Sebastian Grindley sets big ambitions to match dad and compete in Olympic games

Former Wigan Harrier David won athletics bronze as a teenager at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona in the 400m relay.

His son Seb, 18, looks on course to also make it to the international stage after emerging as one of the biggest young stars in road cycling. Recently, the Wigan-born ace became a world junior silver medallist in the road race.

And while a lot can happen before the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2024, he admits it is a burning ambition.

Grindley said: “It is a personal goal to match my dad or beat him in the future. Obviously it’s a massive ask and a big ambition, but just getting a medal at the Olympics is a career goal for me.”

When asked about his biggest ambition within cycling, he replied: “The Olympics road race. In cycling, the Olympics is not as important as in other sports, but it transcends individual sports.”

Grindley is the first Brit to medal in a junior men’s world championship road race.

Indeed, his achievement was even more impressive as his world championship bid was complicated by a flight cancellation, which meant he could not practice riding the finishing circuit.

Despite the brutal weather conditions, Grindley finished the hilly 127km circuit in 2 h 59m 10s, two minutes and five seconds behind the victorious Italian Lorenzo Finn.

“I was pretty happy when I saw the conditions like that, not just because I’m a Brit,” said Grindley, who looks set to sign a two-year deal with a UCI world tour development programme.

“I also do cyclocross during the winter. It's literally just riding around a muddy field for an hour, going full gas. It gets you used to those conditions.”

Next season will be the first in the under-23 category for the Warrington resident.

To prepare, the teenager will move to Girona over the winter for the warmer weather and hillier terrain.

On his ambitions for next year, he said: “Getting to grips with under-23 racing, just doing my best, and getting as much experience as I can for the next couple of years.

“Hopefully I’ll be doing under-23 Paris-Roubaix, that’ll be a really big goal for next year. National selection for the worlds in Rwanda would also be quite cool.”