Ben founded VeloViewer in 2012 and quickly established the business offering digital solutions for professional cycling via the WorldTour package, and for everyday cyclists via the PRO subscription.
We caught up with Ben in the third of our Meet the Team series to talk about what his work entails and his passions outside of the office.
1. What is your role at VeloViewer?
Technically I’m one of the two director’s of VeloViewer but I do my best to leave as much of the complicated, running-a-business side of things to Anna so I can concentrate on writing code. This is what I like to think I’m best at! As well as writing almost all the code for the PRO subscription side of the site and the WorldTour package, there is a lot of work supporting the professional cycling teams, processing their races and making sure they all get the best out of the software. Thankfully, since Rachel joined the ranks last year, she has taken on a huge amount of these tasks which has freed up my time. This has enabled me to write code, especially to add functionality to make the WorldTour package the go-to tool for race organisers and UCI commissaires, as well as for the teams.
2. Chosen sport or activity
As a younger brother, I spent many years picking up sports that my older brother was doing including road/mountain biking during our school years, then rock climbing while at University and then surfing/windsurfing. These days I flick between each of those depending on the weather! Our two boys are into rock climbing now so I spend more time bouldering with them than anything else. But if the forecast is looking windy, I’ll be out on the water on my wingfoil.
3. Most memorable adventure
As an 18 year old I went mountain biking in the Himalaya with the Yorkshire Schools Exploring Society which was a phenomenal trip in so many ways. Travelling through China in the early 1990’s was pretty mind blowing. In a more recent adventure, my brother and I took part in the five day TransMadeira Enduro MTB event. We were near the back of the field on the timed sections but the terrain, scenery and trails, along with the fellow competitors (including Sheffield local legend Steve Peat) were amazing.
4. Who inspires you to be active and why?
Having a Physiotherapist as a wife has made inactivity not an option! Joking aside, sports and adventures with my family and friends have always been the driving force for all my activities. From trying to keep up with my older brother as a youth, to now trying not to get left behind by my children, and finally looking to maintain my fitness to be able to enjoy travels with my wife in the future.
5. 2024 goals
Wingfoiling seems to have an endless supply of manoeuvres and tricks to keep me falling in and progressing which completely taps into my love of technically challenging sports. So a nice windy summer/autumn with accompanying warm temperatures would be gratefully received and help no-end with my progress. I’m starting to re-find some of my old bouldering ability, but my goal with this is to help inspire our boys to get a love for this great sport and make the most of the crags surrounding Sheffield. Cycling is always the activity I fall back to when I know I need to keep my fitness in check and we’re so lucky to have the great roads and hills of the Peak District on our doorstep – it is always a delight to get out for a spin.