It's OK if professional cyclists hate cycling - my affection for the sport has also had its ups and downs • breakingheadline

I was out riding with my friend Bernard recently. The conversation turned to Sir Bradley Wiggins, a cyclist Bernard has always admired, ever since his world junior pursuit title in 1998. Unfortunately, he's not such a big fan these days. “He says he hates cycling now,” Bernard said grumpily. “Can you imagine? You see him riding the bike, the elegance, the power. How could he hate that? He says he hated winning the Tour de France.”

Michael Hutchinson

Michael Hutchinson is an author, journalist and former professional cyclist. His column “Dr. Hutch” appears in every issue of Cycling weekly Magazine.

But there is a long tradition of fans and the media asking cyclists if they enjoy cycling, mainly so they can attack anyone who has the audacity to say anything other than yes. Chris Boardman had to clarify an interview in which he said he enjoyed cycling less than winning. And I once watched a French reporter have the following dialogue with Mark Cavendish: Reporter: “Do you enjoy cycling?” Cavendish: “How do you like it?” Reporter: “Do you cycle to the shops?” Fear drained all the blood from my head and I just stood there next to her. My enthusiasm for a way out meant that I was the first person ever to summon up the willpower required to teleport.

That's a strange request for a professional, because there are many amateurs whose relationship with cycling is anything but easy. I asked Bernard to recall his love of cycling when he threw his bike over a hedge into a field a few years ago and begged a flock of sheep to come and trample on it. “I loved it, mate,” he said. When he gave it up for two years and sold all his equipment? “I never loved cycling more,” he said. (It only occurred to me in hindsight that this might be exactly the case.)

Another friend describes cycling as “It's my thing and I ate it,” which is laughable but expresses a worldview I associate more with time trialists than with other disciplines. (Time trialists set goals based on fantasy assumptions about their training and the effectiveness of their latest shopping spree, and are disappointed when they don't happen. Time trialing is a rollercoaster of optimism and crushing disappointment.)

It's OK if professional cyclists hate cycling – my affection for the sport has also had its ups and downs

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