Callum Thornley: Riding High
It’s a blisteringly hot day in the Tweed Valley and professional cyclist Callum Thornley is fresh off a 100km+ training ride around Cademuir Hill, the Meldons, the Moorfoot Hills, Heriot and beyond. His ride today has seen him venture from his hometown of Peebles to roads likely to feature in next year’s Tour de France – a race that his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team know would be a “dream” for him to compete in.
The race is still a long way off and Callum’s professional career in the UCI WorldTour is still in its infancy. So, for now he’s happy to focus on some home soil training ahead of his upcoming Tour de Pologne (Tour of Poland) and spend time with family and friends in the area that inspired his obsession with cycling.
We grab a cold drink in a nearby café and catch up on all things bike related ...
What are your earliest memories of riding bikes in the Tweed Valley?
I started out riding with Peebles Cycling Club (PCC) and Cranked Cycle Club every Saturday and Sunday. I remember just going out and riding and it being a fun, social thing to do. This then led to the local Dirt Crits on a Thursday night which sparked my real interest in racing. TweedLove (a local cycling festival organised by events organisation, Hillside Outside) also played a massive part in my cycling trajectory. I was in the first TweedLove enduro race team in the valley and Neil Dalgleish (Managing Director of Hillside Outside) actually gave me my first enduro bike. I dabbled in downhill as well and then moved towards cross country mountain biking.
Saying all that now, I don’t think I would have gone down the cycling route if I had lived anywhere else. It seems natural how it all happened now, but it was a great environment for cycling really. Everyone was so passionate about it.
When did road cycling become part of your life?
I got my first proper road bike on my 12th birthday – a Boardman – and I’m pretty sure I did my first local time trial with PCC on my birthday! It was called the Mini-Meldons and it started on the main road in Peebles, headed out along to Eddleston, over the Meldon Hills and finished just by the quarry outside the town. I also joined local chain gang rides on a Tuesday night which were half group rides, half race rides – they started out social but were less so when everyone started dropping each other! Such fond memories that started my love for the road.
A young Callum takes to the road on his trusty Boardman © Fiona Thornley
Your pro cycling career has taken you to places far from home. Tell us more
I’ve been living in Girona in Spain for the last two years and recently moved to Andorra in the Pyrenees. It’s amazing for cycling – a lot more mountainous than anywhere I’ve been before. You never really ride on the flat, it’s always up and down which is good for training. The fact that so many pros live there means you always have someone to ride with too.
The World Championships in Rwanda last year was the first time I had been to Africa, and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before; it was crazy. Kigali [the capital] was super developed and very impressive. But just two miles out of the city was the most poverty I’ve ever seen. You’d be riding along these roads with kids shouting for you to stop because they want water – you can’t stop but you feel terrible. I was also in Australia for the first time in January this year too which was incredible. It’s similar to here but with better weather.
Callum pictured centre with his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team © Getty Images
Can you share your favourite road rides from the Tweed Valley
The one that first springs to mind is the Moffat loop. You start in Peebles, follow the back road to Traquair, over Paddy Slacks, down past St Mary’s Loch and Grey Mare’s Tail to Moffat and then climb back over the Devil’s Beeftub. I’m going to do that tomorrow and I’m quite excited – I feel like a little boy again doing that loop.
The riding is also good over towards Melrose and Galashiels obviously where the Tour of Britain has been over the years. The climb out of Melrose [Cote de Melrose in next year’s Tour] is a cracking climb. I won the King of the Mountain (KoM) jersey in the Tour of Britain in 2024 and was picking up KoM points on all these climbs in the Borders – Scott’s View and that climb out of Melrose. It was so special to be on my home roads hearing everyone cheer my name.
Talla reservoir near Tweedsmuir is another great one. As soon as you’re off the main road to Moffat you won’t see a car. It’s a steep climb though. I’m not actually sure if I will do that when I’m back, it might be a bit too hard.
And I have good memories of cycling the Granites too [the road connecting Innerleithen with Midlothian]. I always did my intervals on the time trial bike up there – and quite a lot on my road bike. Good memories when there’s a tailwind, but the other way was always a blistering headwind! Riding over the Granites in the Tour de France 2027 would be incredible.
What do you most enjoy about road riding on your home patch?
It’s all so quiet. Wherever I train and wherever I go all over the world, it’s always pretty busy. I’ve never really ridden on roads as quiet as here and that’s what makes it so good to ride here. It’s also safer – the cars and the bikes can do their own thing and be together on smaller roads.
Tell us about your love for the Tour de France
Watching the Tour as a kid alongside the local time trials and chain gangs is what really made me want to be a road cyclist. Around 2010 and 2012, we went to France on family holidays in our van and saw a few stages of the Tour. I wouldn’t cycle the whole stage, but we would always go and do the climb we were standing on. I would be at the bottom and there were so many fans cheering you on. I had this little yellow jersey and I just remember everyone in the Caravans going mental – you feel no pain in your legs when you have people cheering you on like that.
What can spectators expect when the Tour rolls into town?
Road cycling itself is quite a niche sport in the grand scheme of things – but the Tour de France transcends everything. I’ve done some races that have felt really big, but everyone tells me that the Tour is like that tenfold. People probably won’t understand how fast the peloton goes until you see it from the side of the road – it’s spectacular. It goes by in a flash so it’s good to watch on a climb where there’s a bit of a slower pace.
You don’t just see the riders comes past – it’s a whole day event. The Tour de France Caravan comes before the race with tonnes of different sponsors that throw stuff to the crowds. When I was younger watching on the Cote de Tourmalet, the madeleine van came past and I was scampering about collecting as many cakes as possible! It’s a real day out and a great festival atmosphere. The start in Edinburgh will be unbelievable.
It’s also one of the few sports where you can experience what the pros are doing. You can’t go to Wembley and play on the pitch after the game but you can watch the Tour and then, before or after the race, go and cycle the same roads. It’s a unique sport in that regard. It’s inspiring to everyone, and not just kids.
The Tour de France Caravan entertains spectators in Paris © Tour de France
And what can the pro riders expect from Scotland?
Everyone who’s been to Scotland loves the country. It’s weather dependent but even if it’s raining that’s almost more authentic. Yes, it’s more beautiful when the sun is out but if it’s raining then that’s the real Scotland you’re getting! People I’ve spoken to are very excited about it coming to our country.
Aside from cycling, how do you spend time back in the valley?
Walking in the forests. Cademuir Forest is near my house so I spend a lot of time walking up there. It’s beautiful. Also, GoApe at Glentress – I remember doing that as a kid and it was such fun. I would love to go back and do that again. For me, the High Street in Peebles is a really nice hub. Everything is in one place and you can just walk around and it’s very social. It sounds cliché but since coming home, I’ve realised how friendly everyone is around here. Maybe it’s a language barrier whenever I’m not in an English-speaking country but when I’m out walking the dog, everyone stops for a bit of a chinwag. It makes me proud to be from here. When people come and visit, everyone is so proud and they want to show off the area. It’s going to be such an amazing atmosphere for visitors across the valley when the Tour arrives next year.
Further info
For a taste of Callum’s go-to road ride from Peebles to Moffat, taking in the beautiful south of Scotland, sign up for this year’s Tour O The Borders closed road sportive (6 Sept). A loop that mirrors Callum’s ride in reverse, you have the choice of two routes – 120km or 88km – the latter featuring the notorious Wall of Talla climb on the outskirts of Tweedsmuir.
For more road cycling inspiration, check out our other Tour de France pages or visit Bike Valley Trails for free to download route guides around the Tweed Valley.
Image credits: Getty Images (main image); Fiona Thornley; Tour de France.