{"id":4016,"date":"2024-07-18T11:05:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T10:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/peak\/?p=4016"},"modified":"2025-08-12T14:39:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:39:45","slug":"how-to-write-a-cycling-cv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/peak\/how-to-write-a-cycling-cv\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO WRITE A CYCLING CV"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOW TO WRITE A CYCLING CV<\/h2>\n\n\n
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This week on our Project PAU webinar we spent time talking about cycling CV\u2019s and how to put one together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, we\u2019ve also been inviting young male and female riders to apply to to be part of our own team for 2025, so for anyone who missed that session, it felt like a good time to write a blog on the subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for details of how to write a cycling CV, whether you\u2019re applying for Team PAU for 2025 or elsewhere. We\u2019ll also talk a little bit about covering letters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

First – some context:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether or not a team is aware of you as a rider, your CV is usually the first opportunity a team has to get an overall view of you as a human being. So it\u2019s worth giving it some thought and putting a bit of time into making it the best version of you that you can. So before we go into the detail of what needs to be in it. Here are some easy wins that can set you apart from the pack:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – Spell check is your friend<\/strong> – There\u2019s really no excuse for sending in a CV with spelling mistakes. Leaving mistakes in a document that you could eliminate for free can make you seem less serious about your application than a rider who takes care of these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 – Read it out loud<\/strong> – A great way to see if any document needs a little edit is to read it out loud (or get someone else to). Mistakes that you miss when you read it in your head can suddenly seem really obvious when you try to say them out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 – Get a friend to check it over<\/strong> – A bit like point 2 above, but also ask someone to check all the links (if you\u2019ve got them) in your document, double check phone numbers and ask you about anything they don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, let\u2019s get onto the CV itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The basics of a CV are the same whether you\u2019re writing for a Saturday job at the local bike shop or applying to be CEO of the company. The reader needs to know things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Name<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Address<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date of Birth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact details<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More interesting stuff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we know who you are and where to find you, it\u2019s your opportunity to give us an idea of you as a person. Even if you\u2019re a fantastic bike rider, we\u2019re going to be spending a lot of time working with you and travelling with you, so this is your chance to make us understand why you\u2019re a good fit both for the team and the project. So start your CV with a short statement about you as a person, your personal qualities, your goals and aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TIP – If you\u2019re not sure what makes a good fit, make sure you\u2019ve had a good read about the team online. looked at social media and perhaps talked to other people about the team. There\u2019s lots of info out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next – hard data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the bit of the CV where you talk about what you\u2019ve done and what you\u2019re capable of. Start with things like height, weight* and the type of rider you see yourself as at the moment. From here, depending on what you\u2019ve been able to track, it\u2019s time to get into some data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*A note about weight – Weight is a relevant piece of data when looking at a rider if you\u2019re also supplying info about power. Together, those pieces of data will give a team a clearer idea of what type of rider you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of data is useful:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re lucky to have access to a power meter and you\u2019re able to record all your training, or if you\u2019ve a smart trainer that\u2019s enabled you to do some fitness testing, then teams will find it useful to know things like maximum power for different durations (3sec, 10sec, 1 minute, 5 minute, 20 minute for example) as well as your FTP if you\u2019ve got that. If you\u2019ve got all your training data onto a platform like training peaks you can share access to your files from there – however, it\u2019s still useful to have that headline data in the actual CV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t have a power meter or access to that type of data, it\u2019s not the end of the world. If you\u2019re able to it would be worth finding somewhere you can do some basic testing (e.g. getting a friend to let you use their smart trainer). But if that\u2019s not possible in the time you\u2019ve got, here are some other things that can be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n