All but one Women's WorldTour team will be present at the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women this summer, British Cycling announced on Tuesday.

Defending champions FDJ United-Suez will be among the 19 teams, including 13 Women's WorldTour squads, to take part in the biggest women's bike race in the UK, and the only British WorldTour event.

There will also be five Women's Continental teams present, including all four British outfits, after fears that these squads would be blocked from taking part in the Tour of Britain after UCI rule changes. The Great Britain Cycling Team will also take part.

The race will take place over five stages from 19-23 August, with a route that heads south from Cockermouth to Royal Leamington Spa.

Nine out of the world’s top 10 teams will be at the race, including Movistar, the squad of Cat Ferguson, two-time overall winners Lidl-Trek, and Canyon-SRAM, home of national champion Zoe Bäckstedt.

Last year, Ferguson was pipped on the final day by FDJ United-Suez rider Ally Wollaston. SD Worx-Protime are also on the start list, the most successful team in the race's history, with 15 stage wins and three overall victories. The only WorldTour team not present will be EF Education-Oatly.

"We are thrilled to announce this year's Lloyds Tour of Britain Women team line-up, which brings together an exciting mix of elite teams and ambitious development squads," Alice Wood, the race's director and former British champion, said. "The strength of the teams announced today promises highly competitive racing from the start in Cockermouth to the finish in Royal Leamington Spa.

"The distinguished reputation of the Tour continues to attract the very best riders in the world. I have no doubt these teams will produce some iconic racing, that will undoubtedly inspire the future generations of cyclists in this country and the communities they will be battling for the crown through.

"We are looking forward to welcoming the teams to what we know will be a fantastic edition of the Tour, building upon an extremely successful edition last year and showcasing both the best of Britain and the best of cycling."

"The Lloyds Tour of Britain Women is a huge highlight for us," Bob Lyons, the manager of Handsling Alba Development RT, said. "It is our only WorldTour race on home soil and a unique chance for our sponsors, supporters and anyone taking an interest in the team to see us race in person.

"With a route running from Cumbria down to Warwickshire and a proper climb on the Great Orme, it's a great test for the riders in a talented field. The five stages will provide exactly the kind of experience and exposure our team needs to continue to pioneer athlete development to elevate riders to the Women’s WorldTour."

Tour of Britain Women 2026 Teams

• AG Insurance-Soudal (Belgium)
• Canyon-SRAM (Germany)
• DAS-Hutchinson (Great Britain)
• FDJ United-Suez (France)
• Fenix-Premier Tech (Belgium)
• Handsling Alba Development Road Team (Great Britain)
• Hitec Products – Fluid Control (Norway)
• Human Powered Health (USA)
• Lidl-Trek (Germany)
• Liv AlUla Jayco (Australia)
• Movistar (Spain)
• O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes (Great Britain)
• Picnic PostNL (Netherlands)
• SD Worx-Protime (Netherlands)
• Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team (Great Britain)
• Visma-Lease a Bike (Netherlands)
• UAE Team ADQ (UAE)
• Uno-X Mobility (Norway)

Fred Wright sprinted to his second road race victory at the British National Championships in Aberystwyth on Sunday after a brutal afternoon.

Three years after his first title – and only career victory until now – the Pinarello Q36.5 rider was part of a three-man group which made it to the finish. Wright beat Lewis Askey (NSN Cyling) on the line with a bike throw, with Connor Swift (Netcompany-Ineos) following in in third.

The trio had been away with Mattie Dodd (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy) and Elliot Rowe (Visma-Lease a Bike Development), but they were dropped with just under 10km to go on the final lap. Rowe won the sprint for fourth, meaning he is the new under-23 British national champion.

The big split happened with around 60km to go of the race, as the five that would decide the destiny of the elite and under-23 race escaped, initially with Jed Smithson (Hagens Berman Jayco) as a member, before he was replaced with Swift. As the quintet entered the local circuit in Aberystwyth for the final few laps, it was clear that the victory would come from this group.

Despite multiple attacks from Askey and then Swift in the closing kilometres, neither could distance Wright, who appeared confident in his ability to win in the end. Swift led the trio out into the finale, before Askey launched the sprint, with Wright rounding him on the line.

"It was a typical National Championships really, attacks from the start, full gas racing until a select group formed," Wright said post-race. "It's random but at the same time it does follow the same pattern: we take chunks out of each other for as long as we can and then a select group forms. I was happy to make that group and then we slowly whittled it down. The three of us were the strongest on the day and I played my cards well in the final. 

"I was trying not to think about it [winning] at the end. The year I had in the stripes was really special and as soon as you're not in them you really miss it. I was trying not to think about it too much in the last 10km. Just think about racing, how you would do things normally, without going too crazy. It's such a special thing, and I'm really happy to hopefully take these to the Tour. That's always special.

"I do love it, I hope I can start the Tour of Britain this year, I don't know what my schedule will be. It's lovely racing on British roads, we've had a really nice day here. We've had a really nice weekend at the seaside."

Results

British National Road Championships, elite men road race (187.3km)

1. Fred Wright, Pinarello Q36.5, in 4:15:47
2. Lewis Askey, NSN Cycling
3. Connor Swift, Netcompany-Ineos, both at same time
4. Elliot Rowe, Visma-Lease a Bike Development, +17s
5. Mattie Dodd, Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy, at same time
6. Ollie Wood, RCC Racing, +3:05
7. Tom Portsmouth, Guidon Chalettois
8. Adam Mitchell, Vendée U Primeo Energie
9. Jed Smithson, Hagens Berman Jayco, all at same time
10. Danny Riwnyj, Foran CT, +3:12

Zoe Bäckstedt soloed to road race victory at the British National Championships on Sunday, attacking alone with 14km to go in Aberystwyth.

The Canyon-SRAM rider doubled up on her time trial victory from Thursday, holding off Josie Knight (DAS-Hutchinson) to take the elite title for the first time. Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech), the defending champion, finished third.

Knight might not have won, but alongside Bäckstedt was the standout rider of the race, having been in the early break and then leading for 90km on her own, with a significant gap of up to eight minutes at one point.

However, after joining forces with Matilda McKibben (O'Shea Red Chilli Bikes) and Jo Tindley (Smurfit Westrock), Knight's lead was cut down, before Bäckstedt attacked alone in search of the leader. With 14km to go, the 21-year-old caught Knight, and passed her.

Despite a concerted chase effort behind, Bäckstedt held off the remnants of the peloton, with the gap remaining at two minutes to them.

"The first part was super interesting, there was a break of ones and twos, who got maybe six or seven minutes ahead of us," the victor said, post-race. "On the last lap of the big lap, it was quite hard over that steep climb, and I was hanging on for dear life at the end of that. It wasn’t the most ideal feeling, so I knew it was going to be a hard day. Then on the long climb as we entered the small circuit, I felt really good, and Flora (Perkins) attacked and I followed it and went over the top of her, and then it was a 55km solo day to the finish to try and catch Josie. 

"It’s been a super good week. To win the time trial on Thursday and be on the podium with my sister that was a real highlight. To have her on the side of the road today and in the feed zone for me has been great. To have my whole family here has made it a great week where I could be super relaxed and have fun."

"It was a long old day," Knight, for her part, said. "Last year I got into a break and we worked quite well together, I am not the most confident rider, I don’t do a lot of road racing, so I’m not the most confident in the peloton, so I tried to get into a break to have a good day out. Unfortunately, I did that but I ended up on my own. Once I was gone I got a time gap of 25 seconds to four riders, and I was like, ‘do I wait for them, is it better in a group?’ and then it soon went to 45 seconds, so I knew I was in for a long day.  

"I was having mental battles with myself and asking ‘will they not just catch me already and put me out of my misery?' I was getting the time gaps so I knew Zoe was coming across, so I tried to give it all, but she just came past like a steam train.

"I was just chuffed to hang on for second. My team car kept coming up alongside me and telling me to believe in myself and that I could get second. So I just emptied myself to the line, so I am really happy." 

Bäckstedt also won the under-23 race at the same time. Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco Continental) finished in the third group on the road to take second and third in that classification, respectively.

Results

British National Road Championships, elite women road race (128km)

1. Zoe Bäckstedt, Canyon-SRAM, in 3:30:44
2. Josie Knight, DAS-Hutchinson, +1:42
3. Millie Couzens, Fenix-Premier Tech, +2:02
4. Pfeiffer Georgi, Picnic PostNL
5. Anna Morris
6. Imogen Wolff, Visma-Lease a Bike
7. Erin Boothman, Liv AlUla Jayco Continental, all at same time
8. Josie Nelson, Picnic PostNL, +2:03
9. Anna Henderson, Lidl-Trek
10. Noémie Thomson, DAS-Hutchinson, all at same time

Lizzie Deignan is to join the Great Britain Cycling Team as a sports director, a year after she retired from the pro ranks.

The 37-year-old, world champion in 2015, will work with men’s and women’s road cycling lead, Matt Brammeier, in pursuit of silverware for Great Britain’s road riders at major events en route to the 2028 Olympics in LA.

Deignan retired last year after a career which saw her win the Worlds, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix Femmes, La Course by Le Tour de France, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and more. The new DS role is just one of the new hats she has put on in 2026, with Deignan also launching a coaching service, and becoming race organiser for the Otley Cycle Races.

"I’m excited about the opportunity to work with a strong and talented group of riders; I believe we’re one of the strongest road nations in the world," Deignan said. "It’s been over 10 years since my world title so it’s time for us to step into our potential and deliver more rainbow jerseys.

"It’s always a proud moment to represent your country - my aim is to help each rider who does that achieve their maximum performance with the best possible support."

"Bringing Lizzie into the team is a real coup," Brammeier said. "Having only recently retired from the bunch, she has so much insight and knowledge into both GB’s riders and the opposition. She also understands how we work as a team first-hand and can support and advise on how to get the best out of our riders on race day.

"Beyond that, Lizzie is a true legend of the sport and has directly inspired some of our future stars to want to follow in her footsteps, so to be working alongside her will be a real joy for them. Most importantly, she is just incredibly passionate about the sport and seeing Great Britain achieve success at the highest level and that shines through above everything."

Ethan Hayter won for the fourth time in the elite time trial at the British National Championships on Thursday, setting a blistering pace in blistering heat.

The Soudal Quick-Step rider completed the 38.4km course in 44:10, at an average of 52.15kph. Connor Swift (Netcompany-Ineos) finished second, 1:30 behind, with Josh Charlton (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy) a further 10 seconds back.

"It’s my second consecutive title and my first victory of the season, so obviously, I’m happy to be on the podium and know that I will keep the jersey for one more year," Hayter said post race. "I liked this course a lot, and as soon as I left the start house, I found my rhythm and kept it the entire time, which shows that I came here with strong legs. We’ll see what I can do on Sunday, when I’m ready to give everything again."

"It was survival and I really benefited from all the overseas training I do," he added. "It was a case of fighting and seeing what you can do. Going into the road championships on Sunday, I’m looking forward to it, but we’ve got such a strong field, we’ll have to see what happens on the day."

Alongside Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM), who won earlier on Thursday, Hayter won for the second year in a row in Lampeter, Wales.

Also on Thursday afternoon, Erin Boothman dominated the under-23 women's time trial. The Liv AlUla Jayco Continental rider set a time of 33:36 around the 25.6km course, which would have placed her third on the elite podium. Awen Roberts (Canyon-SRAM Generation) was second, 1:51 behind, with Abigail Miller (UAE Development) in third, a further 45 seconds back.

"It’s one of the highlights of my year so far, it’s great to do it off the back of a great season so far so it's a great moment," Boothman said. "We knew it was going to be hard, and I went out pretty hot in the first lap, just trying to hold on. I always want to do well at the national championships, this is my first elite one, and I’m super happy to be able to pull it off."

Results

British National Road Championships, elite men ITT (38.4km)

1. Ethan Hayter, Soudal Quick-Step, in 44:10
2. Connor Swift, Netcompany-Ineos, +1:30
3. Josh Charlton, Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy, +1:40
4. Ethan Vernon, NSN Cycling, +2:05
5. Jack Brough, AVC Aix Provence Dole, +2:52
6. Finlay Pickering, Jayco AlUla, +2:58
7. Matthew Rossiter, HUUB Wattshop, +3:12
8. Joe Laverick, +3:28
9. Charlie Tanfield, +4:02
10. Tom Mead, Team Bottrill Nopinz, +4:55

British National Road Championships, U23 women ITT (25.6km)

1. Erin Boothman, Liv AlUla Jayco Continental, in 33:36
2. Awen Roberts, Canyon SRAM Generation, +1:51
3. Abigail Miller, UAE Development, +2:36
4. Eilidh Shaw, UAE Development Team, +3:00
5. Lily Martin, Loughborough Lightning, +3:05
6. Carys Lloyd, Movistar, +3:10
7. Imogen Wolff, Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:10
8. Lucy Glover, Smurfit Westrock, +3:43
9. Grace Ward, O'Shea Red Chilli Bikes, +4:35
10. Isabel Mayes, +5:04

Zoe Bäckstedt defended her time trial title at the British National Championships on Thursday, storming to victory in the elite women's race.

On home roads in Wales, the Canyon-SRAM rider won for a second year in a row, beating Anna Morris by 21.97 seconds in Lampeter. Elynor Bäckstedt of UAE Team ADQ, the victor's sister, finished in third, 1:05.07 behind the winner.

It was a repeat of last year's winner, but this year's podium was special as it was an all-Welsh affair. The heat was high, with temperatures over 30 degrees centigrade, although the region was only covered by an orange weather warning, not the more severe red, as other parts of the UK.

Zoe Bäckstedt, setting off last, set the fastest time at the first time check, although that was brought back a bit over Morris at the second, however, by the end, the margin of victory was clear. It meant the 21-year-old averaged 46.9kph over 25.6km.

"It was super hard, the heat made it 10 times harder than I think I expected to be," the winner said post-race. "It was a super nice course, really fast, with country roads basically. Classic Welsh roads, but it was really fun in a way, even though I think everyone suffered through it. Happy that it's done and over with, and I'm just glad to come home with the jersey.

