Get the biggest stories sent straight to your inbox Sign up for regular updates and breaking news from WalesOnline Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

As London 2012 draws ever closer, Wales’ top athletes are locked away in state of the art training facilities, preparing to battle for gold in the biggest show on earth. With the modern facilities on offer in the UK, it’s easy to overlook the grassroots stories behind our sporting elite.

One of Wales’ biggest hopes for bringing back a gold medal this year is Geraint Thomas, the Cardiff-born cyclist who has already broken world records with his pursuit team.

Geraint’s story began at Maindy Flyers Cycling Club, and shows that more than anything, natural talent and a hunger for victory are the biggest factors in the success of any athlete.

So what did they put in the water at Maindy to create such a strong crop of cyclists? The outdoor cycle track at the Maindy Leisure Centre is well-known for being slightly lopsided, and when the club started up it was in a state of disrepair.

However, the track is responsible for some of the UK’s top cyclists, such as Luke Rowe, Matthew Rowe, Geraint Thomas, and Nicole Cooke (who was a member of Cardiff Ajax Cycling Club).

Debbie Wharton was one of the founders of the Maindy Flyers, she started the club with Derek Williams in 1993 to give local children somewhere to cycle.

Without any funding, the pair not only created a great club, but are also responsible for getting a young Geraint Thomas into the world of track cycling.

"It was never a remit of the club to find champions, we just wanted to increase the number of kids riding bikes,” says Debbie Wharton.

“But you could see by these kids having the regular opportunity to ride bikes they were coming on leaps and bounds, they were streets ahead of other kids in national competitions. It became clear with the outdoor velodrome that anybody could have a go.

"Geraint joined very early on, he's in some of the original photographs in a baggy set of shorts and trainers. He was also into triathlon, he was very much into fitness,” she added.

(Pictured: Geraint, aged 9, second child from left, Derek Williams, coach, standing behind Geraint, and Debbie Wharton standing on far right)

Debbie explains that despite Geraint being a naturally talented athlete, he wasn’t the most proficient cyclist when he joined the club.

"When he first started he was good, he looked good on the bike, but he was quite nervous in the bunch, he'd always sit off the back of the bunch because he couldn’t get in,” recalls Debbie.

“He started at about nine years-of-age, by the time he was 12 he started to pick up good results in national competitions.

“He won a bronze in Manchester in the under 16's 500 metre time trial (pictured at the top of this article), at the national championships, but he was only 13. I thought wow how do these kids go so fast. Luke Rowe was also there, he's doing really well now.

"Geraint's dad was really committed too, he was a runner in the past so he was very dedicated to taking him around the country to competitions. It went from there.”

Geraint started to bring home more medals as he grew older, but always punched well above his weight. One of Debbie’s pictures shows a 14-year-old Mark Cavendish standing at the top of the podium after an under-14 competition in Hillingdon. Geraint, who is a full year younger than Cav, is pictured to the right of the podium, having taken 4th place.

Looking back on the experience, Debbie remembers the original Maindy Flyers cyclists fondly, but she is also looking forward to London 2012.

"I feel immensely proud of all the Maindy Flyers, and I'm glad I gave them that opportunity with the club. There was no opportunity to do it for youngsters at the time, you could only get into cycling if your dad was in it, you couldn’t just turn up with trainers and a mountain bike, you'd be laughed away,” she said.

“We invited anyone with any gear or any equipment, we had no funding so we all raised our own money and the parents helped. The club is still the same today.

"I would hope Geraint’s team is the favourite at London 2012, they've always got something in the pipeline to produce on the day. I think if he does well this year he'll turn his attention to the road as part of Team Sky.

"I wish good luck to Geraint, we all know he can do it, we know he is dedicated and he can do it for us. He's very loyal and we are very proud of him, he always comes back to say hi to the kids at Maindy Flyers, which is such great inspiration.”