Sport / From Olympics to Orkney – Ferguson aims to add Sportsperson prize to golden year
IN AUGUST 2016, cyclist Grant Ferguson waited at the starting line in Rio de Janeiro as he prepared to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Brazil.
He went on to finish 17th from a field of almost 50 in the sizzling samba heat, two years after he finished fifth in the cross-country race at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Less than nine years after his South American adventure, Ferguson was at the starting line again – this time with the Shetland flag on his back.
Shetland’s sole gold medallist from the Island Games in Orkney this July, Ferguson is now in the running to be named the Sportsperson of the Year at Friday’s Shetland Sports Awards.
Ferguson, who is originally from Peebles, said it would be “incredible” to round off his year with the prize this week.
“I’m very happy just to be nominated,” he told Shetland News this week.
“It’s a great line-up of nominees, it will definitely be a closely fought competition to be the winner.
“But I would be really happy if it was me. It would be incredible.”
Ferguson is not wrong, with sailor Maggie Adamson – a world champion in her sport – and Rhea Nicolson, who has won trophies in both hockey and women’s football this year, also vying for the prize.
Coming to Shetland
His journey to Friday’s ceremony at Clickimin Leisure Centre is a road less travelled.
Ferguson moved to Shetland in May 2024 after accepting a job at Sumburgh Airport, and admitted he only knew “a bit” about Shetland before making the move.
“I looked it up but I was really moving for the job, I wasn’t moving for Shetland itself,” he said.
“I wasn’t planning to move to Shetland for years or anything like that, I just took the opportunity and embraced it.”
Shetland’s cyclists soon caught wind of his move, and could not believe their luck that an Olympian had arrived on their doorsteps.
Ferguson said cycling team manager Robin Atkinson – who he knew of before the move, along with Shetland sporting legend Carlos Riise – “got in touch quite quickly” about him joining their Island Games team.
“I came up with my bikes but I had no idea what it [Shetland] was like,” Ferguson said.
“Initially I didn’t do so much cycling, but after that I got stuck in.
“It’s taken me quite a bit of time, but I’ve probably ticked off almost all the roads in Shetland now.”
Ferguson’s specialty is mountain biking, particularly cross-country, more so than road cycling.
Peebles, he said, is “one of the best places to ride a mountain bike in the UK”. Shetland – with virtually nowhere to practise – is “very different”, Ferguson said understatedly.
“One of the more challenging things is that there is obviously a lot more wind,” he admitted.
“When you’re leaving you have to plot your routes out a lot more to take that into account. But the views you get are lovely.”
Shetland is also notorious for its unforgiving hills – both roads out of capital Lerwick are punishingly steep – but Ferguson is a fan of the isles’ inclines.
“I actually like going up and down hills, so these hills are fine!” he laughed.
While there are “lots of nice roads” here, Ferguson said he would like to see more bike lanes introduced in the isles.
“That would be massive for getting people out and about more”.
Road to games gold
With the Island Games in sight this summer, and nowhere to practise mountain biking, Ferguson took himself to the mainland for between five and 10 competitions over the first half of the year to build up his race fitness.
“I wasn’t too worried about the technical aspects, I knew I had the experience in that sense,” he said.
“But it was more about getting the fitness.”
One thing Ferguson did not legislate for at the Island Games – along with the other 174 members of team Shetland – was the very un-Orkney like summer sunshine.
“Nobody was thinking it was going to be a hot week in Orkney with no wind,” Ferguson said.
“It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I could have gone and got more time in the heat maybe, but it’s tricky to get that kind of preparation beforehand.”
Ferguson admitted he was unsure what to expect going into the Orkney games, having never taken part in one before.“Coming into it, the aim was just to do the best I could. If that was 10th place, I would have been happy with that.
“I could see a month or so before it who was entering the race, and I started to think then that I could try and push for a medal.”
His aim switched at that point to winning a medal in both of his main race events – a fast and furious mountain bike criterium on the outskirts of Kirkwall, before a gruelling 10-lap cross-country mountain biking race around a dedicated course set up on an Orkney farm.
As Ferguson lined up at that first starting line, several of his competitors recognised him and audibly and visibly questioned how Shetland had snagged him.
He flew across the line 46 minutes and 29 seconds to seal silver in the criterium, adding that “gave me a lot of confidence” going into his preferred event two days later.
The second race was twice the duration – with cyclists required to pedal up and down steep hills and sharp turns while keeping their concentration for a full 90 minutes.
Ferguson said he knew he would have to “pace the race” to his best ability.
“Usually you would aim to try save some energy and finish strong on the last 15-20 laps, and try to finish the race strong in case there’s a sprint,” he said.
However the race leader from Menorca – who had pipped Ferguson to gold in the criterium – had a mechanical issue early in the race and had to pull out.
“I was able to go past and open up about a 10 second gap,” Ferguson said.
“I realised I was opening up a bit of a gap so I just tried to make the most of it while I could.
“I thought, ‘okay I’m going to try and build a bit more of a buffer’. You want to give yourself a bit of breathing room.”
Even as his lead continued to increase, Ferguson said there was a “wee bit more stress towards the end” as he tried to keep his concentration.
“That’s when you’re more likely to make mistakes, a crash might be the end of your race, and I was really feeling it towards the end.
“If you catch a rock wrong and puncture your tire you might be running up the hill for half a lap.”
He avoided any mishaps and cruised across the line to seal gold for Shetland – the team’s first, and only, gold medal of the 2025 Island Games.
“I knew in the morning there was a chance to get that first gold,” he admitted.
“I was just really happy to do that, and thankful for all the people that were there cheering for me.”
With attention turning back to Friday’s Shetland Sports Awards, Ferguson admitted it would be “incredible” to win the sportsperson of the year prize.
“I’m just thankful for all the support of the cycling team and everyone that has allowed me to be nominated,” he added.
The Shetland Sports Awards 2025 will be held in the Clickimin Leisure Centre’s bowls hall on Friday 14 November.
You can read our interview with fellow nominee Maggie Adamson here.
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