Steve Joughin
Encyclopedia
Steve Joughin is a former professional Manx
road racing cyclist
. He was the first Manxman
ever win the British professional road race title. He is arguably one of the best UK riders of his generation, riding in the 1980s which was the golden age of British
racing.
divisional road race championships in 1976 and 1977. He then became the first Manx rider to win the national junior road race series and the British Junior Road race championship. In 1978 he competed in the individual road race at the Commonwealth Games
, finishing 27th after crashing on the final lap. The gold medal
was won by Phil Anderson
. In 1980 he won the Premier Calendar
series, whilst riding for the all conquering Manchester Wheelers' Club
. However he missed out on selection for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. At the end of the 1980 season Joughin decided he would spend the 1981 season living and racing in France
However he didn’t settle and was back within a few months. As he wasn’t prepared to live in a hovel scratching around trying to win races in the hope of being offered a professional contract. Instead he opted to live and race in the UK, now and again beating the big stars when they came over. The following season he again won the Premier Calendar
series and competed at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
in Brisbane
. However the highlight was arguably winning a Stage in the Sealink International after outsprinting Dirk De Wolf
, the eventual race winner. He was also third in the British National Road Race Championships
, the race was won by Jeff Williams
. Joughin then turned professional in 1983, aged 23, with the Moducel team which was based in Staffordshire
. In only his second season as a professional he won the British National Road Race Championships
in 1984. The race was held on the home soil for Joughin, in the Isle of Man
and attracted huge crowds. In 1986 Joughin won two stages of the Milk Race
leaving behind Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
. After four seasons with Moducel he joined Percy Bilton riding alongside Bob Downs
and John Herety
. That same season he had arguably his greatest ever victory winning the first stage in the 1987 Kellogg's Tour of Britain
, beating some of the biggest names in the sport of cycling such as Sean Kelly
. Joughin got into a breakaway and then as he approached the finish in the city of Birmingham
unleashed his trademark sprint. In 1988 he had one season riding for Ever Ready alongside Tony Doyle
and again won the British National Road Race Championships
. However after just one season he returned to Percy Bilton riding alongside Paul Curran
. His last season was 1991 riding for K.J.C. - Revelation.
Joughin showed that he could beat some of the fastest Sprinters
in the world. However his inability to climb restricted his Palmarès.
hospital bed fighting for his life. However Joughin has since began putting his life back together. Today Joughin lives in Stoke-on-Trent
, Staffordshire, where he has run his cycle clothing business, Pro-Vision, along with his son Ben, since 1996.
1977
1st British Junior Road race champion
1978
1980
1st GP Essex
1981
1982
1984
1986
1987
1988
1989
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
. He was the first Manxman
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
ever win the British professional road race title. He is arguably one of the best UK riders of his generation, riding in the 1980s which was the golden age of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
racing.
Cycling career
His first cycling race as a youngster was around King Georges Park in Douglas racing in jeans and trainers. However he enjoyed the camaraderie of racing and soon joined the Manx Road Club. By the age of 16 he realised he had talent and won the MerseysideMerseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
divisional road race championships in 1976 and 1977. He then became the first Manx rider to win the national junior road race series and the British Junior Road race championship. In 1978 he competed in the individual road race at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
, finishing 27th after crashing on the final lap. The gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
was won by Phil Anderson
Phil Anderson
Philip Grant Anderson OAM is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who was the first non-European to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.-Origins:...
. In 1980 he won the Premier Calendar
Premier Calendar
The British Cycling Premier Calendar Road Race Series is a season-long competition run by British Cycling. It comprises a series of road bicycle races for the country's top domestic road riders.-Organisation and events:...
series, whilst riding for the all conquering Manchester Wheelers' Club
Manchester Wheelers' Club
-Formation and early history:The club was formed on 7 July 1883, as Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, the name being changed to Manchester Wheelers' Club in 1890.The Manchester Wheelers are the most successful cycling club in Britain having produced countless international riders and several World...
. However he missed out on selection for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. At the end of the 1980 season Joughin decided he would spend the 1981 season living and racing in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
However he didn’t settle and was back within a few months. As he wasn’t prepared to live in a hovel scratching around trying to win races in the hope of being offered a professional contract. Instead he opted to live and race in the UK, now and again beating the big stars when they came over. The following season he again won the Premier Calendar
Premier Calendar
The British Cycling Premier Calendar Road Race Series is a season-long competition run by British Cycling. It comprises a series of road bicycle races for the country's top domestic road riders.-Organisation and events:...
series and competed at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. However the highlight was arguably winning a Stage in the Sealink International after outsprinting Dirk De Wolf
Dirk De Wolf
Dirk De Wolf is a former professional road racing cyclist from Belgium.-Cycling career:In 1982 at the age of 23 De Wolf won the Sealink International and finished 8th at the World Road Championships. The following season he turned professional for the Belgium team Boule d'Or...
, the eventual race winner. He was also third in the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
, the race was won by Jeff Williams
Jeff Williams (cyclist)
Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams is an English former professional road racing cyclist from Manchester. He rode for Great Britain at the Olympic Games, and won several national championship titles.-Cycling career:...
