‘Living Legacy’ Evans Eyes Glasgow Games Return
Neah Evans was never meant to be a cyclist. If things had gone to plan, she might have been clearing fences in the world of showjumping or scaling rocky hills in fell running. Instead, she found herself hurtling around the velodrome at world-class speeds, a world and European champion, double Olympic medallist, and living embodiment of the legacy that Glasgow 2014 aimed to inspire.
But the road — or more accurately, the track — to international cycling success wasn’t part of any long-term plan. In fact, Evans’ journey to becoming a household name in British cycling began with a reluctant agreement to go along with her dad’s idea of a fun afternoon.
“I almost just went to appease my dad,” Evans says, reflecting on her first visit to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, “but it was a sliding doors moment because I absolutely loved it, and everything just snowballed.”
The Day That Changed Everything
At the time, Evans was in her early 20s, studying veterinary medicine and feeling a little lost. Injuries had forced her to give up both showjumping and fell running, two sports she had thrown herself into at different stages of her life. She had never been inside a velodrome, never used clip-in pedals, and had certainly never ridden a brakeless track bike. But with the venue opened to the public in the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games, her dad booked her into a taster session.
That session would change her life.
“It just clicked,” she says. “I was buzzing from the adrenaline, the speed, the precision — it was unlike anything I’d done before.”
Now, 11 years later, Evans is sitting in the very same velodrome with a trophy cabinet that includes Olympic silver medals from Tokyo and Paris, gold at the World and European Championships, and a collection of Commonwealth medals from two separate Games.
‘An Accidental Athlete’
Despite the glittering list of accomplishments, Evans still describes herself as “an accidental athlete.” For several years after discovering the track, she continued to balance cycling with her studies and later her work as a fully qualified vet. It wasn’t until 2017 — just a year before the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games — that she decided to take the plunge and commit fully to life as a professional cyclist.
She didn’t head to Australia with big expectations. Quite the opposite. “I thought I’d go there, find out I wasn’t good enough, and head back to being a vet full-time,” she admits. But a silver and a bronze later, Evans had to reconsider her path.
“That was a real turning point,” she says. “That’s why the Commonwealth Games are so special for me. It was the moment I started to see myself as a cyclist, not just someone who cycled.”
Full Circle: Glasgow 2026 on the Horizon
With the 2026 Commonwealth Games returning to Glasgow, the city where it all began, Evans is eyeing what could be a poetic chapter in her career. The idea of competing — and potentially winning — in the venue that first lit her spark is powerful motivation.
“It’s still at the dream stage,” she says, “but the thought of standing on that podium with the anthem playing, in the place where it all started, that’s what keeps you going.”
Not that the path has been easy. After a strong showing at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, where she again stood on the top step of the podium, Evans has switched focus to road racing for the current season. But the results have been frustratingly elusive. She’s battled injury, illness, and just plain bad luck.
“There have been some shockers,” she says with a wry smile. “But when you’re out on a miserable four-hour training ride in the rain, the thought of the Games coming up — that keeps you pedalling.”
More Than Medals: The Power of Legacy
Perhaps what makes Evans’ story so compelling is the role that sport’s much-vaunted “legacy” has played in her life — not just as a concept, but as a living, breathing reality.
“When people talk about legacy and those buzzwords, I normally kind of go, ‘oh yeah, does it actually work?’” she admits. “But I’m living proof that it can change your life.”
The very track that launched her journey is still open to the public, and anyone can come in, rent a bike and helmet, and take a spin — just like Evans did all those years ago. Who’s to say the next Neah Evans isn’t about to clip into their pedals for the first time?
“I wouldn’t be a cyclist if it wasn’t for Glasgow 2014,” she says. “Simple as that.”
Looking Ahead: One Last Dance?
Now 34, Evans isn’t exactly thinking about retirement just yet, but she acknowledges the Glasgow Games might be her final major competition on home soil. If it is, she hopes to go out with a performance worthy of the journey that brought her here.
“I don’t think of it as a swan song,” she says, “but I do know how special it would be to finish on that high, in that venue, in front of those fans. I owe a lot to this place.”
For now, it’s all eyes on the preparation: hours of training, tough race days, and mental resilience — the same qualities that have defined her rise from unknown student to international medallist.
And whether or not she climbs that podium again in Glasgow, Evans has already left a mark — not just on British cycling, but on the very notion of sporting legacy. From vet school to velodrome, her journey is a testament to saying yes to unexpected chances, and to the places they can take you.
