Born as part of triplets, but leaving the peloton early as a lone wolf

2024 is running toward its end, and every year, that means that part of the cycling peloton says goodbye to colleagues. This season is no different, but at IDLProCycling.com, we put them in the spotlight individually. This time, it is the turn of Patrick Bevin of dsm-firmenich PostNL, who rode his last race back in March.

Bevin was born on February 15, 1991, in Taupo, located on New Zealand's North Island, which is known for its volcanoes. For Bevin's parents, that particular February 15 will always remain memorable, as they had two more children in addition to Patrick. In fact, Bevin was part of a triplet, but according to him, he looks nothing like his brother and sister.

He grew up with his siblings in sports-minded New Zealand, where he would never have thought of a cycling career in the first place. His childhood featured many sports, including running, triathlon, and rugby, but like so many young New Zealanders, the All Blacks—the famed rugby team—stood out in terms of preference. Richie McCaw, former captain, was his idol.

During his cycling career, he sometimes made comparisons between rugby and cycling. "I come from rugby, a sport where you're fully immersed in that team aspect. Sometimes, I think cycling misses out on just how important that team atmosphere and culture can be. Yet cycling is the coolest sport in the world because it combines strength, tactics, individualism, and teamwork."

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Bevin combined track cycling with road

At some point, Bevin discovered cycling from his triathlon experience, which he grew attached to throughout his teenage years. "When I finished high school, I didn't have anything lined up and went on a gap year to travel and race. I told my parents I would be back in 12 months but here we are now over 12 years later; I guess I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Like so many riders from Oceania, Bevin combined road and track, switching back and forth throughout his career. After racing for American Bissell from 2010 through 2013, he joined Avanti in 2015 after a sabbatical - caused by the effects of several crashes - and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

There, he showed fragments of his talent on the road, winning the Herald Sun, Taiwan, and Korea tours. It promptly earned him a WorldTour contract with Jonathan Vaughters' Cannondale for 2016, where he immediately showed he could handle that level. Bevin finished 10th in the Tour Down Under, rode to top-ten finishes in stages of Paris-Nice, Tour of California, and Tour of Burgos, and also got to start his first grand tour with the Vuelta. A year later, he immediately completed the Tour de France.

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Bevin finally breaks through at WorldTour level

With the Tour completed, he was able to focus more and more on getting results starting in 2018, especially as he joined time trial crazy BMC. There, he became part of the well-organized team that succeeded in the Tour, among other things. He came close to a WorldTour victory several times and also finished eighth at the World Championships time trial.

2019 started even better. The Kiwi won the second stage of the Tour Down Under and appeared to be on his way to overall victory in the WorldTour race. Still, he crashed miserably on the final weekend, forfeiting the ochre jersey of the WorldTour season opener. It was a hard loss, with the points jersey as a small comfort.

Once back in Europe, he rode well in the Tours of Catalonia, Romandy, and Switzerland, only to crash badly in the Tour de France. The New Zealander broke two ribs, continued in a few stages, but eventually had to return home after five days. He then prepared for the World Championships in Yorkshire by competing in the Vuelta, where he finished fourth, just three seconds short of the podium.

A year later, he aimed for revenge Down Under, but a heart problem prevented him from racing. Sadly, it would not be the last time Bevin had to deal with this, so we also saw him less at work in his final seasons than we were used to.

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Career of Bevin fizzles out due to physical problems

In 2021 and 2022, he rode for Israel, where he showed glimpses of his talent in the Olympic time trial and some WorldTour races. In 2022, he won the Tour of Turkey his usual way: getting away and finishing in a sprint with a select group, as his fast legs always allowed him to get far. By the way, he was not really into mass sprints: too dangerous.

For 2023, Paddy signed a contract with dsm-firmenich PostNL, where they wanted to use him as a points grabber at WorldTour level. However, in the first race, the Tour Down Under, things already went wrong: Bevin sprained his ankle in a crash and - after dealing with Corona at the end of 2022 - faced rehabilitation, in which heart problems resurfaced.

Therefore, he was out for several months between March and August. He was never able to play a serious role again during the year, and he also experienced some peloton anxiety. In November, it seems he got the good news that he could start 2024 as normal. After the Australian season opener, the injury also started acting up again in the following months, so the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia on March 18 (DNF) will forever be his last race.

Bevin still had a contract for 2025, but given the circumstances, it was terminated by mutual agreement. Thus, his journey of almost 15 years across all continents ended after he 'just wanted' to spend a year cycling after high school.

Read also

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