. Joughin then turned professional in 1983, aged 23, with the Moducel team which was based in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. In only his second season as a professional he won the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
in 1984. The race was held on the home soil for Joughin, in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and attracted huge crowds. In 1986 Joughin won two stages of the Milk Race
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
leaving behind Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov is a former professional road racing cyclist from Uzbekistan. Abdoujaparov was a sprinter, nicknamed "The Tashkent Terror" as he was so ferocious in the sprints...
. After four seasons with Moducel he joined Percy Bilton riding alongside Bob Downs
Bob Downs
Robert Downs is a former English professional cyclist from Basildon Essex. He won the Tour of Ireland in 1974 and competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics in the Men's 100 kilometres Team Time Trial. At the 1982 Commonwealth Games he won a gold medal in the 100 km T.T.T...
and John Herety
John Herety
John P Herety is a former English racing cyclist. He rode for Great Britain in the Olympic Games and won the national road championship as an amateur and then a professional...
. That same season he had arguably his greatest ever victory winning the first stage in the 1987 Kellogg's Tour of Britain
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, beating some of the biggest names in the sport of cycling such as Sean Kelly
Seán Kelly (cyclist)
John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classics riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193...
. Joughin got into a breakaway and then as he approached the finish in the city of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
unleashed his trademark sprint. In 1988 he had one season riding for Ever Ready alongside Tony Doyle
Tony Doyle (cyclist)
Anthony Doyle MBE is an English former professional cyclist.-Biography:Doyle was world pursuit champion in 1980 and 1986. He was a professional between 1980 and 1995, riding for British teams....
and again won the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
. However after just one season he returned to Percy Bilton riding alongside Paul Curran
Paul Curran (cyclist)
Paul Curran is a former professional English racing cyclist from Thornaby, Cleveland. He rode for Great Britain in the Olympic Games, won the national road championship and won several medals at the Commonwealth Games.-Cycling career:...
. His last season was 1991 riding for K.J.C. - Revelation.
Joughin showed that he could beat some of the fastest Sprinters
Cycling sprinter
A cycling sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.-The road sprinter:...
in the world. However his inability to climb restricted his Palmarès.
Post-cycling career
Steve retired in 1991 as he was unable to secure a ride for the following year. In a bid to help fill the huge hole that racing, and the thrill of success, had left in his life, he became an alcoholic. By 2005, he was lying in an ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
hospital bed fighting for his life. However Joughin has since began putting his life back together. Today Joughin lives in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire, where he has run his cycle clothing business, Pro-Vision, along with his son Ben, since 1996.
Palmarès
1976- 1st Merseyside divisional road race championships
1977
- 1st Merseyside divisional road race championships
- 1st National junior road race series
1st British Junior Road race champion
1978
- 27th Commonwealth Games1978 Commonwealth GamesThe 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec...
, Road race
1980
- 1st Overall Premier CalendarPremier CalendarThe British Cycling Premier Calendar Road Race Series is a season-long competition run by British Cycling. It comprises a series of road bicycle races for the country's top domestic road riders.-Organisation and events:...
1st GP Essex
1981
- 1st Tour of the Peak
- 1st Stage 1, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Bournemouth - 3rd Stage 4, part a Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Sandiacre - 2nd Stage 4 part b Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Sandiacre
1982
- 1st Stage 2a, Sealink International, Gravesend
- 1st Archer Grand PrixArcher Grand Prix cycle race- History :The Archer Grand Prix has been run annually for over fifty years, organised by Stuart Benstead of the Archer Road Club . It has been descried by British Cycling as a "long running classic". The first edition was held in 1956 and won by British rider, Alfred Howling...
- 1st Overall Premier CalendarPremier CalendarThe British Cycling Premier Calendar Road Race Series is a season-long competition run by British Cycling. It comprises a series of road bicycle races for the country's top domestic road riders.-Organisation and events:...
- 3rd British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Amateur) - 7th Commonwealth GamesCycling at the 1982 Commonwealth GamesThese page represents the results at the Cycling Competition at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.-Individual Road Race :-Team Time Trial :-1.000m Time Trial:-1.000m Match Sprint:-4.000m Individual Pursuit:...
, Road race - 10th Commonwealth GamesCycling at the 1982 Commonwealth GamesThese page represents the results at the Cycling Competition at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.-Individual Road Race :-Team Time Trial :-1.000m Time Trial:-1.000m Match Sprint:-4.000m Individual Pursuit:...
, 1.000m Track Time Trial
1984
- 1st
British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional)
1986
- 2nd British National Circuit Race ChampionshipsBritish National Circuit Race ChampionshipsThe British National Circuit Race Championships cover several different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. The first championships were held in 1979 for professional cyclists only. Amateur championships were introduced in 1993 but only 3 of these were held as...
(Professional) - 3rd British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional) - 1st Stage 12, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, London - 1st Stage 1, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Blackpool
1987
- 1st Stage, Manchester - Birmingham, Kellogg's Tour of BritainTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
1988
- 1st British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional)
1989
- 3rd Stage 2, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Bristol - 1st Stage 6, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Liverpool