Steve Bate: Back racing and back on the podium

IT’S been a challenging year for Steve Bate, but typically for the 42-year-old it ended with a medal.

Since joining the Great Britain Cycling Team Paralympic Podium Programme in December 2014, Steve and his pilot Adam Duggleby have enjoyed incredible success. In Rio they dominated the tandem endurance events, setting a new world record in qualifying to win gold in the tandem pursuit on the track and winning gold in the road time-trial before picking up a bronze medal in the road race.

A world title was missing from their set – until last year when the duo claimed individual pursuit gold at the Paracycling Track World Championships before repeating the trick in the time trial at the road world championships later that year.

The pairing added silver to their collection at the 2019 road championships in Emmen earlier this month as Great Britain ended the event with a total of eight medals. Steve and Adam narrowly missed out on another medal in the road race, finishing fourth, while Dame Sarah Storey claimed WC5 gold in both the time trial and road race, and Katie Toft won two silvers in the WC1 category.

There were also medals for Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall (WB time trial bronze), Ben Watson (MC3 time trial bronze) and Jaco van Gass (MC3 road race silver). It represented a particularly impressive achievement for Bate, who only returned to racing last month following a year beset by injury and illness.

He told Agility: “Canada was our first road race of the season – we missed the earlier rounds of the Para- Cycling Road World Cup because I had a back injury. It was strange starting the season in August but we came second, ten seconds behind the Dutch tandem.

“It’s always disappointing not winning but I was relatively happy with our performance. We probably lost the gold – we made a couple of mistakes which shows that we haven’t raced enough this year but second in the time trial wasn’t too bad and set us up nicely for the World Champs.

“With my injury and illness, it’s just been one of those years,” continued Steve. “Considering that, we went into the Worlds feeling pretty good and super motivated to try to defend our title. There was definitely a freshness to how I was feeling and I was super keen to take on the best in the world again and see where we’re at.

“We’re very fortunate with the medical staff at British Cycling. We’re really well supported and there’s no way I would have been back in this position without their support and guidance, which I’m eternally grateful for.

“When I had the issue with my back it felt like it could have been the end of my career. Between the medical team and the strength and conditioning coach, they’ve done a great job to get me back and as strong as I am. Fingers-crossed that injury won’t happen again between now and Tokyo.”

Steve admits that his long injury lay-off made him question his motivations and future in cycling. “Over the last year, mentally I’ve struggled a bit in terms of commitment to the programme and wondering if I really wanted to continue on to Tokyo,” he said.

“I’ve not fallen out of love with riding but the impact it has on my life and family life is substantial. You have to be very selfish to do this and it got to the point where I was wondering ‘do I have to win any more medals? What is the purpose of me riding?’

“So I had a bit of soul-searching. I’ve been so lucky in my career – I haven’t really been injured and everything has gone pretty smoothly but this year that all unravelled. When that happens you start to wonder if it may be the end and you almost start to resent it in a way because you want to carry on but your body is starting to fail and other pressures are coming into it. Once upon a time that was easy to block out, whereas this year I’ve questioned whether I need to do this anymore.

“Is going to Tokyo and winning more medals going to change me as a person, make me more financially secure and raise my profile?

“The reality is that it’s not, but I’m not here to get rich – I’m here to test myself and see what I’m capable of. That’s what brought me back to the bike and working 110 per cent to get into the position where we are now. “It’s the hunger to see what I’m capable of – to see if I can do it all again.”

Despite those initial doubts, Steve admits that he could feasibly continue beyond Tokyo and even have a tilt at the 2024 Games in Paris – at the age of 47.

He remarked: “I’ve been in this position before a year out from the Games, and I know what it’s going to take to get to where I need to be. It’s nice being able to go into that year feeling fresh and being able to give it everything.

“I’ve asked myself a question a lot this year – is this going to be the last time I put myself through this? I really don’t know. Physically, I think I could do another fouryear cycle. I feel as good now as I did going into the Rio Games, so there’s no reason why I couldn’t carry on.

“It’s just mentally whether I’ve still got the desire. After Tokyo I will have answered the questions I have about myself in terms of sport and what I’m trying to achieve in cycling. So it’s about your motivation and what your new set of goals would be.

“I’m still being very open-minded about that and I don’t want to make any decisions just yet. I didn’t think I would get this far – after Rio I thought that was it and I would move on to something else. I took some time away and thought about it, and I’ll probably do that again after Tokyo.

“I don’t have a long list of all the Paralympic Games I’ve been to, unlike some of my team-mates! But I can’t fault Rio – it was an amazing time and an amazing atmosphere. It was a fantastic experience out there and the people were incredible.

“These events are wonderful and you can’t buy the position that I’m in. It’s a privileged position and I want to make the very most of that.”

If Steve and Adam are to retain their Paralympic road time trial crown they will need to overcome their good friends Vincent Ter Schure and Timo Fransen. The Dutch tandem finished 27 seconds ahead of the British duo at the recent world championships.

“They are our biggest rivals and probably our best mates too when we’re off the bike,” explained Steve. “Vincent and I had our very first race at the same time together back in 2014. We’ve got a bit in common there, we’re good friends and have a massive amount of respect for each other.

“In 2018 at the Worlds, over 20-odd miles, we won it by half a second ahead of them. So we’ve got this fiercely competitive relationship but they’re good guys and just want to stand on the top step like we do.”•