Matt Stephens in conversation with Amy Hudson
This year on World Mental Health Day, we’re sharing an inspiring conversation from the Sigma Sports Unplugged Podcast, between Matt Stephens and endurance cyclist Amy Hudson. Her story serves as a reminder that even in our darkest moments, movement and community can pave a path to light. Amy, a former mental health nurse who faced her own struggles with anxiety and an eating disorder, found her salvation on two wheels, tackling the entire route of the Tour de France (including transfers) and setting her sights firmly on her next, even bigger, challenge.
Amy's journey into mental health nursing was deeply personal, motivated by her desire to help others after her younger sister's struggle with anorexia. However, the emotional toll of the job became overwhelming.
"I tend to take on other people's problems and I’m not very good at switching off. I’m quite an over thinker, a bit of a perfectionist, and it just was not the right job for me," Amy says.
Her struggle escalated during the Covid-19 lockdown when the supportive team environment vanished, leaving her isolated and wrestling with anxiety and intrusive thoughts:
“I got to a point where I just became really unwell myself, not really with the eating disorder, but just with anxiety and intrusive thoughts."
Despite being a practitioner, she delayed seeking help, driven by a disproportionate sense of guilt and responsibility. Amy reflects on this difficult period:
"I felt guilty, like I didn’t want to put anything more on them... I put a lot of pressure on myself... I can’t be unwell, I’m in this job and I’ve got to look after these people."
A pivotal moment arrived when Amy's husband, Kyle, bought her a bike. Amy, who hadn’t ridden since childhood, was reluctant at first.
"I’ve not asked for a bike, I’ve not ridden a bike for 10 years," she explains.
Yet, those first rides over the Peak District's challenging terrain became an unexpected form of therapy.
"It just brought me back to the reality that there’s actually a world out here," Amy shares.
The intense focus required to tackle 20% gradients acted as a vital distraction from her mental turmoil. The physical exertion of cycling eventually became a necessary anchor:
"I’d go out in the wind and the rain...after I left my job... the rain on my skin and the wind in my face, it just made me feel alive again."
A terrifying moment became a bizarre, almost fated, catalyst for change. Early in her cycling journey, Amy was hit by a car.
"I hit the windscreen and then I hit the road," she recounts.
In that split second, her survival instinct kicked in:
"All that was in my head was, I don’t want to die."
This event reset her perspective:
"I could have died that day. I didn’t, thank God... Life is a gift and I say every day, you don’t get a receipt for the day, you can’t relive it. You've just got to enjoy every day.”
Cycling blossomed into a passion for long-distance endurance, eventually leading to a monumental challenge: riding the entire route of the men's Tour de France, including transfers—a staggering 6,556 kilometers in 29 days.
Amy’s motivation was clear:
"I wanted to prove that you can do what you put your mind to...your body can do more than you think it can, if you put your mind to it."
Her experience showed that once the physical training is done, endurance is a mental game. Even during the toughest moments, like climbing the Tormalet in the Pyrenees, her mindset was key. She realized that no physical hardship compared to her past mental battles:
"It’s never as hard as what I went through in my head. Nothing is ever as hard as feeling that low."
The final lesson from her journey is one of strength and self-compassion.
"No matter how far away they seem, happy days always come back round again," Amy concludes. She encourages everyone to ride, and when it comes to mental health, urges:
"Don’t leave it too long to get help... you’re stronger than you think."
Want to hear the full conversation, including more about Amy's huge Tour de France stages, her and Matt's shared love of French supermarkets, and her next insane world-record attempt? Listen to the full episode: 161 - Sigma Sports Unplugged Podcast with Amy Hudson, on World Mental Health Day.