SWAPPING ROUBAIX FOR RUTLAND

Canadian Ben Perry tells Amy Jones why leaving the top flight of the sport to join British stalwarts WiV Sungod is reinvigorating his career, and how he can't get to grips with British jargon

- Amy Jones

There are few riders who would be happy about taking two steps down in the ranks but, after four years with various iterations of the Israel Premier Tech academy squad and a year in the WorldTour with Astana, signing a Continental contract has reinvigorated Canadian Ben Perry’s career.

Speaking at his home in Girona, Spain, after two training camps and a few races with WiV Sungod, the 28-year-old is visibly excited about the season ahead.

“I’m actually super-motivated because when you’re riding at a bit of a lower level and you’re in a smaller team, you have way more opportunities,” he says with rapid-fire diction. “I don’t think I’ve started a race, pretty much since 2017 or 2016, where it was, like, all-in for Ben.”

As well as the possibility of personal results, Perry is – understandably after a year with scant Englishspeaking team-mates – excited to join a team in which he and his colleagues share both a language and cultural references.

“I’ve already had more fun at 10 days of training camp with these guys than I did in a full year last year where it was just business,” he says. “Just getting along with the dudes, making fun of people… it’s just so relaxed.”

Banter with the Brits