British talent Cat Ferguson had quite the 2023 season. From winning her first Nations Cup on her debut at Trofeo Binda Juniors and following it up with victory at the Tour of Flanders to finishing second at the World Championships in Glasgow and closing out the road season as the top-ranked junior rider, Ferguson looks set for stardom.
The Yorkshire-based teenager was exceptionally consistent and exceeded expectations with her haul of victories as a first-year junior. A common theme of her first few wins was a hand over the mouth in amazement as she appeared to surprise herself, but the Briton will have to get used to having her arms in the air at the rate she’s currently going.
Many teams came knocking after her immediate success, but it's Spanish squad Movistar that has secured her signature. She stressed that the move just felt right from her first meetings with team manager Sebastián Unzué.
She’ll join Movistar as a trainee in August next year after turning 18 in April, with her first full season in the WorldTour due to arrive in 2025. Ferguson will close out her time as a second-year junior for Shibden Hope Apex Tech, a Yorkshire-based team run by her father.
Ferguson has impressed not only on the road but also on the cyclocross field and the track. British cycling fans may know her for dominating the junior National Trophy series, but she announced herself globally with her first World Cup win in Troyes last month. It was another surprise for Ferguson, perhaps still unsure of just how good she is.
From her work with well-known coaches Seth Smith and Emma Trott, Ferguson has developed into a rider with great race-craft and technical ability, able to employ a strong sprint to take wins on a range of routes. Look out for her on all types of parcours but sooner still, the upcoming rounds of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup and World Championships in Tabor.
Cyclingnews caught up with Ferguson after she returned home from the Dublin World Cup and had a moment away from washing muddy kit and studying for her A-Levels.
Cyclingnews: I understand you’re from a region of the country where cycling is very popular in Yorkshire, but how did you get into the sport?
Cat Ferguson: First of all, I'm very proud to be from Yorkshire. My mum's from Cumbria and my dad’s from Yorkshire and it was him who got me into it as he used to do climbing, and to keep his weight down he used to do mountain biking. So when I was younger he used to take me on a tag along on some muddy trail centre rides. I used to hate it, to be honest.
All the spray from his back wheel would just end up on me, I can't say I was a fan of it. But then I joined a club and met some friends and really started to enjoy it. Then COVID hit and I started to race more seriously after that.
CN: What was it like as such a young rider during the pandemic and lockdowns?
CF: I did lots of racing through lockdown and to be honest I hated that. I don't think I'll ever go back to Zwift racing, but I did really enjoy it being my first go at being an independent cyclist. I used to just go on rides with other people but because of the lockdown there were fewer cars on the roads so I went out a lot more just by myself and started to enjoy it for myself.
CN: You've had an almost unprecedented year, winning your first Nations Cup. It seemed like in all the winners' pictures you were very surprised. Did you expect the success to come so soon?
CF: No, not at all and I went into the road season with some expectations just because last year I went to the European Youth Olympics in Slovakia and won both the road race and time trial. So I sort of hoped for some decent results.
I set myself the goal of a top ten at road Worlds but I didn't expect to go into the first race at Binda in March and win. It was a big shock and you can start to tell from my finish celebrations.
Even now like the last race I won in France in cyclocross, I was so shocked and never been so happy across the finish line. It's still every race I'm learning more about myself and my competitors.
CN: Did you have it in your head that you shouldn't be winning because you were still only 16?
CF: I think that first race at Binda was just a complete shock. I was in the break and I don't normally win from a break either. It was my First Nations Cup and first race with like 150 girls and I'd survived, I was the one on top. It was a mega feeling.
CN: Your season went great thereafter then we arrived at Worlds where you came second and at the time you said in interviews ‘If you told me this at the start of the year I would have been buzzing with second’. How do you look back on it now?
CF: I think it's an interesting one. At the time, I was probably quite emotional. I was so pleased to stand on the podium and come second after that race because during it everything sort of kicked off and I wasn't expecting it. To pull second place out of the bag I was super happy with.
But now from reflection, I’ve watched it back and listened to criticism and I'm a little bit annoyed at myself but also so proud of myself. I think going into next year I’ve definitely learned so much from that race in particular.
We didn't work very well as a team and I think if we'd caught the French girl, then I might’ve been able to win the sprint like I did for second place. Then obviously the rainbow stripes would be mine. It’s a bit frustrating but second yeah, I'm still mega pleased with that.
CN: What were the main things you took from your first year as a junior and do you feel you still learned the things you needed to even though you were already winning?
CF: I think I'm still learning and bunch positioning, even though I’m alright towards the end when it comes to a sprint, is probably what I need to work on going forward. One of my main takeaways this year is stepping up from the UK domestic scene where you’re racing 40 girls to stepping up to the big races as a junior when there are 150 girls. Even being at the front of the race I'm happy with but I still need to work on it.
CN: You touched on your win in Troyes briefly earlier, how did you get into doing cyclocross alongside road?
CF: When I was around 14ish my best friend at the time was doing cyclocross alongside road and she just told me that she enjoyed it. So that season we went all in, bought two Cross Bikes and I did all the National Trophies in the UK and enjoyed it. I wanted to stick with it as it gave a bit of fun to the winter. I couldn't imagine doing a winter of just base endurance, that sounds like hell to me, to be honest.
