fullname proteam weight height discipline birth_date proyears role article_title name currentteam
tom southam amore bikehut rcs 2009 e vita bar 2005 dpc 2007 team halfords 69 kg lb st on 1.83 0 road 28 may 1981 2003 -- 2011 -- 2004 2005 -- 2006 2007 2008 2009 rider tom southam
 tom southam retired
tom southam

tom southam -lrb- born 28 may 1981 -rrb- is a british former competitive cyclist from penzance , cornwall who competed professionally between 2003 and 2011 .
he represented great britain in five world championships and rode in several uci protour events .
during the 2005 uci road world championships in madrid , southam and charles wegelius chose to not ride to protect longshot british leader roger hammond , but instead to help his italian professional teammates .
british cycling performance director dave brailsford initially stipulated that neither rider would ride for the british national team again , however brailsford subsequently signed southam for team halfords bikehut in 2008 .
southam has a masters degree in professional writing from university college falmouth and co-wrote the book `` domestique : the true life ups and downs of a tour pro '' with former team-mate wegelius .
the book was nominated for the william hill sports book of the year award in 2013 .
he has also written for magazines including rouleur and procycling .
he retired from full-time racing in october 2011 , remaining with his final team as their press officer .
he also worked as the team 's assistant manager , twice guiding riders to overall victory in the tour de korea , before agreeing to join another former team , , as sports director at the end of 2014 .