"The route was fun, super small, Welsh roads, super technical. Going through a farm entrance, that kind of thing. It was really fun, nice to do two laps as well, so it wasn't one really big circuit, but you could break it up, and pace it a bit better. Another really good course in Wales."

Morris, who is without a team, added: "I think I executed it as well as I could have today, Zoe is super tough to be, she's so strong, she has done some great performances recently. To do the ride I did today, I think I got it all out. I'm really happy with that.

"As soon as you're in the direct sun it got really hot, and the heat definitely built on the second lap. It was definitely a battle against the heat."

The elite women's race followed the U23 men's event, which was first on Thursday morning.

Ben Wiggins was the victor, riding the 25.6km course at an average of 52.9kph. He beat Henry Hobbs (Visma-Lease a Bike Development), 1:19 behind, with Finlay Tarling (NSN Development) in third, three seconds further back,

Wiggins, who rides for Hagens Berman Jayco, took the win following two consecutive second-places at the event. It was also 12 years after his father, Bradley Wiggins, won the senior title for a third time.

The 21-year-old said: "I was second twice as a junior, second twice as an U23, so I needed to get it done today. It was one of my biggest goals this season, a pathway to the Worlds in September. If I want to go there and be competitive, I really needed to get the job done at the nationals.

"I didn't think it [the heat] affected me this week. A lot of us have come off the Giro Next Gen, so I did a lot of heat preparation for that race as well, but I think it carried over well. I think I dealt with it pretty OK."

Results

British National Road Championships, elite women ITT (25.6km)

1. Zoe Bäckstedt, Canyon-SRAM, in 32:45
2. Anna Morris, +21s
3. Elynor Bäckstedt, UAE Team ADQ, +1:05
4. Becky Storrie, Picnic PostNL. +1:23
5. Izzy Sharp, Handsling Alba Development, +1:36
6. Pfeiffer Georgi, Picnic PostNL, +1:40
7. Millie Couzens, Fenix-Premier Tech, +1:52
8. Anna Henderson, Lidl-Trek, +1:54
9. Flora Perkins, Fenix-Premier Tech, +2:10
10 Claire Steels, Movistar, +2:10

British National Road Championships, U23 men ITT (25.6km)

1. Ben Wiggins, Hagens Berman Jayco, in 29:02
2. Henry Hobbs, Visma-Lease a Bike Development, +1:19
3. Finlay Tarling, NSN Development, +1:22
4. Jacob Bush, Picnic PostNL Development, +1:27
5. Matty Dodd, Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy, +1:29
6. Dylan Sage, Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy, +1:42
7. Jack Baldie, Pronto Bikes Race Team, +1:43
8. Seth Jackson, Hubo-Scott CT, +1:43
9. Adam Howell, Bourg-en-Bresse Cyclisme, +1:47
10. Angus Stoneham, SCO Dijon Team Matériel-Velo.com, +1:53

The 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women will start in Cockermouth, Cumbria, and end in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, British Cycling confirmed this morning.

The 11th edition of the WorldTour race will return to taking place over five days from Wednesday 19 August to Sunday 23 August, with its position in the calendar shifting from June to late summer. The route for the men's race was announced earlier this week.

Stage one will start and finish in Cockermouth, the first time the women's race has been there, although the men's Tour of Britain has visited before.

Next on the menu is Lancashire, with stage two from Clitheroe to Blackpool, with both again hosting the men's Tour, but never the women's equivalent. The last time Blackpool hosted an elite bike race, Mark Cavendish won on the promenade.

The third stage takes place entirely within Wales, with the day beginning in Mold, and finishing in Llandudno, on the Great Orme. This hilly test will present a different challenge to 2024, when Lotte Kopecky won on the sea front in Llandudno. Wout van Aert won atop the Great Orme in 2021 in the men's race, beating Julian Alaphilippe.

The next day, the race heads back to England from Wales, with stage four starting in Llanidloes, Powys, before heading to Hay-on-Wye. The final day starts and finishes in Leamington Spa, a town where Chloe Hosking and Sarah Roy have won before.

"We are excited to be bringing the prestigious Lloyds Tour of Britain Women to these fantastic locations in August," Jonathan Day, the director of events for British Cycling Ventures, said. "For the first time, there is parity in the number of stages with the men’s race a couple of weeks later, so it is a huge opportunity to create a real festival of cycling, with the women’s race kick-starting a brilliant few weeks of world class road racing.

"We are bringing new hosts and stages in Mold, Llanidloes, and Hay-on-Wye, and it is fantastic to return to previous hosts of the Tour in Cockermouth, Clitheroe, Blackpool, Llandudno and Leamington Spa, bringing real variety to each of the stages as we head across England and Wales.

"On behalf of British Cycling Ventures, I would like to say a huge thank you to our partners across the five stages for supporting the hosting and delivery of this August’s landmark race and enabling us to bring a memorable and action packed five days of world class racing to their communities, spreading the joy of cycling along the route, and inspiring more people to get on a bike and live healthier lives."

Next year will also see the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift come to the UK, in 2027. The men's race is set to start in Edinburgh, with the women's in Leeds.

Tour of Britain Women 2026 stage table

The 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Men will start in Lincoln and end in Earlston, the Scottish Borders, British Cycling confirmed this morning.

The 22nd edition of the race will be the first to take place over five days from 2 to 6 September, following on from five days of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women in late August.

It had already been announced that the race would visit North Yorkshire, but it has now been revealed that it will also head to Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire and the Scottish Borders across the week.

Stage one will start and finish in Lincoln, the home of the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, the first time the modern men's Tour of Britain has visited the cathedral city, although it was a regular host of the Milk Race and has also been home to the British National Road Championships.

The next day, stage two will cross Lincolnshire from Boston to Skegness, before stage three takes place from Hull to Beverley, across East Yorkshire.

The penultimate day, Saturday 5 September, will head over the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales for a hilly test, which will surely decide who is the winner of the whole race. Stage five starts and finishes in Earlston, south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders.

"We are delighted to be bringing the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men to these fantastic locations later this year," Jonathan Day, the director of events for British Cycling Ventures, said in a press release. "We are bringing new hosts and stages in Lincoln, Boston and Skegness, and Leyburn, and it is fantastic to return to previous hosts of the race in Hull and Beverley, Helmsley, and the Scottish Borders.

"Taking the Tour to Lincoln for the first time, a city synonymous with its love for cycling, will be special for the opening stage of the men’s race, before the route winds its way up the east coast via North Yorkshire, before reaching the Scottish Borders in Earlston.

"On behalf of British Cycling Ventures, I would like to pay thanks to our partners across the five stages for supporting the hosting and delivery of this September’s race and enabling us to bring another memorable and action packed five days of world class racing to their communities, spreading the joy of cycling along the route, and inspiring more people to get on a bike and live healthier lives."

Next year will also see the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift come to the UK, in 2027. The men's race is set to start in Edinburgh, with the women's in Leeds.

Tour of Britain 2026 stage table

“For any young cyclist dreaming of one day turning professional, competing in the [British] Junior National Series is the starting line on their journey to success,” Ned Boulting recites over a montage of junior riders flashing past fields, triumphantly crossing the finish line or crashing out track-side, head in hands.

The music turns dramatic: drums and electric guitars. “As they follow in the tyre tracks of their heroes, they must face gruelling courses, extreme physical and mental demands and the danger of racing on open roads,” Boulting continues.

“But for many young cyclists, the biggest challenge isn’t on the roads. It is the financial barriers of taking part at all.”

The trailer for Team PAU’s series of films charting the highs and lows of a summer of junior racing is suitably dramatic. It even pipped HSBC and P&O Cruises to a silver Lens Award for Best Documentary Style Video.

But the heart of the Team PAU series - and the heart of the team itself - is a determination to make cycling as accessible to as many children as possible.

The team’s precursor, Project PAU, was started three years ago out of a bike shop in Stoke, in the English Midlands, run by Paul Ball. As his own son got interested in cycling, Ball started to notice the realities of racing as a junior.

He saw kids racing with passion and commitment, but he also saw young riders with teams and many without, a whirlwind of hurried drop-offs and rushed runs back before school started the next day. He noticed the tired parents, and the absent ones too, whose children would never get the chance to compete due to one frustrating, heart-breaking block: finances.

“The first barrier that stood out to me was the financial side of it,” Ball told Cycling Weekly. “From the outset, you're talking a few thousand to buy a bike to race on. Then you start looking at the travel; just to get around the country is an expense.

“Having stood on the side and watched the races, there’s no real guidance,” he continued. “You see a kid rock up with mum and dad to a race, they do the race then they put the bike back in the car and go home. There’s no guidance for the child on how to become better. Some kids that have come to us with bikes that are too big; they just don’t work for them.”

And so Project PAU began, starting first as a series of online seminars kids could log onto and chat to a coach, learn how to set up their bikes and the world of racing and training. A year later, and the shop had assembled its first flesh-and-blood squad: eight kids from all over the UK, supported with bikes, coaches and race entries for 2025.

“They took me on a gamble,” one of the team’s first cohort, Huw Cressey-Rodgers said of the team. “It's incredibly hard in cycling, because a lot of the time it's who you know, that's just how it is. They say it’s all about results, but it's not always.”

Cressey-Rodgers’ frustration with elements of the race scene were clear, but so was his appreciation of the culture Team PAU has brought to the sport: he stresses, time and time again during our conversation, that everyone at Team PAU is really, really nice.

“I'm not going to be around the bush and say it's the fastest team out there. It's not,” Cressey-Rodgers continued. “If you look at some other teams, they’ve got some incredibly fast riders, but they're just not as friendly and not as nice. It's almost like they treat you as if you're 20 years old at 16. You've got to have a little bit of understanding, especially when a race goes badly.”

It’s not hard to imagine that a squad built by Ball and his team is an inspiring, supportive and ambitious one. Ball is a man who chases life’s fullest experiences: he built a business providing outdoor experiences for underprivileged kids, taking them out mountaineering and climbing and mountain biking; he’s a father to six children who spent his younger years backpacking Africa, South East Asia and living in Australia and New Zealand. Now he's got riders like Bradley Wiggins stepping in to support his junior race team.

I ask Ball what his dreams are for the team he’s helping build. He says they’re swapping some home races in favour of lining up more often in Belgium to give their riders more continental exposure. They’re also aiming to develop tighter links with sponsors, so the team is less financially dependent on the shop. He says too that developing a women’s team is at the forefront of their minds. But the mission Ball first began Team PAU with remains his driving force:

“Hopefully we inspire some young people to get on the bike,” he said. “I think if you want to inspire young people, it's not necessarily about showing the race, it's showing them the people that are involved, how racing affects those people, and what inspires them to get on a bike.”

Team Pau’s series of films, ‘Closing the Gap’ will go live on Thursday February 25.

Getting into competitive cycling has never been cheap. Bikes and kit are just the start; for the parents of ambitious youngsters who want to travel to high-quality junior or youth races, there is also fuel, accommodation, entry fees, and time off work. It all adds up. For families supporting young riders, the financial strain can be overwhelming and many can only manage by making sacrifices. For others the costs are prohibitive - and they don't even attempt it.

The result, according to those at the grassroots, is a shrinking talent pool. Anecdotally, fewer children are racing, and from the people we speak to, cost is cited again and again as the main barrier. As another season approaches, Cycling Weekly spoke to three families in the UK to understand what youth cycle racing really costs - and what that means for the sport's future.

Adam Brooks: "The cost is a huge problem"

Hartlepool-based Adam Brooks was named British Cycling's 2025 volunteer coach of the year. CEO and co-founder of the North East Cycling Academy, he counts Visma-Lease a Bike's Matthew Brennan among his alumni. His 15-year-old daughter Sophia and 13-year-old son Charlie both compete, and youngest daughter Sienna, eight, is just beginning.

"The cost of youth racing is a huge problem. With my kids, we focus on doing around 75-85% of all the national road races they're eligible to do, and most but not all regional races. For families whose children ride cyclo-cross, it means they are travelling around the country for almost 52 weeks of the year. I did some rough sums and calculated that for travel to and from races, overnight stays and race entries, it costs £6,000 per kid."

"That's £12k for two children, and we're not doing everything we could be doing. The national races are spread out all over the place and the Isle of Man Tour is so expensive: it's £500 just for the ferry alone, a few hundred quid for the races, and accommodation isn't cheap. It can easily add up to a minimum of £1,000 for a long weekend."

"These are astronomical figures - basically another full-time wage. And that doesn't even touch on equipment. My daughter is racing on a 12-year-old Scott Foil that I bought second-hand for £700 and then upgraded myself to electronic shifting. Most of the field she's up against are on brand-new carbon aero bikes with disc brakes."

"Most kids have multiple bikes; if they want to have a chance of being picked up by the British Cycling pathway, they'll need to race track, and a track bike will cost between £500 and £1,000. If they're riding cyclo-cross, you need a pit bike as well as a race bike, so that's at least £3,000 for the pair. Kids also grow quickly between the ages of 13 and 17 so you're probably looking at three lots of new bikes in that period, per discipline. "

"It doesn't stop there, either. The average kid has at least two helmets - road and track/aero.They need replacing at most every two years and cost about £200 a pair. Shoes are £100 minimum and need replacing after a year or two, and then you've got bike computers and possibly smart turbo trainers that are several hundred quid each."

"There are subscriptions to stuff too: Zwift and TNT Sports, if people want to pay that, and maybe even a private coach. We've already said we can't do as much next year for our kids, and that's a shame because as a coach I can see that my kids have a good opportunity to do well. But if we're struggling - I'm not poor but we're certainly not well off - then other families must be having huge struggles."

"We're going to have to cherry-pick which races we do and stay local and train more. We won't be able to go to smaller races that we don't have to be at. Historically this was a working man's sport, but it's definitely not these days. Kids who get into the sport now do so because their parents were cyclists and they've got a bit of disposable income."

"One thing I've got a bit of funding to do at the Middlesbrough Velodrome is to make Monday night track training completely free and inclusive to all, and we've got three girls from Asian families who attended the holiday programme and loved it."

"But how the hell do we get them into proper competition when the equipment and travel are so expensive? I want to change things but one person in the North East can't change it all. If British Cycling is serious about making it a fully inclusive sport, they've got to turn the pyramid upside down, as at the moment it's top-heavy and set up for people who have money. It's not focused on the kids who have nothing or very little."

