January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
'It's one of my best years ever'
Mewett, a semi-pro rider in the States and a gold medalist at the Island Games last year, has had one of his best season's ever and is keen to make his mark in front of a home crowd.
James Whittaker spoke to Mewett about the thrill of the Thursday night Hamilton Criterium, juggling work and cycling and going from being an Olympic swimmer to a top cyclist.
How special is this race for you?
It's always really nice for me to come home. I don't get to race here that often and it's nice to race in-front of a local crowd.
It gives me extra motivation to show locals that I have been racing overseas and really trying to represent the island well.
What's your best performance so far in the BDA Grand Prix?
I won the Dockyard stage last year, which was pretty big field - I finished 10th overall and I was pretty pleased with that. It was a good result.
What's your favourite stage of the race?
I really enjoy the Thursday night crit in Hamilton. It's not really part of the Grand Prix they don't count the time in the overall standings but you get great crowd participation. It's the biggest spectator stage of the weekend.
For me, starting off the weekend, it is always a good indication of how I'm going to feel for the four days.
How has the season gone for you so far?
I have had one of my best years ever. So far I have won seven races.
I won the Valley of the Sun Road Race in Arizona in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games. That was probably the most satisfying.
That was a big boost going into the games. I was training hard through the winter in terrible weather and to get a win like that right out of the gate was a great confidence boost. It showed the work I had been doing was really paying dividends.
I won a recent race the Ruby Tuesday Classic in Tennessee.
I'm racing for an amateur team (Hincapie Sports/ Bianchi) but we race primarily against professionals.
Is your team coming over for the GP?
No. It will be me and Garth (Bermudian rider, Thompson) and a couple of guys from the States, who we're waiting to have confirmed.
How does this race fit in to your seasonal schedule in terms of importance?
For me, this race is always one of the focal points of the season. It's a home crowd; it's a great race as far as quality of the field is concerned and looking at the teams that are here this year I think it will be one of the strongest fields ever.
It's probably going to be one of the hardest that I've been in all year.
Who are the toughest competitors in your opinion?
The teams that are represented down here this weekend have good riders across the board. It's not just one guy and a few others riding for him - any of them have a chance.
They're all going to be good. You've got a British national champion, a strong team from Portugal coming over fresh from the Tour of Portugal - that's one of the hardest races in Europe, It's a very deep field.
It's hard to pick a favourite in cycling because there are so many factors at play. In track only you can break down. In cycling you can crash, somebody can knock you down you can have a flat tyre. There are so many extra variables.
What are your realistic ambitions?
It's always nice to win a stage. I'd like to do better in the overall standings than last year but we'll have to see how the cards fall.
I'll try and make the right choices and hope things go my way.
How do you find juggling work and cycling competitively at the same time?
I'm a personal trainer and pilates instructor in the states (Tennessee).
I've been pretty lucky in that I've been able to form my schedule around my training. I work from 6am in the morning, train in the middle of the day and work again in the evening.
It's a long day but I get my training done when I need to.
Your mother (Sandra Mewett) was a May 24th champion did you ever have any pressure to get into running instead?
Actually, I swam the whole time I was growing up. I swam for Bermuda in the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 90, Barcelona 92, Victoria in 94.
They used to close the pool in Bermuda in the winter and I started cycling to stay in shape. After I gave up swimming I needed something to keep me off the couch and it just took off from there.
I got to the point where I had been swimming competitively for 16-18 years. I got burned out and it was not really fun anymore.
Cycling was a way to keep me motivated and I enjoyed the competitive nature of it. I still do. I think I will always race, even if it's just for fun.
What are your remaining ambitions in the sport?
I'd like to go to the Olympics but I don't know if that is a feasible goal. As long as I can be competitive and put my best foot forwards and enjoy racing then that's what's important for me.
Going to the Shetland Islands and winning gold in the road race for my country was an amazing feeling. Working hard and seeing it pay off is probably what I enjoy the most.[[In-content Ad]]
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