Alfred Brockwell Wright (born 13 June 1999) is a British racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career
Originally from south east London, Wright moved to Manchester at the age of 18 to join the British Cycling Senior Academy, with a focus on the track. In August 2019, Wright joined UCI WorldTeam as a stagiaire for the second half of the season.
In November 2019 it was announced that Wright was joining the team, later renamed as for the 2020 season. He was recruited to the team by Rod Ellingworth, the outfit's general manager, who had previously worked for the British Cycling Senior Academy. In April 2020 Wright won stage four of the Giro d'Italia Virtual, held during the Covid-19 crisis that stopped outdoor cycling races. In October 2020, he was named in the startlist for the 2020 Vuelta a España. At the Vuelta he placed fourth on the fifteenth stage of the race.
2022
2022 was a breakthrough season for Wright as he took a top-10 at the Tour of Flanders from the breakaway. At the Tour de France Wright was again an active breakaway rider, recording two top-10s from the break including a 2nd place, and then in the penultimate stage's 40.7km individual time trial, Wright managed 8th place. At the Commonwealth Games a few weeks after the end of the Tour de France, Wright won a Silver medal in the individual time trial event, behind Rohan Dennis, but beating a pre-race favourite, Geraint Thomas. Cyclingnews.com commented on Wright's 2022 season that "[t]he Vuelta a España was confirmation that Wright seems to be getting better and better this summer, bothering the top reaches of the results sheets in breakaways and bunch sprints", and tipped him as a contender for the World Championships road race for 2022.
2022 Vuelta and controversy
At the 2022 Vuelta a España, Wright scored, via sprint finishes and breakaways, seven top-10 stage results, including three top-3 results, but didn't manage to win a stage. During the race he was the subject of controversy: during the closing kilometres of Stage 16, a small group of four, including Wright, followed Primož Roglič, then placed second in the General Classification, as he attacked out of the peloton. As the lead quintet sprinted for the win, Roglič collided with Wright, causing the former to crash heavily while the latter was able to stay upright. Roglič crossed the line with several cuts on his right side. Two days later, Roglič issued a statement via his team: “My conclusion is that the way this crash happened is unacceptable. Not everyone saw it correctly. The crash was not caused by a bad road or a lack of safety but by a rider's behaviour. I don't have eyes on my back. Otherwise, I would have run wide. Wright came from behind and rode the handlebars out of my hands before I knew it." This statement was criticised by other riders and teams. Roglič's fellow Slovene Matej Mohorič defended Wright, saying "It's not appropriate and it's not fair to make a statement like that toward Fred [...] I think if you ask the peloton, everyone will tell you that Primož is more eager to push for position than Fred. We know that Primož crashes a lot and this is not the first time this happened."
2023
On 25 June 2023, Wright earned his first professional victory, winning the elite men's race at the British National Road Race Championships, three days after a silver medal in the elite men's time trial.
Personal life
As of 2021, Wright lived in Manchester, sharing a house with fellow racing cyclist Ethan Hayter.
Major results
Road
2016
1st Overall Junior Tour of Wales
5th Overall Trofeo Karlsberg
1st Young rider classification
2017
3rd Overall Junior Tour of Wales
1st Mountains classification
2018
2nd Road race, National Under-23 Championships
2nd Overall Ronde de l'Oise
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3
5th Road race, National Championships
7th Overall Paris–Arras Tour
2019
1st Stage 4 Tour de l'Avenir
1st Stage 7 Giro Ciclistico d'Italia
3rd Overall Paris–Arras Tour
5th Time trial, National Under-23 Championships
2021
1st Road race, National Under-23 Championships
National Championships
2nd Road race
4th Time trial
10th Eschborn–Frankfurt
2022
Commonwealth Games
2nd Time trial
5th Road race
7th Tour of Flanders
Vuelta a España
Held after Stage 5
2023 (1 pro win) National Championships 1st Road race 2nd Time trial 8th Tour of Flanders