Michael and Dawn Tarling: "Parents contact us every week for advice"

Michael and Dawn Tarling's 21-year-old son Josh is well known to CW readers as Ineos-Grenadiers TT specialist and Giro d'Italia stage winner. Josh's younger brother Finlay, 19, is also a big cycling talent, and rides for NSN's development team. "When both of our boys were racing, the biggest expense for us was travel. Living on the west coast of Wales meant that twice a week we were making five-hour round trips to the Newport Velodrome, and we'd often be away the whole weekend.

We're lucky because I'm a cyclist myself, and I have a very tolerant wife, and we viewed it all as quality family time. But if we weren't a cycling family, I'm not sure how it'd have all worked out. We started our own club, the West Wales Cycle Racing Team, and we ended up with 40 kids. We built a community of car- and bike-sharing, and as a club we bought a nine-seater minibus to take as many kids as possible to events.

Both Josh and Fin rode bikes we got off eBay and Facebook Marketplace, and both were kitted out in hand-me-downs and second-hand equipment. I don't think enough families know what to look for, and we get at least one parent contacting us each week asking for advice.

We always give kit away, and always sell equipment at a discounted price to make sure that someone else can ride it. At the recent Welsh Cyclo-cross Championships we spotted four bikes that our boys had once ridden. Josh and Fin were doing well and loving it and we could see the potential they had. When they turned juniors, the priority was getting them racing abroad to be seen, but to do that we had to remortgage our house.

We were paying everything on our credit cards and remortgaged the house to pay off the credit cards. It was a conscious decision - we wanted to do it for all of us. When I look back at five years of trips in the campervan in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, it was financially tough, but I only think about the memories we made along the way."

Lindsey and Mark Carter: "Until we counted it up, we didn't know how much we'd spent"

Based in Ingleby Barwick in the North East, Lindsey and Mark Carter are parents to 14-year-old Annabelle and 11-year-old Theo, who both ride road, cyclo-cross and track. According to their calculations, they spent more than £40,000 in 2025 supporting their kids' cycling ambitions. Lindsey: "We know we do a lot with the kids because this is our life, but wow, until we counted it all up, we didn't know how much we had spent. And the scary thing is we're very careful with what we spend: all the bikes are second-hand, and Mark does the maintenance."

"We prefer to get up early and drive three hours to save money rather than stay in a hotel; but if we do stay overnight, I book way in advance so it's cheaper - I've just booked a load of Premier Inns for 2026 at £35 a night. We very rarely eat out. We'll go to Tesco and spend £25 for a picky tea, or Mark will even cook on the gas cooker, in the car park."

"What we spend is significantly lower than what others do. To date we've mostly been lucky that Annabelle and Theo have both raced in the same place, but if Annabelle gets selected for British Cycling's pathway, that's going to split us up as a family - one parent will go with one kid and the other with the other.

That will add additional costs. Annabelle will potentially have to drop something, probably cyclo-cross, as we just can't afford to do everything, either from a financial or time viewpoint. Something is going to have to give. We're absolutely not complaining: this is our life and what we choose to do. The time we spend with the kids is so valuable and we want them to be healthy and fit and have friends all over the country. But we've sacrificed summer holidays to pay for cycling ."

Mark: "This has been an eye-opener for me, but I don't see how we can avoid the costs. As Lindsey says, we do things on the cheap. This year we spent £16,000 on a van because that's an investment over three or four years and it became a necessity because we were damaging the car so much by loading and unloading three or four bikes all the time. The van's more practical, but it is more costly to run.

For the same reason, I'm not convinced that having a campervan to kip in would reduce costs by much, if at all. I scour the second-hand market for bikes and parts, and Annabelle has been racing on an Italian Ciöcc rim-braked bike I picked up for £1,200 against girls on £6,000 bikes. She even won a few times last year on a bike that cost us £650. When we were in the Netherlands for the Assen Tour, we found a shop that was selling tons of items for €10. We bought 35 pieces of clothing, in various sizes, everything from bibshorts to leggings, and winter gear to waterproofs, for €350."

Geraint Thomas started this year’s Lloyds Tour of Britain Men on Tuesday for what will be his last ever professional race with Ineos Grenadiers. Fittingly for a Welshman’s swan song, the race will finish where Thomas’ cycling started, in Cardiff, Wales.

The bike every person from Wales alive must be hoping he can ride home to one final victory after a decorated 17-year career, is a custom-painted version of his trusty Pinarello Dogma.

Running his usual Shimano Dura Ace Di2 groupset, with matching C60 deep section carbon wheels, shod in ultra-light Continental GP5000 TT rubber, he’s hoping Suffolk County Council have fixed the potholes around Woodbridge where the race departs from.

His gearing is pretty conventional, with no need for a compact chainset for the stages around Suffolk in the coming days, which are pan-flat and fast.

His familiar Moist cockpit is enhanced with white bar tape, set off by metallic gold paint, which presumably he’s not worried about getting too dirty before he arrives in Cardiff, aboard this very special Welsh Dragon-adorned Dogma. The saddle is a Prologo Nago R4, with carbon rails.

Whether you hail from Wales or not, the paint is pretty spectacular, featuring a matte dark green base with red and gold gloss details, set against a stunning white backdrop. The paint scheme appears production-ready, featuring gold details such as the ‘4nm’ and ‘5nm’ instructional decals on both the saddle clamp and rail hardware, which are likely unnecessary for professional mechanics who have been working on this bike all season. Perhaps there will be a limited release for the public, depending on how the race concludes.

The top tube features highlights of Thomas’ career, including, of course, his 2018 Tour de France victory. It matches well with his special edition Ineos kit for this week, which has been specially designed to pay tribute to the 39-year-old.

For a man who has had some of his biggest successes on Pinarellos through his 15 years with Team Sky then Ineos, the final race bike is a fitting present.

The Lancaster Grand Prix will return in 2026, despite it being cancelled this season, the chair of its organising committee has said.

Speaking on Wednesday, Brian Cookson said that there is nobody to blame for the decision to cancel the race this summer and place the event on temporary hiatus.

The race was a stalwart of the British National Road Series, but it was announced on Tuesday that the event will not take place in July as planned. An array of issues were cited as the reasons behind the decision, including logistical difficulties and problems with funding and sponsorship.

In the same announcement, British Cycling revealed that the Tour of the Reservoir would return for 2025. The governing body has also previously committed to getting a south west round of the national road and circuit series up and running later this year.

"They have been very supportive of us, there's no criticism of British Cycling in any of this," Cookson said. "We have got ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place on a couple of different issues. Looking at other dates is now very, very difficult as there are already events booked in the park. There's theatre in the park, there's weddings, there's all sorts of other stuff going on, so it will be very difficult for us to change the days."

"We don't exist in a vacuum," the former UCI president added. "We've got to respect the local community and their needs as well. But equally what we want to do is organise the best bike race that we possibly can and do it in a positive and sustainable way that builds for the future. It's a bit of a step back, it's a decision taken with a lot of reluctance, but we think it's the wisest thing to do in the circumstances.

"We're not at all giving up the ghost, we're not throwing our hands up and blaming other people, we've just hit something of a temporary hiatus."

Local authority uncertainty

Cookson also explained that a series of uncertainties regarding the structure of local authorities in the race’s home county of Lancashire meant that funding for the event was also unclear.

"Lancashire is in a particularly peculiar position, because there's a kind of restructuring in place, or about to be in place, that's still subject to a fair amount of debate and decisions," he said. "We don't know yet whether there's going to be one county authority with a mayor, or whether there's going to be some sort of three way split of three different local authorities, unitaries, or two level authorities. So that's all making the funding environment very, very complicated."

Cookson acknowledged that the decision to cancel the race would be frustrating for a number of stakeholders, but reiterated that it will come back stronger and in a position to thrive.

"The ambition and the intention is that we come back in 2026, on or about the same dates in July," he said. "We would then have a sportive on the Saturday with a start and finish in the park, and then the main two races on the Sunday. If we can do that then there's a better offer to the sponsors and there's a better outcome for the local authorities.

"We just ask people to understand and be patient and thank them for their support. We missed a year with the pandemic, but that's about it, and we've been going since the first one in 2019. We have found a pretty good permanent place in the calendar and stuck with that, so we will be back."

Doug Ryder, the manager of the Q36.5 Pro Cycling, has said that his team does not have any African riders for the first time since 2007 because “it’s not about charity.”

In 2007, Ryder set up the South African-registered MTN Energade Road Team that developed into MTN-Qhubeka, Dimension Data and Qhubeka-NextHash before it folded at the end of 2021 season. During that period, Ryder’s outfit became not only the first African team to appear at but also win stages of the Tour de France.

Ryder’s new venture, the Swiss-registered Q36.5 team, began in 2023, with the same focus on being a home for emerging African talent. But at the end of 2024, they released their only African rider – the Ethiopian Negasi Haylu Abreha – and also shuttered their U23 continental team that housed two other African riders.

In an open letter on the Global Peloton substack in October, the continental team’s manager Kevin Campbell noted how the number of African riders in the men's professional peloton had shrunk from 23 to nine in the past decade, writing that “African cycling has not arrived, it is leaving.”

This comes against the backdrop of African cycling’s highest profile success – Biniam Girmay winning three stages and the green jersey at the Tour de France. In September of this year, Rwanda will become the first African nation to host the UCI road cycling world championships.

Asked if Q36.5 is still Africa’s team, Ryder told assembled press at his team’s annual media day that “we still have Africa’s focus”, pointing out charity work they still carry out with Qhubeka and the World Bicycle Relief Fund. He also highlighted past success by his former riders in inspiring the current generation.

“We had a lot of African riders in our team,” he said. “We’ve opened the door for African cycling. Biniam Girmay was 13 when we took Daniel Teklehaimanot to the Tour de France, a race that opened the door in his eyes to the possibilities of what cycling can do, a sport that he could potentially be successful in. We did a lot in that sense.”

Pressed on why his team no longer has any African riders, he said: “There’s just a lack of quality at the moment, sadly. As you know we’ve got big sponsors behind us and the sport has changed, it’s about business. It’s not about charity.

“At the time we could create massive opportunities for riders just because the sport was different then. If I started an African team today would it be successful? No. Would people care? Would they? It’s about points and it’s about rankings.”

Historically, top-level cycling talent from Africa has come from South Africa, Eritrea and Ethiopia, but there are deep concerns about the long-term health of Ethiopian cycling after a devastating two-year war in Tigray, the country’s cycling heartland, resulted in the loss of more than 600,000 lives.

The closure of the Q36.5 Continental team will, Campbell wrote for Global Peloton, further diminish opportunities for African riders. “We started our African development team, registering as a continental team in 2016 and basing ourselves permanently in Italy. The team’s name changed over the years, as team names do in cycling, but the core aims remained the same: provide opportunities for African riders.

“We soon realised, though, that cycling actually doesn’t care. Yes, some rider stories make for great marketing opportunities, some riders provide great photo opportunities, but the game, the sport, the business of cycling doesn’t care. A rider has to perform!

“Where does the next generation of African riders come from? We know where they are from. The real question is how are they going to get here, to Europe? All they are yearning for is an opportunity. Who is going to provide that opportunity now?”

The 2024 men’s cycling season was full of drama, excitement – and a whole lot of Tadej Pogačar victories.

From the three Grand Tours to the five Monuments, it was a memorable season of unforgettable long-distance attacks and historic storylines.

Here are Cycling Weekly’s favourite six moments of 2024 from men's racing.

Final day drama at Paris-Nice

The first major stage race of the season, Paris-Nice throws crosswinds, fog, rain, snow and eventually, as they near the French Riviera, sun at riders. It also throws up unpredictable, topsy-turvy and nail biting racing. 2024 was no different.

Four different riders led the race in the first six days, and surprisingly none of them were the two pre-race favourites: Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel. Ahead of the final day in Nice, a rollercoaster stage in the Maritime Alps, American Brandon McNulty led his compatriot Matteo Jorgenson by four seconds, with Mattias Skjelmose 35 seconds in arrears.

What was billed as the battle of the Americans was complicated by the fact that you can never write off Evenepoel. The Belgian won the stage, lifting himself into second overall, but Jorgensen clung to his wheel to take the yellow off a beaten and dejected McNulty. It was the biggest victory of the Visma-Lease a Bike rider’s young career.

Van der Poel's crushing Roubaix victory

No one can be expected to win Paris-Roubaix – there’s just too many uneven cobbles, hidden and visible dangers, and a big little thing called bad luck that have to be surmounted before a rider even gets within sight of the Roubaix velodrome.

But in April, Mathieu van der Poel made the Hell of the North look as easy as a riding along a Belgian canal path is, defending his title in devastating style: attacking 59.6km from the finish – the second-longest victory solo in the race’s storied history – and winning by three minutes, the biggest victory margin in 22 years.

Resplendent in his world champion stripes, it was his sixth Monument victory, and a reminder to all that the Alpecin-Deceuninck Dutchman is truly the outstanding Classics rider of the 2020s.

Cobbles chaos at the Tour de France

A third French victory in nine days – the home nation’s greatest opening week of the Tour de France in many a year – was only one part of what was an epic day’s racing on the cobbles of Troyes.

The first full cobbled stage in the history of the Tour, with no less than 32km of 14 different white roads, expectedly caused havoc: attacks were relentless, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel repeatedly launched moves, Jonas Vingegaard somehow hung on, but Primož Roglič struggled and languished. Riders fell off, bikes were changed, dust kicked up, and sharp words were exchanged. "Vicious," said one rider. Another said: "Brutal."

In the end, miraculously, it was a GC stalemate as up ahead Anthony Turgis beat Tom Pidcock in a sprint, but the ceaseless action left everyone catching their breath and demanding more cobbled stages in the future. Top level entertainment.

Remco's Olympic double

Just a few days after winning gold in the time trial event, Remco Evenepoel secured a historic Olympic double with a performance stacked full of panache, steeliness and lung-busting efforts.

After first beating compatriot Wout van Aert to the title as Belgium’s best bet, Evenepoel attacked with 38km to go, caught the chase group, and then distanced eventual silver medallist Valentin Madouas with 15km to go.

