Welcome to Spokes Sports, with Sophie Smith

First up, to the editors, teachers, and lecturers who will loathe the alliteration, I know. You can refer to the site just as Spokes, and me, as Soph, if it helps ease the pain.

Spokes will take you inside the world of international sport, delivering exclusive interviews, stories, insights, plus behind the scenes access into pro cycling and more. It’s a mix of light and shade, because sport at the end of the day should be fun IMO.

My background is in pro cycling, I’ve reported from 11 Tours de France, written a book on the race, and was part of the Nine Network’s award-winning team at the Paris Olympics, where I interviewed Australia’s first gold medalist, Grace Brown, and BMX Racing champion Saya Sakakibara on live television. So that’s where we’ll start, though with the intent to, step, by step, expand.

I always get asked if I cycle myself. The answer is no. I recently bought some brilliant technicolour kit off Robbie McEwen, but my hybrid bike is as heavy as a steam train and doesn’t do the kit justice, so for now I’m sticking to asking the questions, running, walking, and Pilates around that.

I’d never met Sakakibara before Paris, but her words there stayed with me and served as inspiration for Spokes.

I lived and worked in London for two years writing for the UK’s oldest cycling magazine at the height of the British cycling boom. It was a life-changing experience. When my working visa expired, I returned to Australia and moved into freelancing for Australian, British and USA cycling publications, including Rouleur, Pro Cycling magazine, Cyclingnews, Velonews, Cycling Weekly, whilst having one foot in a mainstream newsroom somewhere around the globe, be it The Age, ABC, Herald Sun, The Guardian, Sky Sports News London, Stan Sport, Nine, Triple M, Gold 104.3, and so on.

It works but for many years learned colleagues have asked, ‘Why don’t you just go into business for yourself?’ I was scared, and still am. However, Spokes has been formulating in my brain for almost a year now and I figure taking the risk is better than asking ‘What if?’

If there was a tally for who could illicit the most f-bombs out of athletes at the Paris Games, I would have won gold. A publisher once told me I have the ability to “get under people’s skin”. I prefer intuitive, however, I do really enjoy interviewing, and drawing out genuine insights from the men and women I meet as people and as athletes. This will be a space for that.

I still plan to pitch to leading titles, and have footholds in newsrooms, but I also have big dreams for Spokes. I was fussing (read procrastinating) over a glossy, polished beginning, but the fact is that requires money I haven’t got right now. And I think starting is more important at the moment than worrying about gloss.

“All I have to do is f—king go,” Sakakibara said about her gold medal ride that left rivals eating dirt.

So that’s what I’m doing.

My aim is for Spokes to become a trusted cross-platform sports website that delivers genuine insights into athletes who compete on the world stage, plus other identities, thanks to professional relationships built on mutual respect. And I’ll include some notes on my travels, and all the food glorious food (and drinks), consumed along the way, because that’s an undeniable perk of the job.

I’d like to report from my 12th Tour de France this year, with your help, and, who knows, maybe try and catch some more tennis. I got the Grand Slam bug writing for the Australian Open website in 2025.

Will you join me on the journey? It won’t be glossy at first, but I promise you it’ll always be real.

If you’re interested in collaborating, email spokessports@gmail.com, or subscribe using the link below.

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