Will Draper

Will Draper

Personal information
Nationality	Manx
Born	William Draper (2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 (age 25) Isle of Man
Occupation	Professional triathlete
Sport
Turned pro	2021
Medal record Men's triathlon Representing   Isle of Man Island Games 2019 Gibraltar Individual 2019 Gibraltar Team

Will Draper (born 14 January 2000) is a professional British triathlete from the Isle of Man. Before starting a career in triathlon, Draper competed as a cyclist where he represented the Isle of Man at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas for cycling. ^[1] Draper won the English Triathlon Championships in 2019 ^[2] before making his triathlon professional debut in 2021. ^[3]

Early sporting career

Will started his sporting career as a cyclist where he won the National Youth Circuit Race Championships at 12 years old at the Cyclopark in Kent, London. ^[4] Will finished 2nd in the 2012 British Cycling National Youth Series (U12); 4th in the 2014 British Cycling National Youth Series (U14) and 3rd in the 2016 British Cycling National Youth Series (U16). ^[5] He later went on to win the Madison event at the British Youth and Junior Track National Championships in 2016. ^[6] In 2017 (age 17) Will signed for professional junior racing team HMT with JLT Condor Cycling Team (HMT). ^{[7] [8]} Whilst racing for team HMT Will finished 16th overall at the UCI Junior 2.1 stage race Ronde des Vallées ^[9] 5th at the Grand Prix de Cherves ^[10] as well as 14th overall at the Junior Tour of Wales ^[11] which was won by his elder brother Nathan Draper in 2015. ^{[12] [13]} During 2017 Will also represented the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Youth Games where he finished 5th in the road race ^[14] with teammate Jimmy Bostock taking the victory. ^[15]

Triathlon career

During his first year of triathlon Will won the English Triathlon Championships in 2019 ^[2] and later went on to represent the Isle of Man at the 2019 Island Games for triathlon where he won individual silver ^{[16] [17]} and team bronze ^[18] and also competed in the 5 km run on the track where he finished 4th. ^[19] During 2020 Will competed away from home twice. Firstly in the Rocquaine Olympic distance triathlon in Gurnsey where he won by over 8 minutes ^{[20] [21]} and secondly at the Outlaw X middle-distance triathlon where he finished 7th ^[22] and this (according to his own social media ^[23] ) is where he earned his professional license. With the return of more races in 2021 Will began his professional debut season by competing in the PTO supported Eton Dorney triathlon. ^[3] Several weeks later he competed at the again PTO supported Outlaw Half Holkham where he finished 4th. ^[24] Will made his first international appearance as a professional triathlete at the Challenge Davos event in Switzerland where he finished 5th. ^[25] Will has also competed in off-road triathlon events having won the Isle of Man Granite Mann on several occasions and holding the current course record. ^[26] Will is currently sponsored by international bike manufacturing company Factor Bikes and says the partnership has allowed him to focus more on swimming and running. ^[27]

References

1. "Manx team set for Youth Games in Bahamas". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
2. "Over 1,000 triathletes participate at the Southport Triathlon". www.triathlonengland.org. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
3. "Will Draper makes professional debut in PTO Dorney Triathlon". www.iomtoday.co.im. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
4. "Results: National Youth Circuit Race Championships | velouk.net" . Retrieved 3 September 2021.
5. "British Cycling Youth Circuit Series - Previous series". British Cycling. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
6. "British Cycling Youth and Junior National Track Championships: Joliffe wins junior men's sprint title". British Cycling. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
7. "World Cycling Stats". www.worldcyclingstats.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
8. "History". HMT Hospitals – Giant Junior Cycling Team. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
9. "Ronde des Vallées - Épreuves". DirectVelo (in French). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
10. "Grand Prix de Cherves - Épreuves". DirectVelo (in French). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
11. "Final: Junior Tour of Wales | velouk.net" . Retrieved 3 September 2021.
12. "Nathan Draper (RST RT) victorious in the Junior Tour of Wales". British Cycling. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
13. Marshall-Bell 2015-09-01T14:15:44Z, Chris (1 September 2015). "Nathan Draper wins Junior Tour of Wales by less than two seconds". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
14. "CYG 2017 Men & Women Road Race Results". Bernews. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
15. "Cyclist Bostock wins first Manx gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
16. William Draper wins Team IOM's first medal at the 2019 Island Games , retrieved 4 September 2021
17. "First medal for IOM in Island Games". Manx Radio. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
18. "Island Games: Isle of Man bag three medals in triathlon". www.iomtoday.co.im. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
19. "Island Games: Draper finishes fourth in 5k". www.iomtoday.co.im. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
20. "'Air bridge' athlete steals show in Guernsey Triathlon's Island Games qualifier". ITV News. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
21. Ingrouille, Jamie (3 August 2020). "Manx Island Games star Draper turns up the heat". guernseypress.com. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
22. "Outlaw X Success at Thoresby Park". Outlaw Triathlon. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
23. "In 2018 I made the decision to start a career in triathlon after spending my youth racing push bikes". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
24. "Outlaw Half Holkham 2021: Teagle follows up, easy for Astle | Triathlon News". Tri247.com. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
25. "2021 Challenge Davos results". Professional Triathletes Organisation. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
26. "Draper breaks record and takes third win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
27. "Will Draper's Custom Factor SLiCK Disc". Factor Bikes UK. Retrieved 4 September 2021.