All was going well, Specialized were designing his golden bike, but then a rear wheel puncture threatened to derail him. Angry shouts and an impatient stomp in the end weren’t necessary; he stopped on the finish line, dismounted his bike, spread his arms out wide, slammed down an imaginary phone and posed in front of the Eiffel Tower. History made. Hang the image in the Louvre.

Daring O'Connor steals Vuelta red

Stage six of the Vuelta a España did it again. A year on from when Sepp Kuss won at Javalambre and catapulted himself towards the top of the GC that he’d eventually win, in 2024 it was the turn of Ben O’Connor.

Thirty-third overnight, 1:56 behind Primož Roglič in the race for red, O’Connor infiltrated a large break on the road to Yunquera in the heat of Andalucía. Roglič and Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe were nonplussed by O’Connor’s GC talents, despite him having finished fourth in May’s Giro d’Italia, and they refused to chase even when the Australian went solo with 27km to go.

Remarkably, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider won the stage by 4:33, and jumped into the red jersey with a margin of 4:51. The entire dynamic of the rest of the race was fundamentally and permanently altered, and Roglič would only snatch red off O’Connor’s shoulders on stage 19. O’Connor never fancied himself to win the maillot rojo, but did hold on for second.

Pogačar's Triple Crown

How do you stop an unstoppable force? You can’t. Certainly not when the subject is Tadej Pogačar and the year is 2024.

After winning six stages and the GC at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, Pogačar had one big goal left on his list for the season: to win the World Championships. Everyone knew he’d attack on the mountainous loop around Zurich in Switzerland, and most predicted he’d inevitably and undoubtedly cruise to victory, but no one actually guessed when.

One hundred kilometres to go was when the impatient Slovenian decided to rip things apart, and with 52km remaining he was already alone, out in front, charging towards the first Triple Crown since Stephen Roche in 1987. Unbeatable, imperious, remarkable. The most deserving world champion.

While the bikes that make up today’s professional peloton are certainly fancy, they aren’t typically all that interesting.

There's a good reason for it, of course. Sponsors pay a lot of money to supply the teams and need them to race the latest wares. The result is an armada of bikes all with similar specifications and little room for customisation.

Not so at a hill climb event, where riders storm from the bottom of a hill to the top, in the fastest time possible. The UK scene remains as vibrant, and creative, as ever. Driven by the need to go light but without the constraints of UCI regulations, each bike is like a patchwork quilt, made up of disparate parts in the hope that once stitched together they find a kind of harmony. So, these are the weird and the wonderful as opposed to the clean and the clinical. If the WorldTour is cycling’s Formula 1 equivalent, then the hill climb events are its Wacky Racers.

Across October we’re going to be celebrating these great inventions, starting with a budget build that leaves few stones underturned in the pursuit of dropping grams.

Harley Widdowson’s Scott CR1 Team

Harley Widdowson required a bike for the upcoming hill climb season and had set himself the task of doing so for under £1,000. It would be quite the challenge.

He started the build with a Scott CR1 Team edition from 2009. While it wasn’t the lightest, weighing around 1280g for frame and fork, it was cheap. At just £150 it would leave Widdowson with plenty of budget remaining to complete his build.

Next up was the groupset. Widdowson scoured eBay and managed to piece together a few 10-speed SRAM Red components, including brake calipers, shifters and cassette - a SRAM OG-1090 model that cost £50 and only weighs about 165 grams. The rear mech however is from the US brand’s second-tier Force offering.

“I managed to get a Red rear derailleur for just £10 as it had a broken hanger still attached,” Widdowson said. “However I couldn't remove it and had to settle for Force to keep the cost down.” He estimates that the switch cost him about 30 grams.

The chainset comes courtesy of the lesser-known brand RaceWorx and was sourced online. But the inspiration came from a fellow hill climber.

“I saw them on the current junior champion Harry Hudson's bike,” Widdowson says. “They only cost around £100 and are extremely light. They have been flawless so far. I have sharpied them in red to match the bike’s colour scheme. I hope the ink doesn't weigh much!”

By running a single 36t chainring he was able to save weight compared to a double chainset. He took this yet further, stripping down the left hand lever, which was now only required to operate the rear brake rather than the front mech as well. “There are also no rubber hood covers, saving 30 grams,” says Widdowson.

Perhaps the biggest coup of the build was the wheelset. Knowing that this is a component that can significantly impact the bike’s overall weight, Widdowson went looking for something affordable but also light. He found it in a pair of used Roval Alpinist hoops, again sourced from eBay.

“They cost £250 and weigh a staggering 1035 grams,” he says. “I really love the white spokes. The tubular Challenge tyres were sourced on eBay too."

The famous online marketplace came up trumps for some of the bike’s finishing kit too, including Prime x light bars and a “super light” USE seat post both for around £30; the bars are without the usual tape to help save a few grams.

However, for the saddle and seat clamp, he visited the same online site that supplied the hollow crankset. Like the crank arms, both are ‘budget’ options but the Opera OEA saddle is carbon, while the clamp only weighs 6 grams. The build is completed with Jagwire link cables in metallic red to both “save some weight and really bring the colour scheme together.”

Completed with the help of a local bike mechanic, the bike weighs an impressive 5.5kg including the Look Keo pedals, and cost just under the target of £1000.

“It’s a great example that hill climbing bikes don’t have to be too exotic and expensive,” Widdowson says. “The frame hasn't been sanded or the bars chopped so with a wheel change it’s still a totally functional bike.”

Alison Jackson is set to make her British gravel racing debut this weekend as she lines up for the British Gravel Championship in Galloway, Scotland.

The race is part of the annual three-day Raiders Gravel event, moved up and across the border from Suffolk for this year after organiser RedOn experienced issues with forestry fees.

Jackson, the Canadian winner of last year's Paris-Roubaix, will take part in the elite women's championship race, although won't be eligible to become champion as she is not British. She will go head to head with riders including CiCLE Classic winner Eluned King, National Road Series winner Monica Greenwood and RTTC road bike medallist Rebecca Richardson.

The men's field is also replete with hitters, including former champion Jacob Vaughan, Gralloch 2024 winner Matt Holmes, CX star Cameron Mason and retired WorldTour rider Nathan Haas.

It isn't the first time that Jackson – who rides for EF Education-Oatly-Cannondale – has raced in Scotland. She took part in the Glasgow World Championships and also the Tour of Scotland in 2019, where she won a stage and was second overall.

"The country is beautiful and the crowds are awesome," she told Gravel Champs organiser RedOn. "I'm looking forward to exploring another part of Scotland."

She has only ridden one gravel race before, in Canada, and said: "I love exploring and adventuring and doing something new. So this, you know, it's still bike racing, but in the new and exploring way. I'm looking forward to three days of racing and trying to figure out this gravel thing."

Jackson will be riding all three days of the Raiders event, which begins with stage one tomorrow (Friday Aug 30), called 'Clatteringshaws'.

The British Gravel Championship itself is held on Saturday Aug 31, with elite and junior riders taking on a 87.6km route in the Galloway hills that features 1,399m of ascent. Raiders challenge riders will ride another (mainly downhill) 13km to complete the 100.9km 'Grannoch' route.

Sunday sees the third and final stage, called the 'Skerrow', which is 65.6km long with 858m of climbing.

Raiders Gravel, says RedOn, offers "cyclists of all levels the chance to experience Scotland's breathtaking terrain in a unique and thrilling format. With three days of racing through some of the most picturesque scenery in the UK, (it) promises not only fierce competition but also a chance to connect with the cycling community in a relaxed, social environment."

Riders are travelling from as far afield as Austin, TX to make up the bumper field for Sunday's RTTC National Closed Circuit Championship time trial, which is yet again one of the most popular events on the entire time trial racing calendar.

A total 350 riders are set to take the start line at the Goodwood motor circuit in West Sussex, for a variety of events including the 'One lap wonder' and a four-person relay that has been dubbed 'The Chaos'.

In the face of some very low entries in recent years, this huge field demonstrates how popular time trialling still is – on both road and time trial bikes – when there is a friendly, traffic free venue to ride at. That's despite a £30 entry fee – considerably more than a standard open entry of around £15.

There are also events for 'Heritage Bikes' and 'Cherished Machines', with the former seeing a small group of carbon monocoque riders aboard bikes including the Lotus 110 that was made famous by Chris Boardman, and an example of the Hotta that Richard Prebble used to win the National '25'.

Among the Lotus pilots is US rider Stephen McCaskie, from Austin. He heard about the event, and with opportunities to race similar "UCI bandit bikes" as he calls them, was eager to come over and race.

Other machines in what promises to be a fascinating slice of cycling nostalgia will be a Raleigh Dynatech, a 1948 fixed wheel bike, and a 1988 Peugeot 753 lo-pro – ridden by CTT chair Andrea Parish.

"We have nothing in the US that comes close to the CTT program," he told event organiser David Collard-Berry of a3CRG, "let alone Heritage Bikes or the opportunity to ride Goodwood."

Collard-Berry has considerable experience in promoting events at this historic venue, having run an annual summer series there for some years.

The circuit race was held last year at the Croft circuit in the north-east and before that Thruxton in Hampshire, and attracts consistently high numbers.

Part of this is that there is not a cap on entry numbers, says Collard-Berry. But they're friendly events too.

"Mum, dad, girlfriend, boyfriend, they can stand there above the top of the pit lane and watch them as they go past, cheer them on," he says. "Where we do the start at Goodwood, they stand almost at the start line to cheer them on as they go off.

"It's a friendly atmosphere – it's not like racing on the A3," he adds.

The day's main dish is of course the title race for women and men, with newly crowned 25-mile champion Kate Allan leading a field of 46 women on both road and time trial bikes. Her Team Bottrill team-mates Emily Martin and Alex Clay, who claimed silver and bronze in the '25' also ride, as does multiple former national champion Hayley Simmonds (Doltcini O'Shea), who is also the current competition record holder at 10 and 25 miles.

In the men's race last year's circuit champs bronze medallist Alex Pickering (Elysium Kalas) lines up against a host of local talent, including hotly tipped Jamie Whitcher (Bournemouth Cycleworks) and James Jenkins (Hart Performance), whose 17.28 10-mile qualifying time makes him the fastest rider on paper.

There are also healthy entries in the junior, youth and para-cycling / hand-cycling races. Each event is 10 miles in length – amounting to four-and-a-bit laps of the circuit, except the youths who ride 7.6 miles.

Berkshire's Kate Allan added yet another National Championship time trial title to her palmarès at the weekend, when she won the 25-mile 'blue riband' event.

It was her third national crown this year after the '50' and the '100', but it was a closer battle than she might have liked, with her 55:14 beating Team Bottrill team-mate Emily Martin by just three seconds. The team completed the podium, with Alex Clay's 56:34 placing her third.

The men's race was won by another serial victor, John Archibald (HUUB-Wattshop), whose 47-23 beat Josh Charlton (Hetton Hawks) and Michael Gill (Richardsons-Trek) into second and third place respectively.

"It's the closest it's been in a very long time," Allan told Cycling Weekly of her victory when we caught up with her on Monday morning. She was doing her own time checks on a couple of riders as they came back down the course, she explained, "And then I saw Emily, and I was like, 'Oh, this is quite close'. I was aware that it was a battle."

She had been forced to stop and unclip, she explained, by a car turning into an Aldi supermarket on the J2/21 course, between Chelford and Congleton in Cheshire. The vehicle had, ironically, paused to allow a cyclist coming the other way to continue safely through.

Allan wasn't fazed by the incident, saying, "I had one of my best results in 2015 where I got caught behind a combine harvester in the National 25. And I kind of used it to my advantage in the sense that I kind of chilled a bit, I got my breath back, I reset, and then I pushed harder. My metrics after that incident were brilliant, because I had so much more oomph.

"So I was by no means panicked," she said of Saturday's race, "I was aware that I had time to catch up."

It could be that the Aldi shopper unknowingly lent Allan the impetus needed to push hard enough to gain that slender winning advantage. But with a ride in the National 10-mile Championship less than a month away (September 1), Allan is not resting on her laurels.

She had been messaging with coach Matt Bottrill on the long drive home from her '25' victory – which was punctuated by a celebratory pizza and beer at Pizza Express – about how to prepare for the challenge.

Allan had been due to take a season off this year to concentrate on moving house. But she kept riding her bike and after the house move fell through she reckoned she might as well use the considerable base mileage she had amassed to good use.

"I always ride my bike, you know, I don't stop riding my bike," she said. "[But] I wasn't doing the top-end intensity, so I think that's what's lacking with me at the moment. I haven't raced as much as I would do normally, and I'm not probably training as intense as I would do normally - I've got to start now."

When we caught up with her she had just finished an over-unders session custom designed to hone that top-end in preparation for the 10. She will be ready for the challenge of this shortest and sharpest of championship races, she says, but certainly isn't counting any chickens.

"Having now seen how close it can get, I'm confident I can get into good form, and form that I'm proud of. I guess what happens on the day, it all depends," she said.

Whatever the result, it is clear that Allan feels at home in her current team and with coach Bottrill, who is a former national 25-mile champion himself.

"As far as a team of female racers is concerned, they are absolutely epic," Allan says. "It's just so relaxed and it's so friendly. It really makes a difference in a sport that's based on individual effort a lot of the time.

"I think, yeah, we'll be, we probably got a little bit used to sharing the podium now. It's like, which position can we get ourselves in now?

Of Bottrill himself, she says: "Nine years this August, I've worked with Matt – he  knows me better than I know me."

The dominance of both men's and women's teams, she says, is down to him. "All of it really is Matt bringing it together – the support that he offers, the community that's been brought… he's done it, you know, he's brought it all together."

This piece was originally published in May 2024.

Given all the doom-laden headlines and social media posts over the past couple of years, you would be forgiven for thinking the UK domestic road racing scene is in a state of deep crisis. With teams folding, races cancelled and investment from local authorities reduced, it is clear the scene faces stern challenges. But how bad is the situation really? I decided to speak to race organisers, team directors and riders to find out.

