Such is the level Sean Flynn has now reached, the British Road Cycling Championships is one of the least glamorous races on his schedule.
Flynn’s rise has meant that this season he’s already ridden some of the most iconic races on the cycling calendar including Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, to add to his appearance at the La Vuelta a España in 2023.
And what’s even more telling about Flynn and his rapidly increasing expectations of himself is that he’s not satisfied with merely being on the start line of the biggest races in the sport; rather, he’s somewhat frustrated that he couldn’t make more of an impact this year in terms of his results.
"This season has been really positive and I've had the chance to do races that I've always dreamed about doing, so that's been exciting and I've gained a lot of experience. Some of my performances have been very good and so I was disappointed not to come away with more of a top level result in some of the Classics,” Flynn says.
“It's obviously encouraging to race well - it's just a pity I've not come away with a result on paper that I can sited and stare at and admire. With cycling, there's just so many variables and sometimes it'll go your way and sometimes it won’t.”
Flynn, who rides for Team Picnic PostNL, acknowledges that he’s being disproportionately hard on himself. Given he’s still only 25 years old and has been in the professional ranks for only two full seasons so far, his progression to the top level has been impressive, to say the least, and he admits racing in the sport’s top races against the world’s best riders, has been both a steep learning curve and the thrill of a lifetime.
“People do tell me I’m too tough on myself and sometimes I need to take a step back,” the Edinburgh native says.
“In these huge races, I'm racing the biggest stars of the sport who are just incredible riders and so I do need to put into perspective who I'm up against.
“When you watch the Classics on television it can look easy, but there's so much that goes into doing well in terms of positioning, knowing the moments that are important and knowing what to expect.
“And the Monument races, which are 250km or longer, are a whole different ball game so I was happy that I’ve been able to do races of that length and get through them okay.
“This year has been a really good learning experience for me, and also it’s also been really cool to do these iconic races. When I was riding the cobbles section in Roubaix, the fan inside of me couldn't believe it.”
The coming days will see Flynn’s focus turn to the National Championships, which take place in Ceredigion, Wales with the time trial today before tomorrow’s circuit race and the road race on Sunday, in which Flynn will line-up.
There will be a number of Flynn’s fellow Scots also in action including, on the men’s side, Olympic medallist on the track, Mark Stewart, plus Callum Thornley and Calum Johnson while on the women’s side, the Scots worth watching out for are Flynn’s girlfriend, Lauren Dickson, as well as Kate Richardson, Neah Evans, Eilidh Shaw and Arianne Holland.
For Flynn, given the form he’s in, it’s unsurprising he’s hopeful of challenging for a podium place.
“Nationals is always tough to predict but I want to try and win it. That's how I'll be racing and so it really just depends how it goes on the day,” he says.
“But given the standard of the riders, I could finish outside the top 10 and still be pretty satisfied with how I've ridden. I'm excited for it and I'll just see what I can get from it but I'll be aiming for the top, for sure.”
For Flynn, there remains a few more months of racing this year, during which he hopes to continue to raise the profile of road racing within Scotland.
His success, alongside the success of the likes of Tour de France rider Oscar Onley and a number of other Scots who are making an impact in Europe, Flynn is hopeful the success of this group of young Scottish men can go some way in persuading more Scottish kids that becoming a professional road racer is a viable career goal.
“It's really nice to be flying the flag at this level for Scotland,” he says.
“The first couple of years of my career, I was just in my own little bubble but now I feel like I'm getting on top of the racing and so I'd like to do a bit more to encourage and inspire more people to get onto their bike.
“When I was younger, there weren’t any obvious role models from Scotland at the top level of road racing but now we have quite a few Scottish guys at the top level.
“I know that when I was coming through, if I’d had a connection with anyone doing these huge races I would have found it really cool so I hope I can keep riding these big races for that reason.”
