Morgan Newberry: Para-cycling, pastries and World Records

At KOTWF, we have the privilege of meeting and working with amazing people. From our clients to our partners to our Community, we are constantly surrounded by energy, talent and heaps of potential. But as of this summer, we have the honour of knowing a World Record holder. 

If you have ever been to Summat cafe in Bakewell, odds are you’ll know Morgan Newberry. When she’s not training and travelling as a professional para-cyclist, she’s serving up delicious coffees, handing out pastries and drawing routes for the weekly Saturday social rideout. She shines in everything she does, but this summer she truly surpassed herself. 

Representing England at the Commonwealth Games for the very first time in Glasgow, Morgan took silver in the C5 4000m individual pursuit, smashing not just the Commonwealth Games record, but the World Record to boot. Her time of 5:05.764 was enough to beat the performance of New Zealand’s Nicole Murray who had taken the World Record just six minutes prior, but not quite enough to take gold in front of Australia’s Tara Neyland, whose factored C4 time was quicker.

We caught up with Morgan to get her insights on the event and what’s next for her now that she has taken her career to new heights – and speeds.

What was it like taking the C5 World Record only 6 minutes after Nicole?

“I genuinely didn’t realise she had beaten the record in her race until after I finished mine. We kind of crossed each other like ships in the night so I didn’t see any of her final. That probably wasn’t the worst thing, though. We were both completely focused on our own events. That being said, I’m so happy I took it off her: I would have been annoyed if she’d kept it!”

The World Record is an amazing achievement, but would you trade it for a Commonwealth gold medal?

“Yeah, I would definitely trade it for the win. I would love a gold medal! It felt a bit bittersweet setting the World Record but coming home with a silver medal. But Tara did such an unbelievable job in the final. She set an unbelievable time to take the win and she fully deserves it.”

⁠How was your experience of representing England in Scotland? Did you feel like you were one of the favourites going into the race?

“It was fantastic! Scotland has mad crowds, and I’m pretty sure I had them on my side on race day. There were no Scottish athletes in my event so I think the home fans let themselves cheer for England with love. It was a sold out velodrome and the roar when I raced was amazing. It was so lovely to have my family and some friends up there, I really could hear them shouting.”

“I don’t think I was favourite in terms of expectations from the crowd. There was no added pressure to perform, in my opinion, but I did want to do my absolute best for the people who had supported me getting to the Games. I did feel that pressure a bit.”

Did you do anything different in training leading up to these Games? If not, what would you credit for this phenomenal result?

“I worked quite a lot with our team sports psychologist on making sure I got to the startline ready to race and in the right headspace. I think I had felt the pressure I had put on myself in the lead up to the Games, and she helped put that pressure into the right pots to not let it boil over on race day.”

“On the physical front, we played this game in our last track session of the week every week. We finished our planned session with 4 reps of 30-second max efforts off just 30 seconds of rest. Obviously, this was hard because we had already done all the bulk of the work for that session, but it was a weekly tester to see what we could do after all the work. After about 6 weeks of this, our coach showed us the direct improvements we had made. This was a great confidence booster going into race week. It’s always great to see hard work translate to results!”

Now that you're a World Record holder, what are your plans for the future? Did it shift your perspective and approach to your goals at all?

“At the moment, I think I need people to keep reminding me that I now hold a World Record. It’s pretty hard to get your head around. But I am sure it will help me take confidence into everything I do going forward and in the long term.”

“In the meantime, though, we literally got back from Commies on the Monday and by Tuesday we were back training as we go off to Alabama very soon for the Road World Championships, which have come round crazy quick! So, it has been a mad training turnaround from track back to road. I think the Commonwealth Games were a big reminder that I do love bike racing and I am still chasing a win, and I think the long-term desire for that only grows after a breakthrough like this.”

At only 27 years old, Morgan’s career is already well-decorated. From rising through Dame Sarah Storey’s academy to picking up several medals on the world stage to now owning her very own World Record, her palmares is looking set to grow year-on-year. We can’t wait to see what’s next. 

In the meantime, why not come say hello to her at Summat or join her on one of the weekend rides?