Looking back at a seemingly brighter past, there were six British men’s UCI Continental teams in 2019 and 2020. There are now just two in 2024, the fewest in 15 years, with one of them, Trinity Racing, apparently in trouble. Some of the UK’s biggest races have been cancelled or are under threat. The Tour de Yorkshire, a prestigious UCI stage race previously won by WorldTour stars Thomas Voeckler and Greg Van Avermaet, was discontinued in 2019. That race, aside from boosting the Yorkshire region, also served as a shop window for young UK talent, who could flex their muscles alongside WorldTour riders and potentially be scouted to the highest level of the sport.

The Tour Series, criterium-style circuit races held in town centres and running since 2009, was cancelled in 2023, with organisers Sweetspot – now fallen into liquidation – citing the worst economic challenges it had faced since the inaugural 2009 edition. Meanwhile, races in the men’s National Road Series (now known as the Open Calendar), including the Tour of the Reservoir stage race and Manx International stage races, were cancelled or disappeared altogether, and in 2023 the series comprised just four fixtures. This year, there will be five open-category races and six women’s races. Next year, there will be one fewer, with the Ryedale GP disappearing.

The UK’s biggest race, the Tour of Britain, had faced an uncertain future after British Cycling terminated its working agreement with race organiser Sweetspot over unpaid right fees amounting to £700,000. The 2023 women’s race was cancelled, while the men’s edition had already faced criticism for its mostly flat parcours, which saw Visma-Lease a Bike sprinter Olav Kooij win the first four sprint stages. To add to Sweetspot’s woes, its founder Hugh Roberts and race organiser Mick Bennett recently retired. However, British Cycling stepped in to assume organisation of the 2024 race. The Tour of Britain Women took place over four stages between 6-9 June, won by Lotte Kopecky, and the men’s race comprised six stages over 3-8 September, won by Stevie Williams.

Women’s racing in the UK appears to be faring better, with six UCI Women’s teams in 2024 (the highest number ever), four elite development teams and six National Road Series races taking place this year. Added to the WorldTeam success of the Bäckstedt sisters at Lidl-Trek and Canyon-SRAM, women’s cycling in the UK seems to be on an upward trajectory. However, next year there will be no Lifeplus-Wahoo, and Pro-Noctis-200º Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting were in danger, too. Also, the RideLondon Classique will not take place, too.

Cycling's new Task Force

Responding to the challenges in UK racing, British Cycling recently launched its Elite Road Racing Task Force. Led by former Olympian Ed Clancy, and with a panel of experts including Steve Fry, Monica Greenwood and John Herety, the task force hopes to reinvigorate the ailing UK scene, making 40 recommendations. These include developing event organiser succession plans for all National Series events; a targeted sponsorship agreement for the National Series; increasing the number of UCI 1.2 and 2.2 races; ensuring delivery of the Tour of Britain and a UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race in 2024; reviewing the national road calendar to ensure more races are held outside of the north of England; and prioritising National Circuit Series locations by audience size.

Feeling the pinch

Those closely involved in the UK scene have high hopes that the task force will make a positive impact. “If it [the task force] does what it’s set up to do, it should rejuvenate the scene,” says Steve Lampier, former DS at Saint Piran and now DS at the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Newgen development team. “They need time, though. If they give themselves two years, they should achieve most of it.” Why does Lampier think so many races have been cancelled, and what has been the effect? “Races are cancelled due to money,” he says. “Councils can’t afford the racing and sponsors have fallen away. When I was with Saint Piran, it was often cheaper for me to take a team to France or Belgium than to Northumbria for a Premier Calendar race, and that can’t be right.” As a successful former pro who raced for the likes of JLT-Condor and Ribble Weldtite, Lampier is a passionate advocate for UK racing. “I came up through the scene so I know how important and prestigious UK races are, and when I was DS at Saint Piran we would still take part, but the costs were astronomical.”

The UK needs more pro races, in Lampier’s view. “We’re desperate for some good UCI racing in the UK, we are missing that,” he says. “We had the Tour de Yorkshire, which is sadly gone; Ride London, which became a WorldTour race, that’s now gone; and if the Tour of Britain doesn’t happen that would be a huge blow.” In 2024 there will be just two UCI Open races – the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic, which was cancelled due to flooding, and the upcoming Tour of Britain. This is in sharp contrast to the six UCI races which took place in 2017.

There is no shortage of UK talent, according to Lampier, but the current lack of opportunity in the scene means many young riders are heading straight to Europe. “The top junior riders now get taken into WorldTour development squads, so they’re bypassing the UK scene. However, the flipside is, you’ve got some riders who aren’t ready to step up to that level. They might be talented but are still raw and require experience before they can make the step up. Equally, I do believe If you’re talented enough you’ll find a way, but this still doesn’t improve the health of the UK scene.”

Domestic Racer's View

Harry Tanfield, 29, competed in the World-Tour, first with Katusha in 2019, then with AG2R La Mondiale in 2020 and Qhubeka NextHash in 2021. He's now back in Britain riding for Saint Piran.

CW: Assessment of the current UK scene?

HT: With the lack of teams in this country, prospects aren’t great for UK riders. Riders will need to take a ride from any foreign development team over a UK team if they want to go pro, which is unfortunate.

CW: Why is this happening?

HT: Cycling is a relatively popular sport here but it’s not easily accessible to watch either on TV or online. Even with sites like GCN/ Discovery, they won’t broadcast UK races. [Some UK races are broadcast on monumentcycling.com, available for £4.49 per month.]

CW: So, coverage is a big issue?

HT: The UK needs to find a way to offer more coverage. Money talks and cycling can’t go on without it. If there’s no coverage, no one’s going to get into cycling.

CW: Is it harder now for young riders to reach the WorldTour?

HT: Yes. I was noticed by winning at the Tour de Yorkshire and doing well in the National Road Series. The Tour of Britain is important but that’s in trouble. Unless riders compete in UCI races abroad it's hard for them to get seen.

Decline in volunteering

Traditionally most races were organised by clubs, but British Cycling reported a 7% decrease in membership numbers for the year ending March 2023. With most cycling clubs being BC-affiliated, this decline is troubling, and the lack of club- organised races is a clear consequence. James Hawkins, current race organiser and former rider at elite development team Cycling Sheffield, now runs Yomp Bonk Crew, a Sheffield and Peak District- based collective hoping to reinvigorate the UK scene. He explains the challenges his organisation faces: “Running a bike race or team in the current climate is very difficult. If you’re a company sponsoring a team or a race with £5-10k to spend, when a recession hits, the first thing you do is try to pull that money back.”

Hawkins explains that a lack of volunteering, still the lifeblood of domestic racing, along with a lack of club- organised races, is having a detrimental effect on the British scene. “Clubs used to be more keen on promoting races and having club members racing,” he says. “If you didn’t race for your team, you’d race for a club, but that’s happening less now. Now you’ve got people racing for teams who don’t put races on or who don’t marshal, and it makes it harder for the scene to survive. We need more people getting involved to keep the scene going.”

Quality over quantity

As mentioned, there are currently just two UCI men’s Continental teams in the UK, Trinity Racing and Saint Piran. Dominating the UK racing scene last season with regular victories, including a one-two-three at the Lincoln Grand Prix, Saint Piran have also been flexing their muscles on the Continent, gaining valuable UCI points and race experience. While performing well domestically does boost career prospects, it is more often success in larger European races that seals signings to WorldTour teams.

Saint Piran team director Richard Pascoe challenges the negative view on the UK scene. “Is it actually in poor health?” he asks. “OK, there are fewer teams, but let’s say there were four UK UCI teams with 16 riders each – how many of those riders are actually of a UCI standard? I’m not sure there are 64 riders of that quality to choose from in the UK. I think for the resources and the talent pool that we have at our disposal, three teams would be the ideal number.” Pascoe is clear that it’s the quality, rather than quantity, of a rider’s race programme that counts. “If you want to turn pro from the Conti scene, you have to have a very good programme,” he tells me. “That means certain races in the UK and certain races in Europe. WorldTour teams are looking for UCI points, it’s as simple as that.”

Pascoe takes aim at the cycling media for being overly critical, homing in on the 2023 edition of the Tour of Britain as a race he believes was unduly criticised. “I don’t think it was a failure,” he argues. “The crowds were big, [and] it was fast, aggressive racing throughout. It provided a platform for our riders to get noticed by WorldTour and Pro teams. I think overall we need the cycling media to be less negative. We’re all part of the same ecosystem and it’s in all our interests to showcase UK cycling in its best light.”

Following the summer of 2012, which saw British Olympic success on both the road and track, along with Bradley Wiggins’s Tour de France victory, there was a UK cycling boom. However, this feels like a distant memory, with cycling once more relegated to niche sport status. However, the UK has a knack of producing top-level talent. British WorldTour debutantes this year include Finlay Pickering (Bahrain-Victorious), Lukas Nerurkar and Jack Rootkin- Gray (both EF Education-EasyPost). Meanwhile, 21-year-old Joe Blackmore, recently promoted to Israel-Premier Tech’s WorldTour team, has already won three stage races this season, as well as the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Even so, it should not be taken for granted that the UK will continue producing such talent. There needs to be a healthy UK racing scene in order for young riders to show their skills and hopefully reach the top of the sport.

The challenges ahead

Some of the challenges facing the domestic racing scene include a relative lack of public interest in cycling, with a 29% drop-off in participation between March 2021 and December 2023, according to the Cycling Traffic Index. The UK is also a densely populated country with increasingly heavy traffic, which makes holding road races difficult. Negative attitudes towards cycling and unfavourable headlines in the right- leaning press add further headwinds.

From speaking to race organisers, riders, team directors and sports directors, the consensus is that the most talented riders will always find a pathway to the top. But more work is required, both at a grassroots level and from British Cycling, to ensure more races take place, more people volunteer, and that races are safe, numerous and accessible, so as to boost public interest and provide a greater and more visible incentive to would-be sponsors. All eyes are on the Elite Road Racing Task Force, which certainly has its work cut out.

This interview originally appeared in the 16 February 2023 issue of Cycling Weekly magazine.

British Cycling has scrapped its ambitious target to increase its membership from around 150,000 to 250,000 by the Paris Olympics, as it weathers the effects of the cost of living crisis and the fallout from a year of controversies.

In an exclusive interview with Cycling Weekly, BC chair Frank Slevin said the governing body will now prioritise other things, including the Glasgow World Championships this summer. “I can put down 10 different reasons, including the economic and cost of living situation, why that membership number is not one we should aspire to. I’m realistic and I won’t pursue objectives which don’t have a foundation that’s credible,” Slevin said.

“It’s much more important that we service the members we’ve got.

“A lot of our members are not solely racers. There are commuters, people cycling with their kids on weekends, and more. It’s important for us to now think about what each subset of that membership group is expecting from British Cycling and what we can deliver,” he added. “Those demands and expectations will differ so we need to be focused on a tailored approach, rather than a blanket approach to memberships.”

A series of controversies engulfed BC in 2022, including the issuing and suspension of its transgender policy, its sponsorship deal with Shell UK and misplaced guidance to not ride your bike on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Shell fallout

Slevin admitted that BC had made bad calls multiple times in the past year. He said British Cycling had learned lessons from the past 12 months, saying he believed aspects of issues like the eight-year partnership agreed with fossil fuel giant Shell should have been better presented to the public at the time.

“We can’t explain to the whole world every single element of a commercial agreement between ourselves and Shell,” he said. “It’s up to us to prove now that the benefits of the partnership are real. I would say that if we were to do it again, certain aspects of our strategy should have been clearer at the time.”

Slevin was recently present in Newport for the British National Track Championships, where an environmental group, Extinction Rebellion, staged a public protest in response to the deal. However, he reiterated to CW that there are “real tangible benefits” to the partnership and called Shell’s electrification process “truly staggering”.

“We, as a board and as an organisation, have committed to net zero, we’ve also committed to getting to a sustainable structure, so it would be no surprise that we might look for partnerships in terms of how we deliver that,” Slevin said.

“I’m very comfortable that we’ll be able to deliver real tangible benefits through this partnership.

“I know there are still people out there who are not happy. Although it’s for me, the board and the executive to demonstrate that there was proper purpose in doing this. It isn’t just a financial transaction, there will be benefits,” he added.

“If we don’t deliver those benefits, then you can hold me to account.”

In light of the series of controversies, BC membership figures have stagnated. However, the road scene is currently dwindling in the UK and it was recently announced that the National Road Series will shrink for 2023, with the men’s schedule going down to just four races.

“I think we have a good plan for the road at the moment,” he said. “We’ve already delivered some of that, including the under-23 National Road Series that’s coming up, and we financially supported more than 50 road events last year.”

“We’re fully aware that there are significant economic and cost of living headwinds at the moment that affect every aspect of organisers’ costs as well as that of volunteers, athletes and teams turning up at events,” Slevin added. “So we’ve got to try and help the discipline get through this period.”

Slevin noted that the UK road scene is also heavily reliant on public and local government funding and that source of income “isn’t what it used to be”.

“We need to focus on what we’ve learned from things like Dumfries and Galloway and combining different road events, and one National Series event,” he said.

“There’s a little bit of synergy we can have in terms of bringing these together... I think the challenge we face is that as an organisation we have finite resources, and those resources are spread across 10 disciplines.”

Top vacancy

One of the biggest challenges faced by British Cycling is replacing former CEO Brian Facer and acting CEO Dani Every, who resigned in quick succession last year. Slevin refused to be drawn on whether appointing Facer – who left by “mutual agreement”– was a mistake and vowed to find a suitable successor to take the organisation forward.

“Whenever you part ways with a member of your leadership team, you’re always going to ask yourself as an organisation, ‘did we make the right appointment in the first place?’ I think that’s natural,” he said. “I don’t dwell on individuals or those circumstances, but do you seek to learn from things that have happened around the organisation? Of course you do that, you should do that.”

A figure that the British Cycling board could turn to as they seek to move forward from a difficult 18 months is that of former UCI and British Cycling president Brian Cookson.

However, Cookson has been critical of BC of late, and Slevin in particular, saying he should step down from his role.

Slevin told CW that he feels stepping away as a “passionate cyclist” from what he described as a “dream job” would serve no purpose to anyone. Furthermore, he reiterated that both he and the board remained open to any external advice that would be beneficial to the organisation in the long run.

