Interview by Andy McCoy and Michael Braybrook
There’s a bit of debate over when and where the genesis of mountain biking racing happened in the UK… but whatever you think there’s no debate that Andrew Titley was there.
With a riding and racing career spanning three decades it’s fair to say that racing is in Titley’s blood. He lives, eat, sleeps, breaths and shits mountain bike racing.
Titley famously said “Anything you’re doing, even if it’s going to the pub and drinking beer. Really go for it!” back on the ground breaking Trainspotting video way back in 1997. That attitude hasn’t changed to this day, he’s a racer through and through. You’ve just got to watch him function. Every move is done at hyperspeed and with the constant scrutiny of “how can I do this better?”.
Dedication is something he has in abundance, but it’s not just Andrew, it’s very apparent it runs through his whole family. Stood in the family kitchen, Titley’s wife Clare pulls out the race calendar and passionately starts walking me through next year’s commitments. She knows every date, venue and is obviously crucial in planning the logistics.
Everything revolves around racing, every spare moment is an opportunity to ride his bike, and that’s the difference between us mere mortals and the pro racer which will always be in his blood.
It’s no wonder then that in the 2017 season he pulled off the double, winning both the National Points Series and the National Champs Downhill in Veteran Category. That’s an achievement which is only reserved for a very elite few.
In 2018 Titley will move away from downhill and focus on a full season of enduro racing, a challenge he’s already intensely focused on. I’m looking forward to seeing him at the races and I’m sure he’s a face that we’ll all be bumping in to for many years to come. Andrew Titley is mountain biking.
