XXV.ELEVEN/COLLECTIVERIDERBLOG – YOUNGEURODOG
- eightbikeco5
- Oct 5
- 5 min read
One of our young development riders, Theo Sandell, has been smashing up the back-roads of France, learning his trade. Here’s how Theo’s been getting on as he looks back on some of his road season and begins ‘cross...
At the start of the year Theo headed out to a couple of French races and the Junior CiCle Classic - the UK’s answer to Paris Roubaix. He got held up by some crashes, but did a fantastic job to keep his head and cross the gaps, eventually coming across the line in a really solid 26th place - without the hold-ups he was pretty sure he’d have been in the mix so the winter training was working.
Then he headed to the Tour de L’Eure - a Junior race in France which has been won by Evenepoel and Barguil among others. Theo says, “Stage one was quite an easy stage. My teammate, Dylan, went in the early break meaning we could relax and monitor the front of the bunch. The break came back and in the final, Dylan made an excellent move to put us in 3rd wheel, before, sadly someone had a touch of wheels and brought me down with them".
"For stage two I felt terrible and I was properly swinging at some points, but I pushed on. Stage three on Sunday brought the long-awaited TTT. We did a nice course recon the night before and I got a proper night’s rest, and despite never racing a TTT together, we gelled quickly, settling into a smooth rotation with clear communication and selfless riding. At the finish, we clocked the second-fastest time of the day and ended up in 5th place once the fastest teams came home, which pushed our GC leader up to 5th overall. On stage four an early break got 2.5 and it seemed to take forever to get the chase started. The finish circuit had a lot of road furniture and was quite narrow but we rolled in close enough to protect our GC”.
“Then we went to the Classique des Bourbons race, another National race in France. On stage one I felt good and tried to get away but nothing stuck, so I led Dylan out for the sprint points instead. On stage two (ITT) the course didn’t suit me, and I struggled with the rolling hills. Stage three was super chill until 50km to go, where we rode very well on the front, making others chase. It was full on British like weather and when the race finally split me, Dylan and Oscar Nisbett made the front group. The finish was super sketchy after the non stop rain and I once again got caught behind a crash - I managed to stay upright but was disappointed with the finishing place, but I was learning lots”.
Three more races in Europe rounded of Theo’s first proper road season and then he took some time to prep for the ‘cross season. We chatted about bike setup and how to put together a nice season. He’s working with a really good coach this year that he gets on well with and although he’s not found the consistency yet, he’s really grown as a rider - he thinks very carefully about his bike setup, which makes it very rewarding from a mechanics point of view, because he listens to advice and then makes really educated decisions - something we’ve worked together on for a long time now. Cross is an individual sport, but the combination of coach, parents, mechanic and rider is really important to the success.
I suggested that Theo started with a League race, which he promptly won - an excellent start to the season and a great way to build confidence. The next three races were Hope Supercross races and we got a brace of 19th places. Solid results, but Theo knew he could ride better and was clearly frustrated with his performances. As cliched as it sounds though you just have trust the process and keep training. This paid off in the first round of the British National Trophy Series at Derby. Theo finally got a good grid position and was able to convert that into a solid start. He rode a brilliant race and with a couple of laps to got was in a three rider battle for 2nd - someone was going to be very disappointed, but it wasn’t going to be Theo! He matched all the attacks and won the sprint to the line, claiming a brilliantly well deserved and overdue 2nd place! What a brilliant start to the series!
Results 2025;
16/3 46th Boucles de Seine-et-Marne (Nat.)
23/3 26th Junior CiCle Classic (Nat.)
19-20/4 90th GC (31st Youth) Penn Ar Bed (2.1)
7-9/6 20th GC Tour de L’Eure (Nat.)
27-29/6 DNF Acte van Bladel (2.1)
5-6/7 20th GC Classique des Bourbon (Nat.)
25-27/7 DNF Watersley Junior (2.1)
16-17/8 106th GC (43rd Youth) La Ronde Des Vallees (2.1)
23-24/8 38th GC (15th Youth) Boucles de l’Oise Juniors (2.1)
7/9 1st London & SE CX League/Sussex CX League (J)
13/9 19th Hope Supercross Rd.1 (CJ)
14/9 DNF Hope Supercross Rd.2 (CJ)
20/9 19th Hope Supercross Rd.4 (CJ)
5/10 2nd National Trophy Rd.1 (CJ)
2025.RIDERS – THEOSANDELL
Theo is a Junior Cyclocross and Road rider who has been riding bikes for around 10 years and is going into his third year with the AEIGHTBIKECO. Currently he’s riding a pair of custom built ‘Cross bikes and also a road bike which Glen/AEIGHT has always looked after. He will be racing a calendar of road races this Summer designed with next seasons cyclocross season in mind. Theo is coached by Nikki Brammeier and races for VC Londres - you can find him on Instagram
2025.RIDERS - GLENWHITTINGTON
#aeightracer – Bike Rider / Framebuilder / Mechanic - Glen started racing in 1998, initially specialising in XCO and Solo 24-Hour Mountain Bike, before racing ‘cross, road and TT. He became a mechanic in 2002, working in shops and also for professional race teams including Joker, Trinity and Saint Piran. In 2013 he built his first bespoke frame and then spent several years at Roberts learning the art. Since then he’s designed, tested, and now sells his own frames/bikes and wheels to the public as part of his ÆIGHT brand - you can find his business Instagram account here.
GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO RACE WITH US?
We’re always looking for riders to be part of our ÆIGHT CØLLECTIVE. The #aeightbikeco is about doing things a little differently - Rather than a jersey being the common theme, we kit our riders out with bespoke steel bikes and handbuilt wheels made in our Sussex workshops, the ÆIGHT WHEELWØRKS and the ÆIGHT MANUFACTØRY. We then support each other at events and races regionally, nationally and internationally - whether that’s for mountain bike, ‘cross, gravel, crit, road or TT - it’s what we call, the #aeightbikeco
The best part is that we’re not asking you to leave your team or club - that includes racing in your club/team kit. We’ve got certain brands that we work with, mostly so we can standardise shared equipment, but your own sponsors and clubs are almost always welcome. We have some strict qualifying criteria but don’t be put off by this – if you’re interested in being part of the #aeightbikeco then please get in touch by emailing your racing CV to eightbikeco@gmail.com
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