“I think you need to ask whether a change of leadership at board level is in the best interest of the sport at this moment in time,” Slevin said. “I think if you look at the last five years, you’ll see where we’ve come from. What you’ve got to remember is that we have huge numbers of committed and enthusiastic employees. Now and again, mistakes do get made.

“Take the Queen’s funeral guidance and the wording on that,” he added. “We issued the guidance, then promptly apologised and said ‘sorry, we got this one wrong’. Frankly, I think that’s the measure of a well-run organisation, being able to hold your hand up and acknowledge you are wrong and deal with the consequences.

“Brian [Cookson] is entitled to an opinion. I can’t stop him from having an opinion. He has an opinion and he’s expressed it. I have invited Brian in to have a conversation and my door is always open. So, if at any point he wants to come in and share his wisdom with us, then I’ll be delighted to hear it.”

If you were asked off the top of your head to connect the dots between Emporia, Kansas, USA and the sleepy village of West Stow in Suffolk, you might struggle. And not unreasonably.

Thousands of miles apart, one is surrounded by the vast horizons of the American Midwest, while the other is all quintessential English thatched roofs and found bordering thick forest. 

There is a connection though – gravel riding. The two locations host what are arguably the most important gravel appointments each country has to offer, with Emporia home to Unbound (formerly Dirty Kanza) and West Stow hosting the King’s Cup, which was held recently and incorporates the British Gravel Championships. 

Admittedly, there is a vast gulf between the two events, with Unbound’s pedigree, prestige and 200-mile length making it the gravel equivalent to one of road racing’s Monuments; while the King’s Cup, named after the King’s Forest in which it is held, is still a young event in a sport with a limited following in the UK and is a more manageable 48 miles. It’s catching on fast though, with gravel bikes becoming more and more popular – partly for off-road riding but also as an efficient and comfortable means of negotiating Britain’s neglected road surfaces. 

The King’s Cup bills itself as the Ultimate Gravel Festival, and this year’s event was held over what turned out to be a sunny but rather chilly three-day weekend at the end of September. The title races took place on the Saturday, with Jacob Vaughan and Danni Shrosbree running out the senior men’s and women’s winners. ‘Gravel Fondos’ over two distances took place on the Sunday. There was also camping, food, drink and live music. 

It may not be the behemoth that Unbound is, but this lends the King’s Cup a certain charm, with the ‘open’ title races exactly that – open to all. There is no requirement to be in a certain category and for a certain ‘last three seasons’ time (the women’s race was won in 2.40, the men’s in 2.15), you can enter and compete for your own tricolour jersey. Of course, if you’re out of shape you can expect to be spanked by the top riders, but even so, you’ll likely find a group of similarly able riders to compete with. We set about finding what it was all about. 

“The nature of gravel is you just go as hard as you can,” says Helen Ralston-Smith, who rides for Paceline RT and was sixth in the women’s title race. “It’s a bit like
a sportive really – a lot of small groups form,” she explains. “So it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m dropped, everyone is ahead of me’ – you should just be able to find someone to ride with and make it work.”

It’s rough, but not cross

The straightforward nature of the course also means that owning a ‘proper’ gravel bike is not a prerequisite for the King’s Cup, and Ralston-Smith rode a cyclo- cross bike with a borrowed larger chainring, while her husband Tom, who rode the open/senior men’s race, used his road bike with fatter tyres. 

“Just because he’s got disc wheels and enough clearance, and he also used road shoes, because he was like, ‘I’m just gonna get dropped. I just want to stick with them as long as I can,’” she explained. 

One argument from the cynics is that gravel is simply cyclo-cross by a different name, but a fast course like the King’s Cup is more like an off-road road race, with riders moving fast in packs and few technical challenges to speak of. 

“I think it’s very different,” Ralston-Smith said. “It’s not like there was anything technical, and there was no mud to contend with. It’s very flat as well. Most cyclo- cross races they put ramps in, but there was nothing like that.” 

Milo Purvis, who also rides for Paceline RT and rode the men’s open race, said that the field was very strong, but that had benefits for everyone. 

“It attracts such a strong field that it’s just good for racing,” said Purvis, who finished 45th. “It’s good for people who are younger to dip their toe in, or people who are getting into it at a later stage in life, and kind of just getting cracking and seeing how they stack up and how they can improve.” 

“It had a good atmosphere,” he added. “There were a number of different tents around the place. It was almost a triangle shape in that one edge of the triangle was basically the finish straight. And you could either get food or beers, and Canyon had a spot there. And then in the middle of that were a number of different seating areas, for picnics and stuff like that.” 

Friendly atmosphere

The majority of the people there were fairly closely involved with the actual racing he said, but added: “I don’t feel like it’s going to be long – a few years down the line – before it could feel like quite a big festival.” 

LDN-Brother UK rider Ione Johnson, who was 14th in the senior women’s race, described the event as friendly and less intense than road racing, all helped by the festival set-up. 

“Before the race, everyone was rolling around and warming up together,” she said. “I think with most of the competitors camping, that kind of just brings everyone down to a level where they’re a bit more chilled out. All of that was quite nice and I think having that kind of set-up just makes for a nice environment.” 

Like everyone we spoke to, Johnson said she was planning to ride more gravel in 2023. But if races like the King’s Cup were to compete with the world’s best gravel events, there were a few tweaks needed, she added. 

“With the course the way it is, I thought the distance was quite good. But if it wants to be comparable to some of those other races, it would need to be longer,” said Johnson, who also went to the Gravel Worlds in Italy as a spectator, and so had the opportunity to compare the two. 

“For the Worlds there was a fair bit of tarmac. It’s just when you’re doing that, then you have to factor in STMS [traffic management], and all that kind of stuff, which is a whole other issue,” she added. 

At the King’s Cup, the traffic was all of the four-legged variety. Animals on the course were a recurrent theme that cropped up in conversation, with the men’s race having to negotiate a startled horse, and the women having to navigate their way around a dog which ran into the group. 

Despite the hurdles it might need to overcome, new champion Vaughan is convinced that big- event gravel racing is here to stay. 

“Yeah, I really think so. I hope so. I think there’s definitely a market for it,” he said. “A lot of friends I’ve got from the road have started doing a bit of gravel now. It’s almost like a newfound motivation. Certainly for myself as well. It’s like this whole new discipline you’re learning and it excites you to go and do it.”

Scottish rider Jen George says she's been left "not wanting to ride [her] bike" after being followed on the roads on two separate occasions, both involving men on motorbikes. 

The 39-year-old, who went on to win the Cycling Time Trials (CTT) National Circuit Championships on Sunday, told Cycling Weekly that she was "keen to not let this beat me", but that she "wouldn't be riding at the moment" were it not for scheduled racing events. 

George, who has ridden for Torelli–Brother and Drops cycling team over the course of her career, told Cycling Weekly that she suffered two attacks - one in April this year, and another the following month.

The incidents, she said, left her feeling unsafe whilst riding outside; she's since spoken to other female riders who she says have experienced similar incidents, including "sexual harassment."

The first incident took place in April, when George was out on a solo training ride near London. She says that two men on a motorbike began to follow her before they then started "playing chicken" with her. 

“[The bike passed me] then sped away, ahead, and did a 'U-ey' and turned around, on my side of the road - so the wrong side of the road - and came straight at me almost like they were playing chicken,” she describes. 

"At the last second they swerved road side and I swerved curb side. I don't know how they missed hitting me with their back wheel."

“Instinct kicked in, I went into fight or flight mode straightaway,” George says. 

George turned into a pub car park, where she lost sight of the men. 

The second incident took place a few weeks later. 

“The second time it was two motos, or scooters rather, one in front of the other. They came towards me and my stomach just started churning again. As I rode past they leered at me and I instantly thought not again, what do I do, what do I do,” George explained.

 “The second time, especially after the first, just made things so much worse. They came back round again and leered at me to the point that both riders weren’t even looking where they were going,” she added. 

George initially believed that the motorbike-mounted riders were trying to steal her bike. However, she's now less certain.

“My bike is so unknown, so if you see it, you wouldn’t recognise it. I nickname my bike ‘Frank’, it’s literally made from spare parts. I wasn’t riding my racer, I wasn’t on my Cervélo. This bike isn’t a Trek, Specialized, Bianchi or whatever which makes me think they changed their mind the second time.

"Or, their intention wasn’t to steal my bike” George added. 

The incidents have left George feeling nervous whilst riding outside, and taking to alternative training routes in order to avoid a repeat. 

“I’ve based all of my rides since that experience elsewhere. Even with other riders, I’ve struggled to go back," she tearfully told Cycling Weekly.

George only got back on the road to ride the CTT National Circuit Championships, a race she won, on Sunday - fuelled by "anger, frustration and raw emotion.”

“I had a look at the route for the race last Sunday as I knew there would be other cyclists on it. Other than that and then the race itself, I haven’t ridden my bike outside since," she told Cycling Weekly. "If it wasn’t for the fact I’ve got events... I wouldn’t be riding at the moment. I’m left just not wanting to ride my bike. [But] I’m keen to not let this beat me.”

George has reported both incidents to the police.

"They spoke to me but have now closed this off as there was no CCTV footage of what happened," she said. 

"At the time, I didn’t think to ask if anyone had any dashcam footage or anything. I wasn’t functioning at all.” 

George has since connected with other female cyclists, who she says have had similar experiences - spurring her on to speak out about her own trauma.

"[I've joined a WhatsApp group that is] full of other horror stories of incidents that have happened just while they’ve been out riding their bikes. Anything from sexual harassment, close passes whatever! All affecting women.” she said. 

“My intention is not to try and get sympathy out of this. I just don't want it to happen to anybody else. It really pains me that somebody else could have the joy of cycling taken away from them, particularly someone who is new to it. I just want to make people aware that this is happening and encourage people to try and ride with others,” George concluded.

Cycling Weekly contacted Surrey Police force for comment, they declined to comment as the first incident did not have a crime reference number.

Cornwall-based cycling team Saint Piran suffered a financial hit last weekend after three prototype racing bikes were stolen from a team vehicle in the Netherlands. 

The bikes are understood to total around £30,000 in value.

The team were in Roosendaal competing at the Midden Brabant Poort Omloop race on Sunday.

A team van was broken into at nearly 5.00 in the morning of the race [Sunday 19 June] and three bikes with matching hand-built Pacenti wheel sets were all taken. 

Other team vehicles were also damaged in the robbery.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, team owner Richard Pascoe explained the huge impact this could have on the Cornish team's season. “Unfortunately this is becoming increasingly common in races - even at the highest level. Teams such as ours, particularly at a continental level, cannot afford to sustain these losses.” said Pascoe.

CCTV images showed one of the bikes being taken at 4:46 am, Dutch time, on Sunday morning. Members of team staff explained that while the bikes were being kept as spares for the race, shortages in the bike industry in the UK - exacerbated by the impact of Brexit - will make them harder to replace. 

Steve Lampier, former British professional cyclist and team manager at Saint Piran, was in the Netherlands for the race and speaking to Cornwall Live said: “These are driven on the race, and are there if we need a spare. We’re now short on three of those, and like the car industry, bike parts have been hit hard by Covid, shortages, and Brexit. It’s hard to get hold of stuff so even with the money, we’re a bit screwed.”

Pascoe added: “We are only half way through our season and while insurance often covers some financial losses, it ultimately just adds to our cost to run the team longer-term and we have a long way to go before our last race this season. Clearly bikes are pretty integral to a cycling team so if the cost of providing those increases, teams like ours will suffer. Obviously the other major issue is the availability of bikes and parts to replace them which a lot of teams are struggling with.” 

While the stolen bikes were spares, they were also being used by some riders to train on at home and losing them has meant some riders are now left without bikes. 

Pascoe called on the team's fans for help with replacing the bikes. “This is where the global community that surrounds Saint Piran Cycling can come into its own with projects such as Crowdfunding and wider support. I believe these approaches will become integral to pro cycling going forward as we all look for more sustainable ways to run teams. It’s our number one priority.” he said.

Despite the eventful start to the day for Steve Lampier and Saint Piran, the riders still managed to put in a performance in the Netherlands with Berkshire-based, Charles Page, taking 5th place in the race.  

After more than a year without racing, Ribble-Weldtite are finally starting their 2021 campaign.

The British Continental squad, based in the North of England, are one of many domestic teams that have struggled through the coronavirus pandemic.

But after a long lay-off from competition, the squad will be starting their season with a Covid-safe training camp in Northumberland, followed by their first competitions next month.

The team, home to British talents James Shaw, Dan Bigham and Cameron Jeffers, is implementing a number of tough coronavirus restrictions to ensure their first camp of the year is safe.

The squad said: “Ribble-Weldtite Pro Cycling begin their 2021 campaign with a training camp this weekend in Northumberland, the first full team to get together since February 2020.

“The team have been granted Elite athlete dispensation enabling them to train and race providing appropriate testing protocols are in place.

“The team have always followed both the letter and spirit of relevant Covid regulations and as such have not participated in foreign training camps or group training activities. However with an approach of competition it is now important for the riders to train together and again have the opportunity to practise group riding skills, bike changes, race radios and all the other innumerable details that distinguish a bike race from a bike ride.” 

Riders taking part in the training camp will all be staying in self-catered accommodation in rural Northumberland, with all rides taking place without coffee stops and without public interaction.

Each rider and staff member has had a Covid test, provided by Ribble-Weldtite partner Medichecks, five days before the camp, and each will undergo a further Antigen test before they are allowed into the team ‘bubble’.

Everyone involved will have to test negative twice before joining the camp. 

Earlier this year, Ribble-Weldtite’s Jack Rees told Cycling Weekly that the squad had “pressed pause” but were ready to start racing again once the rules allowed.

The team started 2020 with a bang at the inaugural Saudi Tour, where the squad raced against WorldTour teams in the Middle East, before their season was completely derailed by the pandemic.

From April 12, British Cycling has said outdoor regional races and some national competitions will return, paving the way for Ribble-Weldtite’s return to competition.

>>> Wout van Aert confident heading into E3 Saxo Bank Classic as he aims to make race as ‘tough’ as possible

The squad will race in Britain throughout April, before the start of their European campaign in May, starting with the Ronde Van Overijssel and then the Tour of Estonia. 

The 2021 racing season is officially underway. 

