Brompton x INEOS

We spoke to Ben Cornish about his love of sailing and his experience on a T Line in Barcelona. 

 

How did you first fall in love with sailing? 

I fell in love with sailing at the age of about 7. I grew up in Exmouth on the River Exe and I’d go down to the local sailing club on a Friday night with my parents. I initially hated it, I hated going on the water, but after a couple of months I started to love it. I progressed through the junior levels and ranks of national racing and then ended up here at the America’s Cup. 

  

It’s not an easy sport, what pushes you to keep going when you are at your limit? 

It’s not easy. I guess what pushes us here is this environment, you see such a big team and so many different departments all working around the clock to make this happen. For us as the athletes, we are a small cog of this whole organization and that is a massive driving factor. When we get to this racing period, you [must] push to your limit to reach that goal that everyone has been working so hard for. 

  

Sailing requires a lot of focus; do you train your mind? 

This campaign has been the best part of four years and we only race at the business end for a couple of months, so [in] that period running up to it you always have to have the racing period in your mind.  

You need to treat the end of each training block as something important. Otherwise, the points we are entering now can get quite overwhelming if you’re not ready for it. It’s certainly something myself and the rest of the team have had in our minds and been focused on. 

  

When you’re not sailing, how do you like to spend your time? 

We spend a lot of time out on our bikes when we’re not sailing. Earlier in the campaign, we would do [much] of our training outside on the bikes, pushing long hours of training. It was great to be able to do those long training sessions outside in the fresh air. 

  

Do you find any similarities between cycling and sailing? 

The two worlds of cycling and sailing have really come together for this campaign. The cyclers here integrated with the INEOS Grenadier cycling team and the eventual end product for both teams is very similar – it’s about getting a human to their best possible capability of fitness, albeit the discipline is slightly different. 

The Grenadiers are training for a long grand tour of two or three weeks, while we are training to output the highest power we can in 20 minutes. But the training, recovery and nutrition element has been shared between the sports and has given us a massive benefit this campaign. 

 

The America’s Cup is in Barcelona this year, how have you found being in the city? 

Barcelona is great, there’s so much going on in the city. You’re also a stone’s throw from the beach, so you can be in the city centre and in a five-minute walk be on the beach. You also don’t need to travel far to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city, which is something we found on our training rides. Within half an hour you can be in lush greenery and open space. 

  

What was the most memorable experience at your last America’s Cup? 

It can be reasonably overwhelming during the America’s Cup; you spend all these days out on the water testing on your own, with maybe a few boats watching, and then once it all starts you realise how big of a following the America’s Cup has.  

The shoreline will be packed out, boats will be lining the boundary of the course, and this literally changes overnight. You go from being on your own, to suddenly having all eyes on you and all the supporters watching. 

 

When you are back on land, what are your favourite ways to keep moving? 

For me I love cycling, which is why it’s great to have the Brompton bikes here, especially because I hate walking.  

Barcelona is a busy city, so driving can take five times longer than walking or cycling. Having the pool of Bromptons here is great as you can just jump on one if you need to head back home for something or decide to cycle home one evening. 

  

How did you find your Brompton T line fitting into your life? 

The Bromptons are great compared to a conventional bike, as you wouldn’t be able to jump on the underground with a normal bike or stop off at a café on your ride home and have a debrief with some of your coaches. You can fold it up and put it under your table – it’s really convenient.  

We’re all living in apartments here in Barcelona, so space is limited, and you don’t want to fill it up with a big bike. The convenience factor of the Brompton has been great for us all.