On yer bike! Ray Cochrane's 'wheely' good advice for fellow ex-jockeys

Derby-winning jockey Ray Cochrane is the star of a much less comfortable saddle these days – that of the bike he rides around his home near Newmarket which has recently propelled him to success in a cyclo-cross series at the near-pensionable age of 64.

Cochrane, who won the Epsom Classic in 1988 on Kahyasi, thinks the benefits of cycling are tailor-made for the physical and mental requirements of the jockeys of today and wishes he had taken it up 30 years ago.

"I keep reading about all these jockeys retiring as they can't manage their weight and are having mental problems," he said. "If you get out on a bike it helps no end as it gets you away from racing and you're losing weight without thinking about it.