WorldTour teams have held their traditional winter training camps in warmer climbs and the Grand Tour contenders are finding their race legs in France at Étoile de Bessèges, while other star riders will be heading to the Middle East later in the month to rejoin the peloton. 

While those at the top of sport are determined that the biggest events will go ahead this year, the British racing scene can’t rely on such guarantees. 

Continental outfits in the UK are fast approaching the 12-month mark since British Cycling suspended racing and most still have months to wait before they can pick up where they left off. 

With a number of prestigious British domestic events added to the cancelled list, Conti teams have also been hit by the loss of early season European stage races that often extend invites to compete. 

To see how they’re coping in the early days of 2021, Cycling Weekly spoke with a number of stalwart British teams to find out how they’re coping with the pandemic. 

Avoiding limbo

“I don't think you can let yourself feel like you're in limbo, that's the problem,” said Jack Rees, director of communications and rider for Ribble-Weldtite.

“Once you lose a bit of momentum around performance, planning, structure and obviously the work that we do to support and develop the relationships we have with our partners, then once you start to take your eye off the ball then there's a danger in my opinion of it coming off completely.” 

Ribble-Weldtite had kicked off their 2020 season with an ideal start, racing against WorldTour teams in the first ever Saudi Tour and winning five races at home in the UK before the national lockdown hit the country, stopping them in their tracks. 

Rees, who competed with the team in Saudi Arabia, said: “I think it was a bigger hit [last year]. It was a bigger adjustment and disappointment in March last year, because we'd had a two and a half week training camp, we'd come off the back of the Saudi Tour, we'd won five races in the UK,  we were really moving at that point, and we would have had a fantastic year so at that point it was harder than it is now.

“Now we're in this cycle of almost repetition, every day is the same. There's nothing to focus specifically on, but I think as a team and we're doing really well and have done well over the past six months to keep focused.

“I think, providing racing happens, wherever it happens we'll be in a fantastic place to just pick up where we left off really. 

“That hasn't come easily. I think it's testament to the lads and the partners that have stayed completely committed to what we're trying to do. 

“We've just pressed pause and we're ready to press start again whenever we're able to.”

Cancelled races and a delayed season

With the cancellation of events like the Saudi Tour and the recent announcements from British Cycling and the Tour Series about the delay to the British racing season, Ribble-Weldtite are hoping to start racing again in Europe in April and continue competing through until September and the Tour of Britain, a big focus for all British Continental teams.  

Not all Conti teams have had to pause the racing however, as Hampshire-based Canyon-Dhb-SunGod were able to compete in the one-day Clásica Comunitat Valenciana in late January, scoring a top-10 with Rory Townsend. 

But the lack of racing can be an opportunity for the other British-based teams, giving them an opportunity to work behind the scenes without handling the logistics of bike racing. 

Richard Pascoe, team principal of Cornwall-based squad Saint Piran, said his outfit are taking the chance to work on their rider development and prepare for the season restart. 

He said: “We've taken the opportunity to really strengthen various aspects of what we do.

“So we're spending a lot of our time working on rider development, partner development, our management team. We've had some really great invites so our main focus is the Tour of Britain. 

“Things are moving towards the end of the season more, so that's not a bad thing. It gives us that sort of longer viewpoint as well. If you start racing in February-March you have to have big pockets, a deep team, a number of riders in order to still be going really well at the end of the season so your resources are less stretched.” 

Saint Piran, who support men and women from development to elite level, joined the Continental ranks in 2021 and hopes to strengthen its Cornish identity even without racing. 

Pascoe said the team plans to hold a training camp in Cornwall to overcome any travel restrictions and to show the great riding the county has to offer. 

Dipping into the budget

While WorldTour teams can give their sponsors assurances about which televised high-profile races are likely to go ahead, offering the much coveted exposure that allow cycling teams to exist, Continental teams operate on an entirely different scale.

Andy Turner, partnerships manager and rider with SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling said: “We haven't had to travel for racing last year so actually the amount of budget we've required or what we've dipped into with the budget has not been massive. 

“The budget is more working on covering the necessities for now and then when racing comes in the money comes in as well so that way the sponsors are not feeling like they're just putting say a lump sum at the start of the year, but they fund what is necessary.” 

SwiftCarbon, based in Yorkshire, works with partners like Cambrian Tyres, Rule 28 clothing and Secret Training nutrition. Ribble-Weldtite works with Huub clothing, One Pro Nutrition, and power infrastructure company Durata, among others.

Saint Piran is backed by Pascoe’s cycling retail stores, along with the likes of Castelli, Colnago, while also relying on the sale of its own product lines, and community support.

On Ribble-Weldtite’s sponsorship, Rees said: “We have this British element to the team, to a majority of our partners are fairly significant British brands and there's a good percentage in the bike industry which obviously as we know is doing really well.

“So none of our sponsors have been impacted by [the pandemic] so that's been a big help.

“I think if we were in a position where we were backed by a chain of restaurants and bars then we might be having a different conversation.”   

But for Britain’s domestic teams it’s not just the logistical issues that make the pandemic a struggle, there’s also the motivation.

Running the team and racing

A number of backroom staff at these Continental squads double-up as racers, like both Turner and Rees. 

How do these riders keep up the motivation while also helping to keep the wheels turning behind the scenes? 

“Before Christmas I got into quite a motivational phase with Zwift racing,” said Turner. 

“I go through phases of really enjoying it and then probably going a bit too far and overdoing myself. So I'll have like a month of flying on there where I'm setting power PBs and then a month of realising that probably wasn't a very good idea. I’m currently in the second phase.”

>>> More British domestic events cancelled but UK racing is set to return this year  

Turner has also taken up running, giving him some new PBs to work towards while also offering a cardiovascular workout and helping to maintain bone density. 

He added: “I think that's what most of the guys are doing - they're just ticking over, they're not doing masses of training to build up the fitness because it'll get to the point where’ll need a month off and then suddenly you’re racing in a month.

“I think if you keep that fitness endurance just ticking over it doesn't take too long to finish it off and fine-tune it.” 

A number of British domestic races have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but racing is still scheduled to return to the UK this year. 

British Cycling announced this week that two races on the National Road Series calendar had been cancelled, with one more event postponed as the organisers try to find a new date later in the season.

The men’s and women’s Tour of the Reservoir, set for June 5-6, have been cancelled along with the men’s and women’s Stockton Cycling Festival Grand Prix on July 18, at the organisers’ request. 

The Rapha Lincoln GP has been postponed from its place on May 9, but the organisers are looking for alternative dates to reschedule the event to a later day.  

The Klondike Grand Prix on April 18 had previously been cancelled.  

British Cycling’s elite road racing manager, Erik Rowsell said: “There are clearly some sizeable challenges facing event organisers, who rely on the support of local stakeholders and communities in order to take place, and I know that the current uncertainty will be demoralising for teams and riders. However, British Cycling remains fully committed to providing the country’s best road riders with a high-quality, competitive series in 2021.”

 “We fully support the difficult decisions which have been taken by the organisers of the Tour of the Reservoir, Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir and Stockton Cycling Festival Grand Prix, and I want to thank them for the considerable thought and effort which they put into ensuring that the events could return safely after being forced to cancel last year.

“We continue to work hard to find a feasible alternative for the Lincoln Grand Prix and will provide a further update in due course, while we also continue to provide additional support for those organisers whose races take place later in the year.”

The news follows the announcement late last month that the popular Tour Series, a collection of televised town and city centre races, has been moved from its traditional date in May to August 2021 due to the pandemic. 

Organiser Sweetspot, which also runs the Tour of Britain and the Women’s Tour, plans to hold the series over the first two weeks of August, with free-to-air coverage on ITV4. 

The confirmed dates and locations of each race are yet to be announced.  

Announcing the latest race cancellations, British Cycling said the women’s National Road Series is set to start on Sunday, June 27 with the CiCLE Classic, while the men’s series should start with the Beaumont Trophy on Sunday, July 4.  

Canyon-dhb has announced a new sponsor for the upcoming 2021 season, as the British sunglasses brand SunGod joins the team as a title backer.

The team previously has food brand Soreen as their third title sponsor, but SunGod has now come onboard as a headline part of the team, while Soreen will stay involved with the Continental squad.

It's welcome news for the struggling British racing scene which has seen a number of team closures, most recently Vitus Pro Cycling announcing their closure.

In a team press release team owner Tim Elverson, said how pleased he is that they have reached a deal with the new sponsor: “It’s great to finally announce our new team name, Canyon-dhb-SunGod, going forward.

"Finding a third partner in the British brand SunGod, that has a similar business outlook and strategy to development as our current partners, has come as fantastic news.

"SunGod already has some amazing products but are keen to use the team not only to promote but also test and feedback to them so we can continue to elevate the British eyewear brand to the top echelons."

The new partnership means that both team and company can work together to make improvements on the SunGod products so they're better for racing in the peloton and for their customers.

>>> Colombian rider takes victory by crashing across the finish line while celebrating

Sungod's head of partnerships, David Rogal said: "We’re incredibly excited to join the team as a part title sponsor and to see the SunGod logo and products on every rider.

"This is both a significant and symbolic step for us following the launch of our new Pace series earlier this year. It’s also important to us that as a British brand we are supporting the top British teams that lead the pelotons both in the UK and on the continent."

Hampshire-based Canyon-dhb had, all things considered, a good 2020 season, picking up a few wins on the continent, which was vital as the British racing calendar was cancelled due to the global pandemic.

Elverson continued: "Even though we started the 2020 season well with winning the Tour of Antalya, getting two further UCI podiums and winning the Holland Cup for a second year, as well as having three great partners on board for next year, I’m fully expecting to put 2020 behind us and carry on the tradition of this teams continued improvements into 2021.

"We don’t have any set goals for 2021, only to ensure we are better than 2020, with retention of a lot of the current squad and the addition of some exciting new riders. I feel this will be a natural progression and I think everyone is over 2020 so watch out 2021, here we come."

The British racing scene has suffered another blow at the end of 2020, as Vitus Pro Cycling has folded.

After three years of racing, the Continental outfit will see out the rest of the season, with some esports events still to come, but will not continue into 2021. 

Vitus Pro Cycling powered by Brother UK is owned by Cherie Pridham, who has taken the decision to step back from domestic racing after 11 years running Conti teams. 

Pridham said the decision was “one of the most difficult she’s ever made,” but added that the scarcity of sponsors and uncertainty caused by Covid-19 have resulted in the closure. 

She said: “I’d like to thank all of our sponsors, particularly Vitus and Brother UK, for their unwavering support and assistance. In addition, all the riders and back office team I’ve worked with who have all contributed to our success over so many years.” 

Phil Jones, managing director of team sponsor Brother UK, said: “It’s always a sad time when a team concludes its activities, but as a business leader, I’m keenly aware of the new economic realities created by Covid and understand Cherie’s decision entirely.”

His words were echoed by rider Chris McGlinchey , who said: “Vitus have had a fantastic three years with Cherie and enjoyed being a part of the team’s journey, the staff and riders provided Invaluable feedback on our bike development.

“2020 has been an extremely difficult year for professional sports and the team adapted extremely well turning to creating great content and participating successfully in the fast-growing esports scene, that is a credit to Cherie’s commitment to the team’s sponsors and partners. 

>>> John Archibald and Mark Christian join Alberto Contador’s ProTeam  

“We have no doubt Cherie will be back in the future. From everyone at Vitus thank you for the past three years.”

The Tour of Britain is set to visit the Isle of Wight for the first time in 2022.

A deal has today been signed between organisers SweetSpot and the Isle of Wight council for the stage race to visit the island, which has previously hosted races such as the Isle of Wight Classic in 1985 and the Tour Series in 2015.

The 2022 edition is set to take in much of Britain, with Aberdeen set to host the opening stage before the race moves south towards the Isle of Wight for the final stage.

Additional opportunities will also be explored by both SweetSpot and the Isle of Wight for other cycling events in the run-up to the event.

>>> British Cycling cancel 2020 National Championships and National Series

The 2020 Tour of Britain has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with organisers deciding to keep 2020's route for next year.

The pandemic had made planning and organising the race "impractical", the Tour of Britain said in a statement, and that local authorities didn't need the added strain of a large-scale public event when they currently have other, more important priorities. In addition, areas that were due to welcome the Tour of Britain this year wouldn't have been able to maximise the various benefits of hosting the race.

The Tour of Britain said that conducting the race behind closed doors with extensive social distancing rules would also not work and would "rob our venues and spectators of these opportunities and go against everything that cycling, as a free-to-spectate and accessible event, stands for."

By delaying the race by 12 months, organisers say it will make the 2021 race a "wonderful occasion for all and part of our continued pledge to make Britain a great cycling nation".

The provisional dates for the 2021 race are September 5-12 and will feature a first-ever visit to Cornwall and an overall finish in the Aberdeen, before hosting the start of the 2022 edition as part of their two-year deal.

British Cycling have cancelled the National Series and National Championships in road, mountain biking, BMX and cycle speedway due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

With racing at National Series and National Championships level currently suspended until September 1, the governing body say it's not feasible to hold any events that would have taken place in the spring or summer following consultation with teams and event organisers.

The UCI has confirmed current national champions will therefore be allowed to continue wearing their national champion's jerseys until the next editions are held.

As for regional-level racing, which is currently suspended until August 1, British Cycling do not currently believe there is a case to extend this suspension, and will be looking to re-introduce certain discipline's competitions at the earliest opportunity.

>>> Chris Boardman goes car-free and is helping out at Halfords during lockdown

These disciplines include BMX, cycle speedway, track, circuit racing, road time trials, cyclo-cross and cross-country and gravity mountain biking. Crucially, this list doesn't include road racing.

"We are keenly aware that road racing is the passion of a great number of our members," British Cycling said in a statement. "While we were able to reintroduce small club rides on June 18, we believe there are particular challenges when it comes to reintroducing this discipline as well as other mass-start events on the public highway, including sportives."

These concerns include the impact on the communities where races were supposed to take place, as well as the size of fields taking part as well as the support required by emergency services. British Cycling says they believe that when mass start road events do return, they will do so on closed circuits, to begin with.

