Revelation Lewis Askey reveals key to success behind first pro wins: "I don’t like putting restraints on myself"

After the opening races in Australia and the Tour of the Algarve, Askey was several times in the top ten of the Flemish spring classics. The all-rounder came close to victory in the Omloop het Nieuwsblad (tenth), Le Samyn (fifth), and Nokere Koerse (seventh). The moment finally arrived in May: Askey won the Boucles de l'Aulne. And with that, the rider from just north of Birmingham was launched. A week later, he struck again by winning the second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, sprinting on one leg!

The victories came just in time for the Englishman. “It was getting to the point where I thought I was going to be a nearly man, someone always coming away with second and never going to win,” said Askey. “I was hoping that winning would’ve come a lot easier, but it really wasn’t. I always felt like I had the ability to do it, but I never really managed to pull it all together. I genuinely had the stress of potentially never winning a bike race.” And then – forgive the other lazy cliché – the floodgates opened.”

Initially, Askey would not have been able to claim two victories on French soil in May, as the rider, who trained with the Groupama-FDJ U23 team, was actually supposed to race in Italy. “I was initially meant to do the Giro d’Italia, but we changed the program to do those races in France and then prepare for the Tour with an altitude camp at Sierra Nevada,” he says. “I’ve given my all back and put my cards on the table, so I hope that gets rewarded in the end with a spot at the Tour because I feel like I will be an asset to the team if I do get picked.”

When analyzing what has changed for him this season, Askey points to a few factors, including a quite special one. Namely, the freedom to ski regularly in winter in his new home country of Andorra. “I don’t like putting restraints on myself otherwise it would be no fun and you have to enjoy your training.”

The most important thing for Askey is that he knows where his future lies. “I realised from before that when I took away that stress of where I was going to be riding, then I started to perform even better, and that’s been the case again this year.” In the spring, Askey already knew where he would be signing. His contract with his current French team is expiring. Askey will not be able to announce which colors he will be riding in next season until August 1, although there are reports that he will join the impressive British squad at Israel-Premier Tech.

He can say that Groupama-FDJ has given him the tools to become the winner he can finally call himself. “I’m in the fortunate spot where I'm in a really nice team which is giving me everything I need right now to perform, and they’re allowing me to show myself and my potential.” Askey has already set his next goal: after victories at UCI .1 and .Pro level, the British rider now hopes to achieve success in the WorldTour.