IT COULD have all been so different for Brad Morgan had he not swapped the piste for the peloton.

Instead of riding in some of this country’s biggest cycling races such as the Tour of Yorkshire, he could have been watching them from the Italian mountains.

The Chorley man was a talented skier, so much so that he was in the Great Britain squad and eyeing a career on snow.

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The hours spent up at Pendle Ski Club watching and training with Dave Ryding, now a two-time Winter Olympian and British number one, but then simply the best in East Lancashire and Morgan’s inspiration, had paid off.

Talented teenager Morgan had made his mark and the national squad came calling.

A career on two wheels could not have been further from his mind.

“I spent a lot of time learning to ski up at Pendle Ski Club and joined when I was 14,” said Morgan.

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“I got into the British squad eventually and started competing for them in alpine skiing. I enjoyed the powerful events like the Super G.

“I was living in Italy and competing all over Europe. I grew up watching Dave Ryding skiing at Pendle and he was the inspiration for me then.

“He is five years older than me and what he has achieved through determination and hard work and a lot of skill is brilliant. I still speak to him regularly.”

It seemed that Morgan had it all.

But behind all the snow, skiing and chalets lay problems.

“In the end for financial reasons I had to stop skiing,” said the 23-year-old.

“The governing body was going through a tough time and we had to try and find our own sponsors to cover costs. It wasn’t really working and in 2012 I just stopped and came back here.

“That is when I started cycling.”

It turned out to be a master stroke.

Two years after starting out on the roads of East Lancashire Morgan is now a fully-fledged professional with one of the UK’s most recognisable teams in Raleigh GAC.

He already has one Tour of Britain behind him and is eyeing a start in a second when the race visits Colne and Clitheroe later in September.

For Morgan the turn of events is almost still sinking in.

“I only got into cycling two years ago,” he added.

“I had always followed it from afar.

“When I came back I joined Bill Nickson cycles in Leyland and just started going down to a few club runs.

“Bill was advising me on what races to enter and different things and I was really enjoying it.”

That enjoyment eventually led to a contract with British professional squad Velosure Giordana.

He added: “I went full-time in the summer and just tried to work hard and improve.

“I ended up riding the Tour of Britain at the end of the year. I never once thought that I would be riding that when I started cycling.”

Eighteen months ago Morgan was combining his love of cycling with trips back to Europe to coach skiers to help fund his dream.

“It is amazing really but I am just working hard and seeing where it all takes me,” Morgan added.

“I was still teaching skiing at an academy out in France during the winters to save up a bit of money so that I was able to go pro with Velosure.

“Raleigh have taken me on from there and I am just trying to get into their team for as many races as I can. I just want to keep improving and keep learning.

“I never dreamt this would be happening.”

The next challenge for Morgan, who is hoping to ride one of the final Tour Series rounds over the next two weeks, is to perfect his craft.

“I haven’t quite found my speciality yet,” said Morgan, who grew up in Eccleston.

“I am a slightly bigger build than some of the guys so the hills aren’t really my thing and I am not quite a sprinter. I think I prefer the course when it is just nice and tough.”

A bit like the Classics?

“Yeah. Just a really hard race where I can wear people down,” the Team Raleigh man said.

“I want to keep improving and get better all-round really.

“I am still young and hopefully I can continue to improve.”