I did this before my Martijn North story, and I feel like I need to do the same again. It is the right thing to do:

IanButler: I have said this before, but your stories hold legendary status amongst us all on the site, and the inspiration I take from them is huge!
Sutty86: Your Novo Nordisk story is fantastic and like IanButler, it gives me high inspiration to write my own. Your comments and dedication to nearly all stories on the site is a big help with motivation as well.
Jakstar22: Another one who has a great story at the moment with Nairo Quintana. Fantastically written, and I will draw some inspiration from your style in my own writing.
tsmoha: The guy who’s name I need to check the spelling of about 4 times when I write it. I love your NRS story, and even tried to work towards something similar with the British Elite Graphics packs and DB. Sadly, I only got halfway there with that, but the dedication is amazing to the detail in your story.

Whilst the list of honourable mentions could go on and on, I have to draw the list at some point. However, I can end without noting TMM, Cycleman123 and baia, who past stories have really had a big impact on how I now look at writing my stories and the end layout.

Everyone who has aspirations of being a cyclist always have a few idols that they look up to, whether it be Mark Cavendish, Alberto Contador or Tony Martin. They form that someone you hope to be one day on your bike in a professional peleton, almost mirroring their style on the bike to see how close to the real thing you can get.

So who were my heroes? For me, it was always the guys who focused their training on the first few months of the season and set their main goals on the Cobbled Classics. Tom Boonen, George Hincapie and Fabian Cancellara to name just a few. The type of rider who just loved to dish out the pain to others over the sections of cobbles in Ronde van Vlaanderen or Paris-Roubaix.

It is a delight to watch, and one day, it will be me causing the pain. My name is Henri Robert, and this is the story of my Life on the Pavé.

I was born and raised in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, on the outskirts of Lille, in 1997. My parents never had a great love of cycling, but luckily for me, my grandfather did. Local to the area all his life, he had grown up the with finish of the Paris-Roubaix just on his doorstep, and many other great races just over the border in Belgium. The passion for the sport was in his blood and run through his veins.

I was nine years old when he took me to my first race and I saw Fabian Cancellara take his first victory in the velodrome in Roubaix and there was no turning back from then on. Every year I would be back, cheering alongside my grandfather, as we saw Stuart O’Grady, Tom Boonen and Cancellara again taste victory over the next 4 years.

Growing into my teens, I began to learn about the sport of cycling on a whole, and buying my first bike. It was nothing special, a cheap road bike from Decathlon, but it was all mine to look after. The bike gave me license to head off and ride in the wheel marks of my new heroes on the cobbles around Roubaix. The rattles, the bumps, the shakes. I could feel them through every bone of my body. The feeling was unreal and I loved every moment of it.

Joining a club was the next step, and taking part in the junior races in the area. The results took a while to come, but soon I was competing with the best in the region. Flat and fast suited me perfectly, especially if the wind played its part. It was here where I worked on my tactics on the bike, and trying to copy the moves made by Cancellara and Boonen over the years. It was then I got noticed by some of the bigger teams in the country...

I first noticed someone watching over the races towards the end of the 2015 season. I was approaching my 18th birthday, and within two years, I had done from racing locally around Lille to competing against some of the best in the country on a National scale, with varied results along the way. I had learnt that Mountains were not for me, but anything flat, fast and especially Cobbled would be where I could excel.

At first, the scouts were from teams I didn’t recognise, but then I saw the likes of Vendée-U, Lille-Roubaix and even Topsport-Vlaanderen amongst those looking over the races. I was keen to impress them all, but especially the likes of Topsport-Vlaanderen who had a huge reputation as a Classics team and was invited to the likes of Ronde van Vlaanderen and Eneco Tour on an annual basis.

I focused on the local Junior races, knowing that they would give me the best results. My next five races all finished in Top 10 results, with two of those podiums. No victories though. Before and after each race, I saw other racers being approached, contact details being exchanged and trial days being offered out.

What was I doing wrong? Was it the lack of wins coming my way?

Over the next few months, it felt like a rollercoaster ride. The ups of my rides and improving results in race were met with the downs of others being offered rides with bigger teams. However, this was nothing compared with the down I experienced when the news came of my grandad’s passing in the Late Summer of 2015. He had been ill for most of the year, and, since May, had not been able to attend my race meets. But it still hit me hard. He was the reason why I rode a bike, the reason why I loved the cobbles and the main motivation to push on during my junior career.

The first couple races after his death felt strange. I didn’t really feel like racing, so hung around the back of the peleton, watching the key attacks go off the front, and not really caring what the outcome was. God knows what the scouts watching on thought about me.

It took a pep talk from my dad before an important local race to bring me back around and focused towards my racing. Long story short, he simply just asked what my grandfather would think if he saw me now. What would he think of my half-arsed performances? Don’t ride in grief of his passing, ride in honour of everything he did for me and remember the reason why I ride. That was just what I needed to hear.

In the next 3 races, I took two podiums, with the last of the trio earning me a post-race visit from the Lille-Roubaix. It was a brief chat, but they were interested in me for the 2016 season. That spurred me on more. Next race was another podium, losing out in a two-up sprint for the line. I was getting closer, and more teams were showing interest, with Auber93 also throwing their hat into the ring. The strangest call was from AnPost-Chain Reaction, an Irish team with a Belgian background.

I finally got my long overdue victory in one of the last races of season. It was my club’s home race, and I knew local knowledge could give me the advantage. Judging the race well, I came into the finish with rider from Brittany, the same guy who had beaten me in the two-up sprint just weeks later. The last 3km was simple enough, fast and long on an open boulevard. But with 300m to go, there was a sharp left, where the exit is tighter than it looks on paper.

I held back for the bend, letting him take his line first. He came in narrow, protecting himself against any long attacks for the line, but that is where he went wrong. Grabbing his brakes to avoid an inevitable collision with the barriers, I swung underneath him and kicking out the corner to the line and opening a gap. 50 metres to go, there was 5 bike lengths between us and the victory was all mine. Looking up to the sky, with my arms in the air, just one thought came to mind…

‘This is for you Grandad… Thank you!’