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Charlie Stewart is co-founder of Albion, a UK-based cycling apparel company. He is now also an ultra-race winner, finishing Further East 2024 with a time of 33 hours 2 mins 5 seconds, and returning to camp first.
Images by Harvey Waller
Q: You’ve just won an ultra race with a blisteringly quick time. What did your training look like, and how did you prepare for Further East?
A: I try and keep my training pretty simple to be honest, with a distance goal every week (for both riding and running) that I try and split between one or two shorter, more intense rides and maybe one slightly longer. On the days I am not riding I am running from home to and from the Albion studio. I have a young son, so being disciplined and structured is really important because time is tight! I do most of my riding alone which means minimal time sat in the wheels.
I guess the other element of preparing for a race like Further East is the mental side, being mentally in a place where you think you can go out and actually ride for that length of time at a level of intensity, and that is a continual process has been ongoing for a few years now. Building the bank of mental resilience and experience by taking on long and challenging rides and coming through them. The idea of riding for 33 hours straight was quite daunting but its also not something you can really train for in the context of a training ‘plan’ I don’t think. I had done one 24hr race previously and had come through that quite well when I placed 3rd at the National 24hr TT in 2022, so I had that experience to call on but this was quite significantly longer and also a very different challenge with the terrain and it being self-supported.
Q: Can you describe your experience of the route and how the race unfolded?
A: The route is pretty savage to be honest, certainly in the context of trying to ride it all in one hit. Almost comically sadistic at points. I guess that is what makes it good though. It is a proper physical and mental challenge. I think I rode the first 500km really well, then the final 180km it felt like I was hanging on a bit. By that point I knew I was in the lead and had a decent gap, so it was really about trying to maintain that.
The first 200km I just tried to get into the ride, riding my own tempo and not worrying too much about what was going on around me. Coming into the Fens at about 210km, there were some long, straight road sections with a tailwind where I was quick, which are followed by Foss Dyke, which is an important part of the route and one where people can start to unravel. I made it along the Dyke in one piece, and it was soon after that I caught up to the two riders who were still in front of me. I pressed on and was first rider on the road as we made the turn south onto the Pedders way, another notorious section that is the start of about 100kms mostly off road that includes the Pedders Way and into Thetford Forest, which is all tackled through the night. This is the most difficult bit of the route in my opinion so I just tried to keep moving forward, keep concentrating and wait for the sunrise. I knew that the last 100ish miles were mostly on the road, so mentally that did help a bit, although for a ‘flat’ route this section did seem to include a lot of hills!
Q: Refining a kit list and packing for races such as this one is half the challenge - is there an item that you couldn’t have gone without?
A: Working at Albion means I spent alot of time thinking about the kit for this type of race, and I felt like I was very well equiped in this department. My focus was really on going as lightweight as possible, because I knew my plan was to be moving basically all of the time and I also wanted to use most of my carrying capacity for nutrition. Albion's Ultralight Insulated Jacket has become a firm favourite of riders for these types of events because it is so packable but also provides alot of warmth for its weight. Knowing I had that with me meant I was quite relaxed about the temperature dropping, although I didn’t even end up wearing it that much.
One bit of kit that was a real revelation for this race is a forthcoming Albion product which is a new gilet made using a Primaloft Evolve fabric (a new highly breathable active fleece fabric similar to Polartec Alpha, which more people might have heard of). I wore it for most of the race, and the way it regulates your body temperature and keeps you comfortable across a wide range of external conditions feels like magic at times, to be honest. Then, when you layer over it with a windproof layer it immediately has an insulating effect, turning your rain jacket or your gilet into an insulated version. It’s a seriously good bit of performance clothing, super versatile and perfect for long distance riding and racing, and I’m really excited to add it to our range early in 2025.
Q: Your race win was well timed with the reveal of the new Albion x Sturdy collaboration. Could you tell us a little more about this project, and the design principles behind the clothing system?
A: I met Tom Sturdy at an event earlier in the year, and having been a big fan of his bikes and design approach, we got talking about how we might be able to collaborate in some way. We came up with the idea of creating a bike and clothing for a specific race, as a way to demonstrate the process and approach of our two brands. Tom Sturdy is a bike racer at heart and so it felt natural to create a ‘race’ bike with him. He makes bikes that want to go fast, you can see that by looking at them. The fact that he uses Titanium too was really interesting, because for an event like Further East that is 50/50 road/off-road, it felt conceptually like the right material to make a bike for this type of course out of.
As for the clothing system, Albion makes products for this type of riding and racing, so in many ways it was about leveraging that and showcasing some of those products, and what they can do. I wore a prototype gravel /‘ultra’ racing suit that has also been used by a few of our athletes this year including by Justinas Leveika when he won the Tour Divide in a new record time, which draws on the materials and features from our existing range but puts them together in a ‘racier’ package. This is quite an interesting area at the moment in long distance racing, with more consideration being given to aero than ever before. I think there is a balance to be struck, with comfort also needing to be a huge consideration. We often talk about wanting to create products where people almost forget that that they are there, and they become invisible. If we can do that, and people can just focus on their ride, then the kit is doing its job.
Camille’s Further events are known for a unique camp spirit - was there anything you learnt from sharing conversation with other riders at Further?
A: The meadow out the back of Camille’s parents house, that forms the ‘camp’ that is the start and finish line of Further East, is unique and lovely place. The stripped back nature of everything creates a mellow atmosphere and you feel quite disconnected from ‘real’ life for a brief period, which I certainly appreciated. There is always an interesting group of people there, and if you sit by the fire long enough you will share stories with Camille, his parents, his friends and other riders about all sorts of things. East Anglian folkore is never far away from the conversation, with Dick Turpin’s name often coming up and the legend of Black Shuck, and the lesser known Shuck Monkey frequently discussed and debated. The route passes through a number of areas that are associated with strange goings on, including Rendlesham Forest which had a famous UFO ‘incident’ in December 1980 often dubbed ‘Britain’s Roswell’, so there is a proximity to the unusual which adds to the disorientation of a big bike ride in some remote places on little sleep….
Q: Do you have your sights on anything in the 2025 race calendar?
A: I was talking to Justinas Levieka about doing his race The Bright Midnight earlier in the year, so maybe if I say now that I'd like to do that one it will commit me to it! It looks like a beautiful route with ‘interesting’ weather and I'd like to test myself on an event that is slightly longer. I would also like to have another go at the National 24hr TT, having done it once I feel like I learned alot about how to do a race like that, and this ride at Further East has also given me more confidence and experience that I could use to prepare for it. I’d like to try and add my name to the list of people who have ridden over 500 miles. Both events are quite close in the calendar, and quite different in terms of the preparation required, so I might not be able to do both next year….
