Custom Cycle Coaching Request Call 

+44 (0) 789 078 2329

Background

Meet DR. tom Kirk - cycle coach

I started Custom Cycle Coaching way back in 2011 while completing a PhD in Sports Physiology and Nutrition. At first, I balanced cycle coaching with research at Oxford University as well as working as a Directeur Sportif in professional races at home and abroad, experiencing first hand the feeling of just driving at over 4000m altitude in the Tour of Qinghai Lake, let alone racing there! Experiences such as these, and my scientific background, mean I am always looking to apply the latest good research, and sift out the fads that just aren't worth it!

These days, as a Dad in his 40's I race at a more moderate level in British Cycling and Masters BMCR races and enjoy getting stuck in on the local chaingangs! Our training camps in Spain each March help with the motivation to train hard over the winter and keep fit enough to enjoy showing our clients the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.

Physiological testing | Custom Cycle Coaching UKSpring Training in Spain | Custom Cycle Coaching UKStephen Bradbury, Mikey Mottram Track cycling Madison winners | Custom Cycle Coaching UK
Background

Coaching Credentials

Over 15 years of experience working in the Physiology of Cycling Performance

Education

PhD Sports Physiology and Nutrition, Oxford Brookes University

Masters Sport & Exercise Nutrition, Loughborough University

BSc Sport & Exercise Sciences, Birmingham University

Certifications

British Cycling Level 2 Coaching

UK Anti Doping Coach Clean

ISAK Anthropometry

Dr. Tom Kirk Gran Fondo Alpujarra Magna | Custom Cycle Coaching UK

Dr. Tom Kirk

cycling coach and sports physiologist

I have been cycling competitively for over half my life! I began cycling at the age of 13 after watching the Tour de France on TV and wanting to emulate my heroes such as Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger. I saw an advert for children's races in the local newspaper and went along. I got lapped several times by the winner but I was hooked! Over the next few years I raced and learnt a lot and won several events. In my first year as a senior rider I upped ship to France to race for an amateur team and since then have competed in national and international races each year. When I realised that a career as a professional cyclist was not a realistic goal for me I returned to the UK to study a degree in Sports and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham. I first became interested in Sports Nutrition as a Junior competing in the Junior Tour of Wales when I first found out that full English breakfasts and ice cream were not the best fuel for racing (thanks Dave!) and was introduced to sports drinks for the long, hilly stages. This interest was awakened during my degree learning from Professor Asker Jeukendrup, a world renowned expert in Sports and Exercise Nutrition and I followed up my degree with a Masters in Sports and Exercise Nutrition at Loughborough University. I have since studied for a PhD in Sports Physiology and Nutrition and worked as a researcher at Oxford University. I continue to compete at in Masters cycling and manage UK elite teams in races at home and abroad.

I am a qualified British Cycling coach and passionately believe that for a coaching programme to be successful it must be tailored completely to the individual's needs. You will not find any generic copy and paste training programmes here, every one is customised to your goals, time availability and fitness levels. We embrace modern technology using power meters, heart rate monitoring and heart rate variability amongst other tools and you can be assured that all programmes are based on the most up to date scientific principles alongside good old fashioned common sense and training principles.