A Long Time Coming

A rider’s Tour debut is a special moment, none more so than for36-year-old Rory Sutherland, as Paul Knott finds out

- Paul Knott

Lining up at the 2005 Giro d’Italia as a fresh-faced 23-year-old, Rory Sutherland didn’t believe it would be 13 years until he took to the start line of the biggest stage race in the sport, let alone still be riding at that age.

“I thought I would be well and truly retired by now,” he says. “Then everyone just keeps on going, and it all rolls together over the years.”

His career to date can be separated into three separate chapters. An early spell at the Rabobank Continental team led to a lone season at its ProTour outfit, where he bagged his first Grand Tour ride. Then there was a stint in the United States, bouncing around Continental and ProContinental teams before finally returning to world cycling’s top flight.

“It’s been quite a journey,” he says. “I spent five years in the States and I think that kind of gave me a breath of fresh air away from the European scene because it’s a different way of racing and there aren’t the same pressures. When I came back to Europe as a 31-year-old, it was like I was a neo-pro again. So you have to learn certain things but you’re not tired from 10 or 12 Grand Tours.”