My Training Space: 'We live in a central London flat – our kitchen has to double up as our gym!'

Each month in this MY TRAINING SPACE series from Cycling Weekly’s print edition, a CW reader shows us around their training room, shed or garage, the part of their home or garden dedicated to all things cycling. They talk us through the equipment, as well as the motivating keepsakes and decorations that keep them training hard. This time, it’s the turn of Lizi Brooke…

I started out in rowing in 2012 and tested well indoors but never fully committed to the training. Someone convinced me to sign up to an Ironman, and over the next few years I built up my confidence on the bike, but most of my early riding was done on Zwift. In fact, I did so much indoor racing that in 2019 I was invited to do my first elite race on Zwift, leading to my selection for the UCI Esports World Champs this year. 

On the strength of my one to five-minute power from Zwift racing, I am now also road racing with Wahoo-Le Col. To prove myself on the road, I spent much of last year hunting QOMs in the UK's Surrey Hills, and most of them are now mine. I took part in the national road race champs this June, made a solo break and ended up finishing 14th. 

>>> If you’d like to show us around your training space, email a photo to david.bradford@futurenet.com <<<

I live with my husband [Matt Brooke] – who’s also a triathlete – in our two-bedroom flat in central London. The second bedroom is our living room, and the kitchen area has to double-up as a gym – that’s what you see here. We each have multiple bikes and kit, so it’s a very bike-orientated home. I’m actually doing more training now than I did as a triathlete – 16-20 hours every week. 

My ultimate goal is to get to WorldTour level, and I’m going to take part in this year’s Zwift Academy, as it’s a great opportunity. I know I have good strength, and I’m working on my technical skills to take me to the next level.

Rider profile: Lizi Brooke

Age: 33

Height: 5ft 9in

FTP: 310W

Rides for: Wahoo-Le Col

Lives: London

Occupation: Bike-fitter

Proudest cycling achievement: 14th – British National Road Race Champs (2023); 2nd – RTTC National 100-mile Champs (2023); 11th – UCI eSports World Champs (2023)

Instagram: lizi_brooke

Her training space

Let's take a look inside...

1. The bikes

I have a BMC Time Machine TT bike, which is the bike I use for Ironman and TT racing. The Time Alpe d’Huez is my team race bike, and I love its ride characteristics; it has stiffness in exactly the right places. My previous race bike was the BMC Team Machine.

2. Ocean vista 

We both love the ocean, so chose this picture, and the race numbers are from Kona – we both qualified, raced there and spent our honeymoon there.

3. Multi screens

One screen is for Netflix and entertainment, the other is for Zwift. My favourite training distraction recently was the Tour de France Unchained series on Netflix.

4. Treadmill

This was a Christmas present for my husband when we were planning to take part in the Zwift Tri Academy. I don’t use it anymore, now that my focus is on cycling.

5. The trainer

My Wahoo Kickr bike is the machine I do my Zwift racing on, as it’s the most solid, stable platform. We also have a Kickr Steer, as steering will be allowed from this year’s elite racing season on Zwift – it should make the racing more realistic.

6. His 'n' hers metalware

Over six years of Ironman, between us we won quite a few trophies. I’m probably proudest of my Ironman Tallinn win from 2021 – I’d been working hard on my time trialling, held my target power and still ran a 3:11 marathon.

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The full version of this article was published in the 24 August 2023 print edition of Cycling Weekly magazine. Subscribe online and get the magazine delivered to your door every week.