NICHOLAS Cooper has grand aims.

The talented 18-year-old East Lancashire cyclist is determined to succeed in his ambition of becoming a professional cyclist.

And he took an impressive step on the road to that journey when he became the youngest cyclist to complete the challenging Haute Route Alps cycle race last month.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Cooper who tackled seven stages over eight days including conquering Tour de France climbs such as the Col d’Izoard, Col du Galibier and Col du Télégraphe over the 855km route.

And the former Queen Elizabeth Grammar School pupil admits one day he wants to be racing the same roads as a member of the professional peloton.

“Even if I was just the bottle man going back to get water for Bradley Wiggins or Chris Froome then that would be amazing,” said Cooper who finished 147th of the 450 finishers.

“That’s why I wanted to do the Haute Route because I could see how I fared in what was essentially a stage race.

“I have seen the pictures and videos from the last few years and it something I have always wanted to do.”

Having achieved his aim to get to the start, Cooper’s chances of completing the gruelling challenge appeared in serious doubt as he picked up food poisoning on day two.

“The first two days were particularly difficult as I had some food poisoning,” said the Helmshore ace.

“It was tough but I just broke down each climb into a section and focussed on getting through.

“Eventually I began to feel better. I really enjoyed the time trial day and the last day was definitely the best.”

And Cooper also secured a place in the record books when he became the youngest finisher in the race’s four year history.

“I had a rough idea that I was going to be the youngest rider in the race and it is obviously nice to be the youngest there,” he added.

“Hopefully I can go on to be a professional. I need to get a few sponsors. I will be riding as an individual next year so I will have to sort my own training programme out and race schedule.

“I am taking a year out and really focussing on the cycling.”

Judging by his success as a junior the path to the professional pack is certainly one Cooper can follow.

He is the reigning under-18 national series time trial champion and is also a member of the Train Sharp Inspire Talent programme.

Cooper was back on his bike competing in a time trial on Saturday where he came desperately close to breaking the national junior record for the 10-mile distance.

He averaged a shade under 32 miles per hour for the route to finish second in a field of 150 riders and missed out on the record by just nine seconds.

Having proved he can cope with the ardours of the mountains as well as races against the clock, the future looks bright for the East Lancashire starlet.

“I just want to be able to see how far I can go,” Cooper added.

n Anyone interested in sponsoring Cooper can contact Beverley Cooper via email at bevjcooper@outlook.com.