Libby Clegg on her switch from athletics to cycling

Become the first blind contestant ever to take part in Dancing on Ice; check. 

Overcome mental health issues to regain her standing as one of the world’s best para-sprinters; check. 

Given all of that, it should perhaps be no surprise that, on retiring from athletics in the aftermath of the Tokyo Paralympics, it quickly became apparent the Clegg had no intention of sitting back and relaxing. 

Having spent over two decades as an athlete, Clegg would have been forgiven for retiring from elite sport and choosing to lead a more sedate life with her partner and their son, who is almost three. Almost immediately, though, she announced she was transitioning to another sport. 

Clegg has now set herself the challenge of excelling in her new venture as a para-cyclist. 

The plan to test herself in the velodrome was, in fact, a long time in the making. 

Clegg has several close friends in the British para-cycling squad and for literally years she had, she says, been “pestered” by them to give cycling a try. 

That encouragement to try her hand on a bike intensified when the Tokyo Paralympics were postponed by a year but with a young baby at home, Clegg knew doing two sports simultaneously was an impossibility. 

During the build-up to Tokyo 2020 though, one thing she was certain of was that the end of her athletics career was nigh. 

“When I did Dancing on Ice at the end of 2019, I was feeling good about Tokyo but I also knew I knew I wanted to retire afterwards, I just felt ready. With athletics, the impact on your body is immense and my body was wrecked,” the 31-year-old says. 

“So when the pandemic hit and the Games were postponed, it was very hard. 

“That year and a half to get to Tokyo was rough.” 

A silver medal in the mixed relay in Tokyo earlier this summer, to add to the two golds and two silvers she already had in her possession from the three previous Paralympics was a fitting end to an athletics career that saw Clegg cement her place in the history books as one of GB’s most successful para-sprinters of all time. 

It was her good friend, and para-athlete-turned-para-cyclist, James Ball who was the main protagonist in encouraging Clegg to turn her hand to cycling and so after a few conversations with those in the know at British Cycling, including multi Paralympic medal-winning pilot, Helen Scott, Clegg went along to a testing day. 

She may not quite have been a natural from day one, but there was enough there, including an instant enjoyment of the new challenge, to persuade both Clegg and British Cycling to give it a go, despite the fact she has found it far more strenuous a challenge than she initially expected. 

“People talk about running and say you just go out there and run but that’s not right, it’s so technical. Naively, though, that’s what I thought about cycling. I thought you just jump on a bike and pedal,” she says. 

“I’m actually scared of heights, though, and velodromes are so steep. 

“When I saw the track, I was thinking how on earth am I going to do this? 

“Helen Scott came to my testing day and that afternoon, we just got on the tandem.  

“She took me right to the top of the banking and I was sh*tting myself, it was so scary. 

“But now, I’ve done some good sessions and I’m really enjoying it. 

“The thing with cycling is it doesn’t put the same strain on your body; my body has never felt better to be honest.” 

Clegg’s weekly schedule is considerably different from that of her track and field days; she has long been based in Loughborough, where she lived mere minutes from the running track on which she trained daily.  

As a cyclist, however, she must travel several hours to get to the British Cycling base in Manchester, where she stays overnight to allow her two days per week in the velodrome. 

Clegg may still be a novice on a bike but already, she has her sights set on her first competitive outing. 

Towards the end of this month, she will be on the start line at the British Nationals, with the expectation that her speciality event will be the kilo. 

She admits, though, that she has absolutely no idea how things may pan out when she hits the pedals in anger for the first time. 

“The Nationals could be really good or really disastrous,” she says. 

“In training, I’ll have a really good session then the next one will be terrible so I’ve still to work on my consistency. 

“The Nationals will be a good starting point to see where I am.” 

Longer term, Clegg has her sights set on representing Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Birmingham 2022 is only seven months away but given the rate of Clegg’s progression, it is an eminently achievable target. 

Despite the size of the task in front of her, Clegg does not regret for a moment her decision to give para-cycling a go. 

As she freely admits, she lives her life refusing opportunities as infrequently as possible. 

It’s a mantra that has served her well to date, and is likely to continue to. 

“I’m one of those people who’ll try anything. You don’t know if you’ll like something until you have a go. I thought I’d hate ice-skating but I absolutely loved it when I did Dancing on Ice,” she says.  

“So I always feel like you should just go for it and have a shot at anything new. 

“That’s what I always do.”