I was born in London on Christmas Eve, 1990.
My family lived in Richmond, west London.
My mum left home when i was 6, so it was just my Dad and I.
This was fine until i turned 10. I was sent to a Boarding School, and i started arguing with him a lot.
I was expelled in 2003 for fighting. I have always been aggressive, but i control it a lot better now.
It was 2003 i first saw the TDF. I watched Lance win a great race, and that spark was ignited, all i wanted was to cycle.
I got my first bike then too. It was handy cause when i rode it i was away from home.

Over the next few years i was arrested several times for disorder and drinking.
My relationship with my dad was so bad that social services got involved.
In 2005 i was put into a programme to sort my behavior out. This was the low point, being put away in a 'correctional facility'.
In May 2006 i was sent back to my dad's. Well that was their plan. Instead i ran away. Well cycled. I took my bike and headed where any cycling enthusiast goes, France.

I crossed the channel by sneaking into the back of a van. Must say security was terrible.
So in May 2006, aged 16 i was in France, with a bike and £27.50.
I decided to head south to the coast. I rode down through France, blagging stays in hostels and the homes of kind french people.
I started in Marseilles, but it was too expensive and posh to be able to stay.
I moved down the coast looking for somewhere to set up a new life. I needed a job and somewhere to live.
This is what brought me to Perpignan. Right on the edge of the Pyrenees and Spain this was perfect.

I found a cycle shop, run by an ex-Flandrian. His name was Tom der Kijt. His shop sold bikes and bike parts, as well as sponsoring local cyclists for races.
I told him my story, i should mention i could speak french fairly well. Languages are my specialty.
Anyway, he offered my an apprentice job, repairing and building bikes. He'd pay me E5 per day, and let me stay in the spare room above the shop.
This became my life. I worked repairing bikes 6-6, 6 days a week, and cycled the other day.
I was happy.

By 2007 i could fully build a bike myself, and i was regularly doing 100mile rides (maybe once a week).
In July Tom and i went into the Pyrenees for the Tour. We rode up the Palteau de Beille. We watched the duel of Contador and Rasmussen with mouths open. It was incredible.
This became a pattern. Work for 11 months, ride a watch the tour in July.
Tom continued to sponsor local riders, and in 2008 this really took off. He'd taken on a new member of staff in the shop to build bikes. I became the mechanic for his sponsored riders.
I went to all the major local events to help the riders. Here was were i learnt all the tricks of competitive riding. I got tips from older riders and absorbed it all.

In 2009 i convinced Tom to let me ride some races under his name. There were a series of 5 TT's, in Perpignan, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Limoux and Prades. I won all of them.
I also entered a series of 'hill-climbs'. These were basically MTT's in the Pyrenees. This was where i found my true talent. I won every race by over minute that year.
I caught the attention of a local team and started riding for them in local races.
But it wasnt for me. In 2010 i moved out of Perpignan, and set off for Pau.
By now i had enough money to live off, and i found a job, again repairing bikes.

This is where things got interesting.
It was June 2010. I was heading back to Pau after a 3hour ride in the mountains. Coming the other way on the road was the Astana team, including Contador. The man who made me want to race, who captivated me each July.
I decided to swing round a follow them. What i soon realized was that this was the team for the Tour. All 9 of them were set up as if it was a real tour stage. They headed off, and instantly i knew were we were heading, the Tourmalet.
Call me an idiot, but i was going to follow them all the way.
We wandered along the route, before we reached the base of the climb. Here Navarro put in a burst of pace, and the team shattered.
Only Navarro and Contador were ahead. I rode my way past the rest of the team as they took it easy.
Contador accelerated going alone to ride the clmb. I couldnt allow that, so i climbed out the saddle and gave chase. I've never seen such surprise in a face when he realised i was keeping pace with him.
He accelerated again, but i kept with him. He accelerated again, but this time i was dead.
10mins later i reached the top, and Alberto was waiting. We had a breif chat about climbing, he gave me some tips just as the team car appeared. At which point they yelled at me and Alberto for mucking about, and i rode off.

This was the event that lead to this point. For the rest of 2010 and 2011 all i've done is climb mountains, and go to the hard races i can.
It was at the Etape d'tour of 2011, when i finished 1st, that Project approached me. They took me to do some tests and training. Then in September they offered me a 3 year contract as a young rider. I get E5,000 a month and role in the team.