With cycling events, triathlons, marathons and more growing in popularity all the time, there’s also a growing opportunity for support businesses. One such offering is Roadside Therapy, which provides manual therapists to treat competitors at a wide range of sporting events across Europe.

Roadside Therapy is the brainchild of Tierney Maude, who – with a degree in Sports and Exercise Science and a qualification in Sports Therapy behind her – gained several years of invaluable experience on the cycling circuit.

“Through my contacts in the cycling industry, I gained a great deal of experience, working at many sporting events and training camps with professional teams. Putting in a lot of ‘experience’ hours!” she says.

“During that time I expanded my knowledge through many professional development courses and then opened up my own clinic in South West London, treating mainly endurance athletes.”

On the road
These years of experience gave Maude a good understanding of how large sporting events are run and the challenges organisers deal with. She developed her business idea based on a need she saw for easy-to-hire sports therapists.

“After three years of working at multi-day sporting events, gaining experience and new contacts, I realised the companies organising these events found it hard to source reliable, friendly and professional sports therapists. So I decided to do it for them, and since then we’ve been on some incredible journeys and gained some incredibly talented and passionate therapists.”

Maude started in 2014, offering freelance sports therapists the chance to get out of the clinic and hit the road.

“The real idea behind it was to give lots of therapists an opportunity to spend some time out of the clinic, seeing a bit of the world and improving their skills. For example, at a large event like HotChillee: London to Paris, a therapist can treat up to 90 people in a three-day event, helping them to meet new clients, widen their sports therapy skills and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Events range from multi-day sporting events such as Universal Music Ride with Club Peloton to training camps and one day races. Due to Maude’s cycling knowledge, the team is sometimes asked for a full soigneur service, which means the therapist is also involved in all aspects of supporting the cyclists.

Therapy with a smile
By providing a link between event organisers and experienced sport therapists, Roadside Therapy has found its niche, having worked at 25 events over the past two years. The company has 20 affiliated therapists, who are all listed on the Roadside website – allowing event participants to arrange treatments with their therapist after the event.

Therapists are assigned to events based on their experience and availability. While they must have at least two years’ experience in the industry, the number one rule for therapists who work with Roadside is service with a smile, explained Maude.

“All the therapists we use must provide proof of insurance, and we make sure they are adequately experienced to provide the required level of treatment. But most importantly we always expect our therapists to be wearing a smile, ready to chat and always want to have a good time. So not only do you know you have a safe pair of hands on the massage table, but a friendly face to help you reach the finish line.”

Looking ahead, Maude would like to grow the business and explore opportunities further afield.

“We’re looking at increasing our event portfolio, expanding our therapist database and continuing to have a lot of fun along the way,” she explained.

“At the moment we’re mainly used by event organisers for European events, but we’re always keen to broaden our horizons.”