Horton could swap roads for trails

In a wide-ranging interview for his Madison Genesis team’s website, the Guernsey rider recalled the finale to the road race at the Gold Coast 2018, where he was in with a realistic chance of a medal only for a slip of the chain to ruin his sprint for the line, as the low-point of his year.

‘The big highlight and disappointment at the same time were the Commonwealth Games,’ Horton said.

‘I think to be in that position and then for the chain to come off, while representing my home island of Guernsey, it was the most gutting result of my career and the hardest thing I had to accept.’

When asked if he has another Commonwealth Games in him, the 32-year-old replied: ‘I’m not sure – I’ve not thought too much.

‘Maybe as my last one, I can do the mountain bike race. Since my first Commonwealth Games back in 2006, I said I wanted to race my mountain bike and that would be a fun way to finish off.’

Horton is currently down under, having based himself in Geelong for some winter training while also competing in Australia’s famous Bay Crits.

‘It’s a far cry from any memories of last winter,’ Horton said.

‘You’re not going out the door being optimistic with two hours. I’m not going to die of hypothermia and that makes it a hell of a lot easier.

‘I started winter a bit differently because Mike [Cuming] and I had the Shimano Supercrit in the diary. That meant I started with hard rides, so I could get round the crit without being dropped.

‘Now it’s back to normal, I’m doing the longer steadier rides. Alongside them, I’m going to the gym, swimming, running, mixing things up keeping fit and active.

‘It’s nice to break everything up.’

Looking ahead to the 2019 season, Horton reported it is no secret that the team’s aim is to win the Tour Series and he believes Madison Genesis have the roster to do so.

‘You look at our squad and for those races it must be the strongest in the UK for next year.

‘We’ve always been strong but next year the main difference is our strength in depth.

‘We have seven of us who are at the level to win races and that makes a big difference – one guy can be sick, another one can be injured and you still have five strong riders. That’s a rare thing to have.’