Ribble Rebellion: What Happened?

The wildest project of my life

Credit: Jackie Tyson

Most of this article was written within a few hours of getting the call that Ribble Rebellion was folding. That’s the bones of it, and though I’ve thought back and reflected, I tried to keep this one as raw as possible.

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Joe

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Ribble Rebellion. I loved you, I hated you, I lost sleep over you, you caused me an awful lot of stress and there were a couple of times I wish you never existed. But, I’ll miss you.

You were the project that was never really meant to exist. A project that even once it was green-lit, I was never meant to be that involved with. You were a project that became mine. A project I ran with. Then, on September 6th, I got the call that the plug had been pulled. Just like that, gone.

12-months earlier…

I’m on a photoshoot in Wales and asked my opinion on a road team. I’m stumped. I honestly don’t know. A conti team would be too expensive and we didn’t have the time or resource anyway. If were going to do a road team, it had to be different. It had to have an impact.

An idea comes a few days later…

Slowly it started to come together. I picked up the phone and started to call old friends. If we’re doing this team, we’re doing it properly. I’ve got a contact book full of people who are world-class bike riders.

I moved to the race calendar. Redlands, Speedweek, Armed Forces, Tulsa, Cicle, Lincoln, National Circuit Series. Name a cool race, I put it on the calendar.

It’s worth noting, that at this time I wasn’t working for Ribble. I was helping put the team together for a bit of fun. I knew the riders and I knew the race scene better than anyone. 

That all changed come February. With a change of personnel at Ribble and a very scary few hours when I wasn’t sure if the team was finished before it had even started, I essentially took control. I was in meetings with the CEO, and the directors. I was trying to pull together a training camp, a calendar, a kit list, insurance and more. 

It went from zero to one thousand in the blink of an eye.

Against all odds, and working a lot more hours than I should’ve, we pulled it together. Come April, we were at the start line in California. A group of British lads (plus Cole) ready to take on the world. We got ribbed for our bright kit, ribbed for our cockiness.

Then we won.

Cole winning Stage 2 was a feeling like no other. Winning a bike race is great, one of your mates winning a bike race sometimes feels better. One of your closest mates winning a race on the team you’ve set up and signed him to is simply indescribable.

Axeon’s team motto was ‘Prove It’ - that’s exactly what we did. I was riding perhaps the best I’d ever done in my life too, a 3rd on GC made me question if I’d given up on the road dream too early. Was I ready to give up the road, or had I just told myself that?

To Speedweek we go. We cock-up night one. On night two, we won in what’s been described as one of the greatest team performances on American soil. The next night at Athens Twilight we lived experiences we’d all only seen in movies that saw us falling out of a frat house at 4am. Then the fourth day, violently hungover, we won again. 

People were starting to take notice.

Whatever I do in the sport. Whether I win Unbound, whether I somehow manage to go to the World Tour peloton and live out my childhood dream, I don’t think anything will match those two weeks from Redlands to Speedweek.  

There are a lot of things that I could say, but I won’t. There’s a full story that those close to me will know, but this Substack isn’t the place for that. I want to thank everyone involved. The race scene and host families welcomed us with open arms. The race organisers and the rival teams. But, most of all, I want to thank you boys.

Jim, Max and Tom. We’ve raced against since we were juniors, and all had that same dream. Ruben, who would’ve thought we’d be teammates back when we first lived together? Cole, you’re one of my closest mates off the bike. Bocky, who I’ve always looked up to. Then Cam and Al - I only met you two this year, but I’m so glad I did. 

All of you - thank you.

Every rider in this team has been written off at some point. Most of us were junior stars, who never quite reached the potential people thought we could. We often joked that it was a team of has-beens. Equally, it was a team of guys who pushed through all the different teams folding and hurdles over the years. Guys who have put their lives on hold, and taken contracts that are worth just a few thousand pounds a year. Guys who with slightly very different paths or bits of luck would’ve been on the World Tour. 

We’re guys who love bike racing, but we’re all guys who have probably questioned why we’re still doing it at some point or another. If I’m tasked with racing against any of the Rebellion boys next year, you can be sure I’ll be pulling a little easier than I should to bring them back.

I think Ribble Rebellion took us all back to our racing roots. Every team says they’re a family, and that’s bollocks. This team though, more than any other, was like a group of brothers. We ribbed each other to no end, wound each other up, and took the piss. But, when it came down to business, we had each other’s back. If anyone tried to crash a Ribble Rebellion boy out, you can be sure there’d be a line of us ready to back them up in a fight. 

People jokingly said I just signed my mates. They were right, I did. I signed a bunch of mates who hadn’t quite achieved the dream. Each one of us had been written off to some degree. Some of us had started to fall out of love with the sport. But, you know what, it worked. 

There are so many stories from the year, it’s a shame we didn’t film more. Frat houses, college bars, pick-up trucks and crit racing. I don’t care what anyone says, the British scene doesn’t rival what they have in the US. Our courses might be better, the rider level may be higher, but as an event? The Americans win every time.

I like to think that some teams took a breath of fresh air when they heard the news. “Fuck, those guys were hard to race, it’ll be a little easier now they’ve gone.”

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Personally, it’s hard.  Rebellion was a project I loved even though it didn’t suit me in the slightest. I’m not a crit rider, but as a work project I bloody loved it. It combined my love of bike racing, with my love of sport business. No brand is ever willing to take a risk like that, especially in the current market. Ribble dared to take that risk, and I thank them for that.

I think those closest to me know how much I put into this team. It took a bucket load out of me. The reason I struggled so much this summer was from burning the candle at both ends. Emotionally, it has killed me, mentally there were some tough times. Early morning phone calls, weird time zone meetings. Hundreds if not thousands of emails, questions and meetings. 

I was going to step back from Team Manager next year. I hoped just to remain in a ‘consultant’ role and guide it to what it could be. The reason it hurts so much is because it was so good. I’m not sure any cycling team will be able to match it. The plans I had for the team were next level. I didn’t just want to build a cycling team, I wanted to build a brand.

To all you cycling teams, or directors at cycling companies. The reason this team worked, and the reason everyone loved us is that we didn’t try to pretend to be something we’re not. We drank beers, organised group rides and laughed. We threw the design textbook out the window and did something different. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously. Cyclists aren’t robots, let them show some personality. People love personality, but most cycling teams don’t have one.

I’ll finish on this. You can’t call yourself XY Pro Cycling if you don’t pay your riders. Every Ribble Rebellion rider had their expenses paid, that’s travel, race entries, the works. They received two bikes for the season. 75% of our riders received a small salary, we weren’t paying big bucks, but at least we were paying.

I have more respect than ever before for people who run teams. It’s hard work, it’s a thankless job, and then just like that it can all be gone. If you’re going to make a Continental team, do it properly or don’t do it at all. Don’t lie to your riders. Don’t make fake promises. If you’re required to bring a sponsor (or pay) to secure a spot on a team, then you’re not a pro team.

We weren’t perfect at Rebellion, but I like to think I was as honest as I could be. 

Sixteen wins. Thirty podiums. Nine guys. One hell of a project. Thanks for coming.

Disruput the global crit scene? Completed it mate.

Sorry if this article doesn’t make full grammatical or logical sense. It was my brain puking on a page. I’ve never been good with emotion.

It’s goodbye for now to my era of running a cycling team. But, I hope it’s not farewell.

Don’t worry, I’m not leaving the sport either. I’m full privateer mode for next year, with a change of direction with some sponsors. More to come soon.

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