Will Perrett making his mark after going ‘all in’ to forge cycling career

Will Perrett has been referred to by some within British Cycling as ‘the best track rider you’ve never heard of’ but is fast making sure people learn his name.

The 26-year-old lit up the first of two nights of UCI Track Champions League action in London last weekend with a stunning scratch race victory, so far ahead he started celebrating more than a lap out.

It was the latest standout result for a rider who was fifth in the points race on his World Championships debut in October, won the British Madison title alongside Mark Stewart in January, and made his Commonwealth Games debut in July.

The rapid rise explains why, in August, Perrett quit his job and went all-in to try to force his way onto British Cycling’s podium programme.

“It’s no regrets,” Perrett told the PA news agency. “I feel like if I’ve come this far, how far can I go?”

As Perrett puts it himself, he started cycling “young, but still late to the party”, not getting really serious until he was studying at the University of Derby.

By then he had missed the boat on academy places and junior programmes but when, in 2018, he took silver in the national omnium championships, narrowly beaten by future Olympic champion Matt Walls but ahead of the likes of Fred Wright and Ethan Vernon, Perrett knew he was onto something.

“I saw the guys from the GB academy as untouchable,” he said. “I would see them as the best of the best because they are. For me to be there, just a random guy in Derby university kit, mixing it with the GB riders, was a massive result in my career.”

With the Derby velodrome on his doorstep, Perrett started to ride with Huub-Wattbike, the team which had seen the likes of Charlie Tanfield and Dan Bigham go on to race for Great Britain.

But soon after the opportunity came, the pandemic changed everything. Huub-Wattbike ceased and competition stopped.

“I just had the rug pulled from under me, “he said. “No team, no job, no races. What do I do next?”

The first answer was to find work, lugging mail on the night shift at East Midlands airport.

“It was horrific, but it was a job,” he said.

But it was not one conducive to training and Perrett kept looking until he found work as an environmental consultant, making use of his Masters degree.

With more time to train, things started to look up on the track too. Ben Greenwood, then academy coach for British Cycling, allowed Perrett to join a number of sessions including those helping Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald prepare for the Olympic Madison.

“I treated every training session as an opportunity to go in and kick some ass,” said Perrett, who set his sights on the Commonwealth Games.

His numbers shot up with every opportunity. With Greenwood promoted to men’s endurance coach after the Olympics, Perrett earned a ticket to the European Championships and was named as a reserve for the Commonwealth Games, ultimately racing after Ethan Hayter pulled out.

Perrett was then left with a decision to make.

“I really considered just stopping,” he said. “I’d got my goal of the Commies, I’d gone to the Euros. The lifestyle wasn’t really sustainable, working, training, living at home with my parents. It was really difficult.

“But the next week I handed in my notice at work. I though, ‘F*** this, I’m going all in. I’m going to show them’.”

Perrett is still self-funding, but his results in the Champions League have brought in around £5,000, a sum Perrett calls “absolutely massive” for someone in his position.

“I’ve still got my guest agreement with British Cycling, and I’m hoping they’ll eventually put me on the programme,” he added. “I feel I’ve shown at the World Championships I’ve got medal potential.”