From Scrum to Saddle: George Nield on Racing the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships

Niseko’s roads are usually associated with switchbacks under snow. But this September, the town swapped ski queues for start lines for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, which landed in Asia for the first time, drawing amateur cyclists to Niseko. Among them was George Nield, an Ironman athlete and former Philippines rugby international player who participated in the UCI Gran Fondo’s Road Race.

He stayed with NISADE | The Luxe Nomad at Intuition Niseko, so we asked him about the course, his switch from rugby to cycling, and what a Niseko stay looks like when you’re not there for the powder.

I was born in England to a Filipino mother and a British father. My dad hasn’t really been in the picture, so it’s mostly been my mum raising my brother and me on her own. In 2009 she took a nursing job in Australia and brought us with her, and we’ve been here since.

Sports has always been the thread running through everything — from swimming to triathlon to cycling to rugby and now back to cycling again. Rugby became my identity through school and university, and playing for the Philippines internationally was incredible. I started losing my passion for it here in Australia, but I never lost my love for the bike, so instinctively I got back on it. I also love creating content, so documenting the switch from international rugby player to Ironman athlete felt like the obvious next project to me.

I was over the moon! It’s my first time in Japan, and I’ve always wanted to travel the world through my content — capturing new places, people and food along the way. Having a race bring me somewhere I’ve dreamed of visiting for years made it even better.

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Niseko was always going to be tough given the elevation gain. Coming from a rugby background, my build isn’t naturally suited to climbing compared to some of the climbers in this field. My coach has been fine-tuning my legs for the course while still balancing swim and run sessions, since I’ve got another Ironman coming up soon.

Honestly, the food. I was so excited try the sushi, ramen, and see what all the fuss is about with 7-Eleven’s food. On the bike, the elevation profile is something I had to properly prepare for, and it pushed me in ways other races haven’t. I only competed in the Road Race, so that was where all my focus is. 

And my tripod came everywhere with me. The videos have to be right, so that was one non-negotiable of the trip!

The room, honestly. It was clean, spacious, and the view was almost hard to believe that it was real. The staff made the whole stay even better, too.

Being looked after in a new country was what I appreciated most about travelling, especially with The Luxe Nomad. I was picked up and dropped off before and after my stay, so the whole trip felt stress-free. Being so close to town also made it easy to explore and catch up with friends.

I still got some leisure riding in to explore, but the real find was a place called Moon Bar. It became our go-to for proper Japanese food, my friends and I ended up there three nights in a row.

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The road quality. I’ve never ridden anything so smooth and clean. Drivers are incredibly polite too, so it felt safe the whole way round. And the views speak for themselves.

It’s genuinely hard to pick one thing. This was one of the best trips I’ve been on, between the food, the people, the race itself and the roads. I couldn’t narrow it down to a single moment.