Xavier Disley, a C5 para-cyclist, won the national individual pursuit title in February by beating his close friend and teammate William Bjergfelt in an epic head-to-head race.
He is now one of six riders to be nominated for the inaugural National Champion of the Year award, presented by Lloyds, and goes up against the likes of Olympic BMX champion Beth Shreiver with the winner announced on 8 November in Manchester.
Disley was an able-bodied athlete until 2022, when he suffered a seemingly innocent crash in the Battle on the Beach off-road race in South Wales.
He suffered a sequestrated disc in his back, which resulted in the electrical signals to his left leg and foot being permanently compromised. His nerve damage is so bad, he suffers cramps every day and needs special shoes to walk.
However, the Worcestershire racer never gave up on cycling and quickly adapted to the C5 category – for cyclists with the least impairment and only in one limb.
“Everything changed in 2022,” Disley said. “I had a bad accident, but I still wanted to carry on competing.
“The pursuit at the Manchester Velodrome was the race I really wanted.
“I had won the scratch race the previous December [in 2024] and had my wife and friends watch that but the pursuit at a packed velodrome was amazing.
“I was seeded in the heat against Will Bjergfelt who is a very good friend of mine. He was very helpful in this whole process of becoming a para-athlete having had had an accident about 10 years before I did.
“We were drawn against each other in the final heat in a close race and it was a great and wonderful experience.”
With his achievements earning recognition at the highest level of the sport within the country, Disley is excited at the prospect of sharing his successes with those nearest and dearest come awards night at the prestigious Hilton Manchester Deansgate.
“We’re all looking forward to it,” said Disley. “My wife’s [Jessica] an accomplished cyclist in her own right winning the Grand Fondo World Championships five times now so she’s no stranger to these kinds of things.
“We feed off each other in making sure we have the motivation to get on the bike and do the training and she knows what it means.”
The British Cycling Awards are an annual opportunity to recognise and reward the contributions of members, volunteers, clubs, and riders.
The award has been brought together with collaboration from each of the sport commissions, to recognise and celebrate the achievements of national champions across the domestic season.
Disley’s contributions to the sport extend beyond the velodrome, with the para-cyclist also working as an elite sport performance consultant as well as Director of AeroCoach Ltd, a company specialising in providing coaching, equipment and accessories for cycling and triathlon.
Disley admitted balancing these responsibilities can be tricky but he has always been one to face life’s challenges head on.
“Because of my injury I can’t do as many hours as I used to so it’s definitely different,” he continued.
“I’m still commuting into work but not being able to walk as easily as I used to means that I get more enjoyment out of riding because it doesn’t hurt as much as walking.
“Racing is great and I feel incredibly fortunate to still be able to cycle. If I was, let’s say, a marathon runner, it would be quite difficult, but I can still ride and I’m very lucky to be able to.”
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