Great Ayton's Tanfield brothers and their road to cycling success

Brothers Charlie, Harry and Toby Tanfield have made big names for themselves in the world of cycling. Back in 2018, residents of Great Ayton turned out in force to celebrate Charlie and Harry's success in the Commonwealth Games, where they won gold and silver medals respectively.

Fast forward four years, and all three at the top of their game.

Charlie won a silver medal in the team pursuit at this summer's Commonwealth Games, another success in a hugely successful career which originally took off following the 2017 UK Track Championships. Over 18 months he became a world and Commonwealth champion.

Charlie Tanfield, third left, on the podium at this summer's Commonwealth Games

Harry has multiple podiums in road races to his name as well as winning a stage of the Tour de Yorkshire and Commonwealth silver. He has just had the National Series Road Races on the Isle of Man, then he and Charlie are travelling to France for a Stage Race, followed by Belgium at the start of September, which will feed into the Tour of Britain. The pair are part of the Ribble Weldtite Team, with a busy season in the UK and Europe.

Toby, the youngest of the brothers, is a state-funded amateur who moved to Spain after university to take advantage of the more varied terrain. He is a full-time cyclist representing the Galician region, and has a very successful career there.

"I came ninth in the Vuelta A Zamora (Tour of Zamora) this year," he says, "which is one of the biggest races of the year as many professional teams take note of the results to scout riders. I was pleased to get third in the 59th Pasuilla Classic as it was my second race, so it was so good to get a podium so early in the season. During the Galician series I finished well enough to be second U23 for Galicia."

So where did all this talent and drive come from?

Harry Tanfield

As young boys growing up in Great Ayton, they were all sporty. Charlie played for both Great Ayton and Stokesley football clubs, Toby liked most sports, especially cross country, and Harry was already into mountain biking. But things moved on when Bryan Bevis from Cleveland Wheelers bumped into Harry and Charlie when they were out cycling with their mum, Clare, and asked them to join the club. They were aged eight and ten at the time.

Clare encouraged them to sign up and took them along with her friend's children, who were the same age. Toby was only six at the time, but went along to watch.

Their dad, Stewart got them an old road bike and a family friend, Carl Atterton, gave Charlie his first bike. Two to three months later, they were already racing.

Harry, the eldest, started racing locally, then nationally at weekends. Both were winning events and skills tests where they often had the fastest times. Charlie started to ride in the National Series races which took place all over the UK. All this while they were still under 16.

"Me and Charlie had multiple podium finishes when we were under 12," says Harry. "Mum and dad took us to all these events and the costs were a lot. Mum used to write all the costs in a little notepad, such as hotel, race entry, fuel and bike parts. It was a few thousand a year, so basically, we didn't go on holiday after 2007. It was a massive sacrifice they made for all of us."

Charlie Tanfield at the Commonwealth Games, Track and Para Track Cycling

At 18, Harry was road racing, going round the country with his dad or his team in Preston. Soon after, both Harry and Charlie were getting the experience of track and road racing in the National Series. Together they had continuous success in the Canyon-backed domestic professional team for five seasons. Getting into teams meant they had help with payments for bikes and accessories, as well as travel.

Harry went to Teesside University to study civil engineering, and alongside university he was trying to step up in the senior races. Winning fourth in the Stockton Grand Prix in 2013 was a big confidence boost as a first-year senior 18-year-old.

"This really pushed me to pursue the sport as much as I could to progress onto a pro team in the UK," he says. "And from there working up a few years later to a full World Tour Team in 2019, off the back of my 2018 results."

When it was time for him to go to university in in 2017, Charlie decided cycling should take a back seat. He went to Teesside to study mechanical engineering, but whilst competing, his team beat the GB squad, which proved to be a turning point. He decided to move to Derby with a group of friends in order to continue his degree close to Derby Arena, the Midlands' new state-of-the-art velodrome.

"I was trialling with Team GB and it was difficult to keep up with my studies, so I deferred from university to pursue a career on the track," he says. "My goal was to make it to the Commonwealth Games in 2018."

He did, and won a gold medal, as well as being selected for the World Championships, where his team won gold, beating Denmark, and he was invited to join the GB squad full time.

Not to be left behind, as his older brothers began to enjoy success, Toby also joined the Cleveland Wheelers, competing in the League 2000, a series of age-related cycling events for under 18s promoted by the club. When he first took part, he couldn't get any shoes small enough for the event so he had to have his feet taped to his pedals with bits of duct tape – although he stresses there were plenty of people on hand to catch him and he was perfectly safe.

After Toby completed a chemical engineering degree he began racing again, moving straight to Spain.

Toby Tanfield

All still in their 20s, the brothers have reflected on their lives so far.

Harry says: "The great moments haven't just been about the cycling as it has been good to experience different countries. I saw China for the first time, as I lived there for three weeks, racing, and I met my Dutch girlfriend whilst on my travels. I would encourage people to do sport as you never know what you can achieve or where it will take you."

" The expectations and sacrifices to achieve your goals bears a weight on you," says Toby. "You need perseverance. Your life revolves around your sport, and when your friends are going out, if you are training the next day – you don't go out. You have to be prepared for hours and hours of training."

"Cycling is a tough sport as you don't win very often but when you do, it's pretty amazing," says Charlie. "It's brutal as nobody cares if you come fifth. You have to focus on your own progression, and don't obsess over comparisons. "

Dad Stewart adds: "I am so proud of their achievements academically and sports wise. They are a great credit to their mum Clare."