give talks about winning a medal in 1992. All the other kids thought it was cool he was my dad.

Was athletics ever an option for you?

My dad has always been passionate about us moving, and most nights of the week the four of us are training. But athletics was never an interest, though I attended a few running sessions at a local club. I prefer to be out on the road, enjoying the changing scenery. That’s why track cycling never captured my attention.

Has your dad given you speed?

If you think running 400m takes 45 seconds, that should translate to good one-minute power for me in cycling, so those shorter, intense flat-out efforts. My one to five-minute power is my best quality, and I’d like to think I am fast, so I suppose he has.

Are you powerful like your dad?

I’ve not done much gym work until this year but there is a lot of potential for me to get stronger, with my dad’s genes. If we’re to compare athletics to cycling, my dad, as a 400m runner who could also run a fast 800m, is a puncheur. I’m also quite punchy, have a good kick, am explosive, so there are definitely similar characteristics between us.

How are you different? 

We’re similar height – I’m 6ft 2in, and he’s 6ft 1in, although he might be shrinking now – but he’s much more muscular than I am. I’ve seen photos of him when he was running and he was a unit. I’m not – cyclists have no upper body.

Are you similar personality-wise?

I like to do my training, then chill and watch a movie. But Dad doesn’t stop moving: he can be in the garage for hours and hours, tinkering away even if things are perfect. I do very little of my own mechanics because he does it all. I don’t know where I’d be without him – the amount of money we’d be spending in a bike shop!

Do you recover quickly?

I was chatting with my dad about this, how after a really tough turbo session I might collapse over the bars but I never struggle for very long. Twenty seconds afterwards, I’m back spinning, feeling 10 times better. I’m not like Mathieu van der Poel, who collapses after every finish. Then again, maybe that’s forced for the cameras – perhaps I need to think of my own trademark!

How well do you handle race nerves?

Pretty well, I think. Dad is really good at getting me focused and in the zone.  That’s where he has the biggest impact on my sporting career. I’m not exactly like him, though – I’ve heard stories of him head-butting walls back in the day because he was so in the zone. Actually, maybe that can be my trademark – I’ll start head-butting walls!

Dave

How do you reflect on your athletics career?

Very proud, but I left athletics quite disappointed that I didn’t realise my potential. Aged 19, I set a British record that still stands – and 30 years later I’m still the fastest ever teenager in Europe across 400m. I thought I was capable of breaking through the 44-second threshold, but I couldn’t stay in one piece, and British Athletics didn’t support me at all.

You also had a rugby career?

I played rugby league and a little bit of union until I was 15, and I scored a try for Great Britain at Shaun Edwards’s testimonial game against Wigan in 1992. Years later, I was at a pub quiz where they posed the question, who is the only British sportsperson to win an Olympic medal and within a week score a try for GB rugby union? It was me!

Do you think you were predisposed to injury?

No, I don’t, but I do think the way we approached sport was massively different back then, 30 years ago. I wasn’t professional enough; I was a young man at uni with all the distractions that brings, and competing abroad. I didn’t get the balance right. But also the equipment has improved enormously and that makes a difference.

Did you want Seb to get into athletics?

I didn’t want to introduce Seb or Elizabeth to athletics too early because of my injury history. I took Seb to the athletics track when he was 15 years old, but by then he’d already fallen in love with cycling.

What advice do you pass on to Seb?

To eat correctly, sleep well, have regular massages, and not to touch alcohol. If he is injured, he should see a physiotherapist.  There are so many things athletes should be doing away from just training and competing to help their bodies.

Were you always fast? 

My dad ran 880 yards and the mile at a national level as a teenager, and I used to love watching the Dream Mile with Steve Cram and Seb Coe. I thought I was a middle-distance runner, but actually my strength was in speed-endurance – my ideal distance would have been 600m.

Do you think that has that translated to Seb?

I’ve given him my speed-endurance, that one-to-five-minute power, but he’s much more endurance-based. He’s got that from his mum, Zoe, who used to run 5k and 10k races for Wigan Phoenix, many moons ago.

What else has he inherited from you?

I think if he was in athletics he’d be a power-based runner like I was. He’s taller than I am, and also slimmer, but he’s very powerful. Looking at us, though, in terms of facial appearance, you’ll see that he’s definitely more Zoe’s son.

What about your personalities?

I am more highly strung than he is, as he’s much more laid-back – it takes an awful lot to get him worked up or upset, and he takes everything in his stride. I don’t know how anyone could dislike him. 

How do you think Seb will develop?

This year he’s realised that what Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock do, his role models, is remarkable, and he has aspirations in both cyclo-cross and road. What always impresses me is that we set realistic goals and he blasts through them every time. It’s a mark of a really strong athlete.

The no-conferring round: guess what he said when asked...

What’s Dave’s best trait as a dad? 

Seb: The fact that he is relatable. He’s probably one of my best friends – we hang out a lot. He comes on race trips, we ride together. He’s my right-hand man. I’ve got to give him some thanks so he’ll be my mechanic a little longer! 

Dave: He definitely won’t have said my cooking, that’s for sure!

Who would win a 400m foot race today?

S: Me, 100%. My dad is like the Terminator – half man, half metal. With all the metal bones he has, he’d be limping through. 

D: Most definitely Seb – he’s actually a really strong runner.

What makes Dave most uncomfortable while watching Seb race? 

S: Because he’s really competitive, he’s always identifying things that could go wrong, and he’d love to have an earpiece in to tell me things and give me little tips every now and again in races. 

D: Descending. The risk gland clearly doesn’t develop until your early 20s

Could Dave have been a pro cyclist?

 S: I think so because he’s good at most things he turns his hand – or legs – to, and as a young athlete he was pretty special. He’d have been up there. 

D: Absolutely not. I don’t have anything like the endurance that Seb has – the furthest I ran competitively was 800m.

Who’ll have the more illustrious sporting career?

S: My dad has an Olympic bronze medal – just to equal that would be amazing for me. It’s hard to equate running and cycling achievements, but a gold in the Olympics is my really big goal. 

D: I’m going to have to say Seb. He’ll have a longer career than I did, so therefore more success.

What would you say is Dave’s most annoying habit?

S: How hypocritical he is about me and my sister being on our phones too much! 

D: He’ll say complaining about mobile phone and earphone use.

What’s the tougher sport, athletics or cycling?

S: He thinks athletics. He says the training I do, such as the long Zone 2 stuff , is nothing like the sessions he did where he’d throw up afterwards. 

D: Cycling, by far. Athletics is short- lived pain.

Who’s more competitive? 

S: Right now, me, but on race days he’s so eager for me to achieve the best I can. 

D: When I was running, it was a big deal if I lost at anything, it didn’t matter what the race was. But nowadays it’s Seb.