Joughin after winning the 1981 Tour of the Peaks |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steve Joughin | ||
| Nickname | Pocket Rocket Little Big Man[1] |
||
| Born | 23 June 1959 Isle of Man United Kingdom |
||
| Team information | |||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Sprinter | ||
| Amateur team(s) | |||
1980 |
Manx Road Club Manchester Wheelers' Club |
||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 1983–1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 |
Moducel Percy Bilton - Holdsworth Ever Ready - Ammaco Percy Bilton Percy's AMP K.J.C. - Revelation |
||
| Major wins | |||
|
|||
| Infobox last updated on 2 April 2010 |
|||
Steve Joughin (born 23 June 1959) is a former professional Manx road racing cyclist.[1] He was the first Manxman ever win the British professional road race title.[2] He is arguably one of the best UK riders of his generation, riding in the 1980s which was the golden age of British racing.
Contents |
His first cycling race as a youngster was around King Georges Park in Douglas racing in jeans and trainers.[1] However he enjoyed the camaraderie of racing and soon joined the Manx Road Club. By the age of 16 he realised he had talent and won the Merseyside divisional road race championships in 1976 and 1977.[1] He then became the first Manx rider to win the national junior road race series and the British Junior Road race championship. In 1978 he competed in the individual road race at the Commonwealth Games, finishing 27th after crashing on the final lap. The gold medal was won by Phil Anderson. In 1980 he won the Premier Calendar series, whilst riding for the all conquering Manchester Wheelers' Club. However he missed out on selection for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. At the end of the 1980 season Joughin decided he would spend the 1981 season living and racing in France [3] However he didn’t settle and was back within a few months. As he wasn’t prepared to live in a hovel scratching around trying to win races in the hope of being offered a professional contract.[2] Instead he opted to live and race in the UK, now and again beating the big stars when they came over.[2] The following season he again won the Premier Calendar series and competed at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. However the highlight was arguably winning a Stage in the Sealink International after outsprinting Dirk De Wolf, the eventual race winner. He was also third in the British National Road Race Championships, the race was won by Jeff Williams. Joughin then turned professional in 1983, aged 23, with the Moducel team which was based in Staffordshire.[1] In only his second season as a professional he won the British National Road Race Championships in 1984. The race was held on the home soil for Joughin, in the Isle of Man and attracted huge crowds.[2] In 1986 Joughin won two stages of the Milk Race leaving behind Djamolidine Abdoujaparov.[2] After four seasons with Moducel he joined Percy Bilton riding alongside Bob Downs and John Herety. That same season he had arguably his greatest ever victory winning the first stage in the 1987 Kellogg's Tour of Britain, beating some of the biggest names in the sport of cycling such as Sean Kelly. Joughin got into a breakaway and then as he approached the finish in the city of Birmingham unleashed his trademark sprint.[2] In 1988 he had one season riding for Ever Ready alongside Tony Doyle and again won the British National Road Race Championships. However after just one season he returned to Percy Bilton riding alongside Paul Curran. His last season was 1991 riding for K.J.C. - Revelation.
Joughin showed that he could beat some of the fastest Sprinters in the world. However his inability to climb restricted his Palmarès.
Steve retired in 1991 as he was unable to secure a ride for the following year. In a bid to help fill the huge hole that racing, and the thrill of success, had left in his life, he became an alcoholic. By 2005, he was lying in an Italian hospital bed fighting for his life. However Joughin has since began putting his life back together.[4] Today Joughin lives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, where he has run his cycle clothing business, Pro-Vision, along with his son Ben, since 1996.[5]
1st British Junior Road race champion
1st GP Essex