CN: What was that first win like in France?
CF: It was insane. I had a lot of success on the road this year and last cross season as a first-year Junior I was happy, but I didn't ever get a big win abroad or a Podium. So that win meant a lot and to repeat my road success in another discipline was amazing.
CN: At Cyclocross Worlds last year, you were sixth. What’s the plan from now until then for Tabor?
CF: I’ll be back for the next couple of World Cups in Namur and then Antwerp so both in Belgium, then training and racing over the Christmas period in Belgium. Then I’ll head to Benidorm which is going to be fun and Hoogerheide for the World Cups there. Then my main goal is worlds.
CN: Wil you doing the very typical thing that all Brits racing CX do and move to Belgium for Christmas this year?
CF: It’s my first time doing it, yeah, much to my mum's disappointment.
CN: With your results in Binda and Flanders, was there already World Tour interest before then or did the calls from most teams start coming in after that?
CF: I had a little bit of interest from a couple of good cyclocross teams during the cross season as a first-year Junior and then I won Binda and a couple of teams were interested in me. I started getting approached by a couple of agents and signed with Jamie and 258. Then I won Flanders and that piqued Movistar’s interest.
CN: What made Movistar the right fit?
CF: I'd spoken to a couple of teams before and I just felt different speaking to them, Sebastián, the director. They were just so accommodating to my personal needs and were so friendly. I’m so excited to meet the rest of the team. I really like their ethos and I'm very excited about such an amazing opportunity.
CN: As you’re still only 17, you won’t be able to start as a stagiaire until August, how does contact with the team between now and August look?
CF: At the moment they're just supporting me with bikes and equipment. So I've got all Canyon bikes now which I'm loving and then I'm going to a training camp with them in January in Benidorm just before the World Cup. Then I start next August when I can officially ride for them as a stagiaire and hopefully, I'll be able to do a couple of lower-level UCI races from August to October before 2025 for my first proper season.
CN: Your dad founded the team you are currently riding for and there are other great prospects on the team such as Imogen Wolff. How has riding for them been for your development?
CF: To be honest, and not to give all the credit to my dad, but I would say it’s down to him. He’s very keen, not pushy at all, but he's just so personal to the riders. The feedback after races, the team environment. Its so specific and it's not generalized to just the whole team. It's very individual and I think that's why our team has probably done the best.
CN: At 17, you're of course still at school for the moment, how is combining trying to become a full-time professional rider with completing A-Levels?
CF: It's a bit crazy, to be honest. I'm in year 13 now and the difference from year 12 is a bit mad. Obviously, I've got to sit my exams, but there's also so much more that comes with it. It's just time management and using travel to your advantage, revising in the car and stuff like that. It's not very fun but it has to be done.
CN: What do you make of riders coming through so young nowadays such as yourself and Zoe Backstedt?
CF: I think having the backing of my agent reassured me that it was the right decision. A lot of people criticised me just for signing so early. I’ve not just signed it as a junior but as a first-year Junior so I've had a bit of negative criticism, but ultimately for me, it felt right and I can't see myself in any other team for the near future.
I think with girls it's a little bit different compared to boys. You see fewer boys step up to WorldTour immediately, but that's because as a female we don't have a lot of under-23 category races or teams. You sort of have to step up straight away to World Tour otherwise you can get left behind in the Conti world.
CN: With your development, you've had two well-known coaches Emma Trott and Seth Smith having worked with Zoe Backstedt and Tom Pidcock previously. How have they aided your development riding for the GB Junior Academy and Hope?
CF: Seth lives literally about five minutes down the road and unfortunately, this year he’s stepped back a little bit from Hope but last year and the last two years to be honest, he's coached me nearly every Wednesday night. I'd say you can really notice it in my technical abilities in cyclocross, it's really come on thanks to him. I don't know where I'd be today without his experience and Emma's experienced coaching.
CN: I know you won't want to pigeonhole yourself as a rider but it was quite obvious you kept winning sprints last year, but you're not a sprinter from what I understand. So what kind of rider would you say you were?
CF: To be honest, I'm not really sure. I've asked myself that question quite a few times this year and I never used to be that quick. Then this year I've just almost by accident done quite well in bunch sprints. I'd say I've been better in the reduced bunches and less so much in the big bunches where I've still done alright, but I'm not really sure how I see myself progressing in the future. I seem to have done quite well in climbing, TTS and sprints this year. So I'll just sort of see where the road takes me with that.
CN: You've just had an icon of the sport leave the team you're about to join in Annemiek van Vleuten. What kind of riders did you look up to Growing Up?
CF: I'd definitely say Lizzie Deignan. She's from Otley which is like 30 minutes away from me. 100% her. Emma Trott actually said that my riding style is a little bit similar to Lizzy's, so that's pretty cool and she’s someone I've looked up to my whole life and has been so influential in women's cycling.
She’s one of my biggest inspirations. I met her for the first time last Wednesday at this Champions of Cycle Sport dinner in London and got a stand next year on stage which was a bit mental.
CN: Is there a race you'd love to win when you join the World Tour?
CF: I'd love to win the Olympics. It's not very ‘cyclingy’ but as a kid, I always tried every sport and said I wanted to go to the Olympics. So to win a gold medal would be insane. Also, probably Paris-Roubaix I’d love to win that.
