Matthew Stephens (cyclist)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Stephens |
| Born |
4 January 1970 Edgware, London, England |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider (retired) Sporting director |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 1986–1989 | Hemel Hempstead CC |
| 1990–1992 | ACBB Paris |
| 1993 | Ribble - RT Italia |
| 1994–1997 | North Wirral Velo |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1998 | Harrods |
| 1999–2001 | Linda McCartney Racing Team |
| 2001–2011 | Team Sigma Sport |
| Major wins | |
Matthew Stephens (born 4 January 1970) is a British former professional road racing cyclist, who rode as a professional between 1998 and 2011.
Stephens was successful as a junior rider, winning the Junior Tour of Wales in both 1987 and 1988, one of only two riders to win the race twice. He represented Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, finishing 61st in the road race. Stephens finished 8th in the Amateur World Road Race Championships in 1995, forming part of a break on the second lap of the race alongside eventual winner Danny Nelissen and earning Team GB their squad for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 (automatic qualification for the Games was restricted to nations with finishers in the top 15 of the 1995 World Championships). However, he was not selected for the Olympic Road Race team that year, causing some uproar amongst fans of the sport. He became the British National Road Race Champion in 1998. After this he turned professional with the British-based Harrods team in 1998, before riding for the Linda McCartney Racing Team in 1999 until their demise in February 2001. During the 2000 3-week Giro d'Italia race he battled through with injuries from a fall, earning media admiration. He rode for Sigma Sport between 2001 and 2011, acting as rider/manager from 2010 onwards. He combined his racing at Sigma Sport with a career in the police with Cheshire Constabulary, which he joined in 2001. A broken knee in the 2011 Paris-Troyes ended his racing career.
Since retiring from racing, he has written for various websites as well as being the 'specialist' on ITV4's Halfords Tour Series and Tour of Britain coverage, and commentating on live races for British Cycling's Premier Calendar and Eurosport. He also works as a presenter for Global Cycling Network, a YouTube channel backed by Shift Active Media.
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