British Cycling Integrity and Compliance Director, Rod Findlay, says these are decision that have not been made lightly: "After several months of exploring alternatives and discussions with the relevant authorities, today we have made the difficult decision to formally cancel all National Series and National Championship events in the disciplines of road, cross country, downhill and 4X mountain biking, BMX and cycle speedway. This is not a decision we ever wanted to make however in the interests of providing clarity and certainty to our teams, riders and event organisers we believe it is the correct one. I’m pleased to say that the organisers who were to host events in 2020, will retain them for 2021. 

"Our team is now working hard to lay the groundwork for resuming regional-level activity, and we remain hopeful that we will see some competitive racing next month. Plans for our winter programme are progressing well and though the past three months have been frustrating for all of us, I want to thank everybody involved in our sport for their patience and understanding in challenging circumstances. We can also now look forward to our National Championships returning with strength in 2021."

British rider Steve Lampier has been hospitalised after a crash with a van while training.

Lampier, who is riding for Ribble-Weldtite on a one-year contract, was training near home in Cornwall on Wednesday (May 27) when a van reversed out of a field onto the road.

The 36-year-old was taken to hospital with multiple injuries, including a broken collarbone, shoulder blade, three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a ruptured spleen.

Lampier who is also an ambassador for Cornish racing team Saint Piran, had joined Ribble-Weldtite for 2020 in order to ride the 2020 Tour of Britain, which was due to start in Cornwall before it was postponed due to coronavirus.

Saint Piran team principal Richard Pascoe said: “Steve and I have been part of each other’s lives for 20 years, so we’re more than just a team owner and a rider. Saint Piran has continued to support him and his family financially during his time at Ribble. Bike racing is Steve’s life and we want to build the pathway back to competition with him as quickly as possible.”

Lampier, who has previously raced for JLT-Condor and Team Raleigh GAC on the British Continental scene, has finished 17th overall in the Tour of Britain on two occasions and was 14th in the 2016 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

He opened his 2020 season with Ribble-Weldtite in the inaugural Saudi Tour, alongside Jacob Tipper and Zeb Kyffin, before the UCI suspended racing in March.

Earlier this year, Cycling Weekly spoke to Ribble-Weldtite about their David and Goliath story out in the Middle East. 

>>> Richmond Park to start ‘managed re-introduction’ of cyclists in June 

Ribble-Weldtite team principal Tom Timothy said: “Everyone at Ribble-Weldtite Pro Cycling wishes Steve the best with his recovery and we look forward to supporting him with his rehabilitation and return to training and competition.”

The Tour of Britain 2020 has been postponed, with this year's route to instead be used for the 2021 edition.

The decision has been taking due to the coronavirus pandemic, which organisers have said made the planning and organisation of the race "impractical". The provisional 2021 dates for the race are September 5 - 12, starting and finishing on a Sunday.

"Across the UK there are significant doubts around the potential to stage large-scale public events and gatherings such as the Tour of Britain as early as September and while any form of social distancing remains in place and there isn’t a vaccine available, people’s health and safety must come first," organisers said in a statement.

The statement goes on to say local authorities across Britain remain under considerable pressure and rightly have other priorities at the moment, and are therefore unable to help with the planning as well as not able to maximise the various benefits of welcoming a stage of the Tour of Britain to their areas.

>>> The first cycling race since the coronavirus outbreak is next week and all 18 stages will be broadcast live

The Tour of Britain has said conducting the race behind closed doors with extensive social distancing rules would also not work and would "rob our venues and spectators of these opportunities and go against everything that cycling, as a free-to-spectate and accessible event, stands for."

By delaying the race by 12 months, they say it will make the 2021 race a "wonderful occasion for all and part of our continued pledge to make Britain a great cycling nation".

Originally planned to take place between September 6-13, the 2020 race was set to feature a first-ever visit to Cornwall and an overall finish in the city of Aberdeen. The full route for the race during its eight stages will be announced later in the year.

Tom Pidcock will be the start rider for a new Trinity Racing road team.

Rising British star Pidcock rode in the Trinity colours for the first time this cyclocross season, as the management company now expands into a road racing team.

The new British club team will be joined by 10 other GB and Irish riders, including former Wiggins-Le Col rider Ben Healy and Trinity CX rider Cameron Mason, with one Australian in Zach Johnson.

Head of cycling at London-based Trinity Sports management, Jamie Barlow, said: “We have built a hugely talented young team which includes some of the best under-23 riders in the world.

“Our race programme will give the lads a solid mixture of some of the top one-day and stages races in Europe, such as the Baby Giro, which is a big target for our debut season.”

Pidcock was forced to find a new home when his Wiggins-Le Col team closed mid-way through the 2019 season.

Trinity stepped in to sponsor the 20-year-old for the CX season, as he targeted the elite circuit for the first time. He was joined on the Trinity Racing cyclocross team by Cameron Mason and Abby-Mae Parkinson.

The season was a huge success for Pidcock and Trinity, as the Yorkshireman became the first Brit to ever win a medal at the cyclocross world championships, when he finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel.

>>> Mathieu van der Poel forced to skip Opening Weekend

Team manager Kurt Bogaerts said: “We had a very successful cyclocross season with Tom, Cameron and Abby-Mae, so it is great to launch a U23 team on the road for 2020 . We have an ambitious group of talented riders and I am excited to work with them over the coming season.”

Pidcock will race alongside the likes of Tour de l’Avenir stage winner in 2019 Healy and Baby Giro stage winner Matt walls.

Trinity Racing road team for 2020

HEALY Ben (Irl)

MASON Cameron (GBr)

NEWMARK Finley (Irl)

SAUVAGNARGUES Jacques (GBr)

WALLS Matt (GBr)

WALKER Max (GBr)

REES Ollie (GBr)

GLOAG Thomas (GBr)

PIDCOCK Tom (GBr)

CULVERWELL Sam (GBr)

JOHNSON Zach (Aus)

The Lincoln Grand Prix, one of the pillars of the British domestic racing scene, must find a new title sponsor before the end of March otherwise its 2020 edition will not run.

Chestnut Homes had sponsored the race for the past three years, but have cited Brexit and the recent general election result – which returned a Conservative majority – as reasons behind them no longer being able to support the race.

The home-building company contributed £15,000 each year towards the running of the men’s and women’s races, but their withdrawal of funding has left a large, unfilled hole in the bank account of the organisers.

>>> Eddie Soens back on after being saved at the eleventh hour by new organiser

“They’re a house builder and they said that there is so much uncertainty that they haven’t got a lot of money on their hands,” Dan Ellmore, head organiser of the race, told Cycling Weekly.

“It costs £45,000 to run the two Grand Prix races and we are at £25,000 right now.

“Because the race is run in the town centre, we need eight police motorbikes, two police cars, a silver command police officer and 60 stewards to shut all the side roads. The police bill is £10,000.

“In the past if we have been a grand short, between the organising team we have put some of our own money in, but £20,000 isn’t in our piggy banks.”

Organisers have produced a sponsorship package to try and entice new sponsors for this year’s event, which takes place between May 6 and 10.

Sponsors can buy a bespoke package ranging from £500 to £20,000, with sponsorship available for the men’s and women’s races, the sportive, bike night and hill-climb.

“The chances of the housing market picking up between now and Easter is remote, so hopefully there is someone out there who says ‘we can’t not have a Lincoln GP’,” Ellmore added.

“I’d like to think there are people out there who love the race as much as I do and are able to help financially.

“We’re going through a list of previous sponsors and seeing if they want to contribute again, while we are also actively sourcing leads and ideas.

“We are still having planning meetings and the race is all set to go, but if we don’t have the money by the end of March to pay for police and other costs then it is off.”

The race, held on the second weekend in May, first took place in 1956 and has remained a mainstay on the domestic calendar.

It has made the cobbled climb of Michaelgate iconic, the punishing road crowning champions such as Malcolm Elliott, Paul Curran, Chris Walker, Russ Downing, and in more recent times Tom Stewart.

The maiden women’s edition was run in 2016, a year after the National Championships were held on the course, won by Lizzie Armitstead.

Cited by riders as the most important one-day race in the UK, it forms part of the National Road Series and its loss would be undeniably be an enormous emotional setback to the domestic scene.

British Cycling have announced sweeping changes to women’s racing to help improve the consistency of events on the calendar.

The national governing body has sought the views of hundreds of female riders to improve the structure of domestic racing in the wake of a surge in participation.

Changes will come into effect for the 2020 road season and will involve the introduction of the same categorisation used in men’s racing.

British Cycling’s cycle sport manager, Lisa Graham, said: “Recent years have seen strong increases in the amount of women taking up road racing, and while we are absolutely delighted with this progress, we recognised the need to ensure that the women’s racing environment continued to develop and improve, and that we didn’t rest on our laurels.

“We introduced the Women’s Road Racing Workgroup in autumn 2018 to make sure that the voices of these women were heard, and one of the most consistent feedback themes we received was the need to alter the way women’s races were categorised.

“In the past, smaller field sizes have meant that the ‘women-only’ category of road racing was the only way we could ensure that event organisers could put on sustainable events, but with the growing numbers of female racers, we can begin to implement the same categorisation system used on the men’s side of the sport.

“We are delighted that, after many months of work alongside riders, event organisers and others, we can bring about these changes for the 2020 season, and look forward to working with the Women’s Road Racing Workgroup to continue to bring about positive change.”

Races categorised as National A will be open to senior, elite, and junior first, second and third category riders with a minimum distance of 100km, or 70km per stage in a multi-day race.

National B events will be open to the same riders but with a minimum distance of 80km.

Senior and junior second, third and fourth category riders can enter Regional A races, which must have a minimum distance of 70km.

>>> What do women want?: How to build a thriving women’s race league 

Regional B races will have a minimum distance of 60km and will be open to senior and junior third and fourth category riders, while Regional C/C+ events are open to all and have no minimum distance.

Ranking points for female riders will be the same as in the men’s model and both genders will be ranked in the same way.

Alex Peters will be making his comeback next season after he left Team Sky at the end of the 2016.

London-born rider Peters left Sky because of personal issues that he said made it difficult to focus on his cycling career.

But the 25-year-old will be joining British Continental team Canyon-DhB p/b Soreen for 2020 after he left the sport in 2017.

Team owner and sports director Tim Elverson confirmed the full roster for Canyon-DhB, with former under-23 British champion Rob Scott also joining from the now-folded Wiggins-Le Col.

In an interview posted on the Wiggle blog, Peters revealed that depression and anxiety were the driving factors behind his decision to leave Sky.

He said: “I don’t know what sent me spiralling into depression, I guess it was all to do with anxiety. I was riding for SEG Racing and was really enjoying it when I had some interest from WorldTour teams. Team Sky wanted me, wanted to take me on as a stagiaire. It was pretty amazing. I think I was very urgent to make progress. I wasn’t viewing it as a journey and that creates a lot of unsettling feelings, when you want to be here but you’re actually over here.

“I struggled with that. It was more about doubting myself. I viewed everything as 'I have to win, I need to win', instead of saying 'I would like to win'. I saw a few psychiatrists and doctors to figure out what was happening to me and why I was behaving in ways that were a bit irregular.

“That winter I trained with SEG and the racing season was about to get going when I just had a breakdown. I couldn’t get out on the bike, I couldn’t train and that’s when I stopped completely. I didn’t leave the house at all. I didn’t know what everything was about, I didn’t know what cycling was about to me and I didn’t know what the point in things were.”

Peters spent months in hospital but with support form his family he has been able to make his comeback to the sport.

After a few races as a private member, Peters met with Canyon-DhB team boss Elverson and the pair agreed a new contract.

Peters said: “This year I am looking to get my mental health to a very manageable place and enjoy things again.

“It has taken a long time to get my endurance back. That really goes when you don’t ride your bike for a couple of years. You can still be fast but the endurance takes a little while. After a good winter, I should be in good condition though.”

Peters started his career with Madison-Genesis back in 2013, winning the Tour of the Reservoir and finishing second in An Post Rás during his time there.

He then joined Team Sky as a stagiare in 2015 before he moved to Dutch development squad SEG Racing Academy for the rest of the year.

The following season Peters made the jump up to Team Sky as a full-time rider, aged just 21, where he rode Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Tour of California and the British National Championships.

But in early 2017, Team Sky announced that Peters would not be staying on with the British WorldTour team that year, instead stepping back to re-join SEG Racing Academy.

Speaking at the time, Peters said: “I’ve had a tough time recently and struggled with some personal issues that have made it difficult for me to give the team, and my cycling career, my full commitment. Having spoken to the team and those around me, we’ve agreed together that I will return to the SEG Racing Academy.

“I do feel like I will be making a step back to make strides forward. I’ve learned an enormous amount and I’m keen to succeed as a cyclist over the long term at the top level. I’m looking forward to continuing my development.”

>>> Track rider Victoria Williamson to switch from cycling to bobsleigh 

Peters rode with SEG for 2017 but is believed to have stepped back from the sport after that.

Signing with Canyon-DhB looks to be the first step towards his comeback.

He said: “I want to see if cycling is for me as a career. It will be very interesting to see how it pans out.”

Ribble Pro Cycling has announced a new headline sponsor, against a challenging backdrop for British teams.

As a number of domestic outfits will be shutting up shop at the end of the year, Ribble Pro Cycling have announced that bike maintenance product company Weldtite will be getting on board as a main backer.

The team, home to the likes of John Archibald, Dan Bigham and Scott Auld, will be re-branded as Ribble-Weldtite Pro Cycling for the 2020 season.

In 2019 Ribble Pro Cycling, backed by the Lancashire-based bike brand, raced the Tour de Yorkshire, where Alex Luhrs finished 40th overall.

Team principal Tom Timothy said: “We are really thrilled to establish this partnership with Ribble Cycles and Weldtite.

“We had an impactful first year at UCI Continental level and plan to build on that for 2020. The investment and support that Ribble Cycles and Weldtite are providing will be instrumental in allowing the team to continue to develop and progress. It is important to us as a wholly British team, to bring in a British-based company that really reflects our core values."

The British scene has scene been struggling in recent seasons, as this year stalwart team Madison-Genesis announced they would be stopping, while development squad Wiggins-Le Col has also closed down.

Last season, JLT-Condor and One Pro Cycling also shut down.

>>> An 82-year-old cyclist will become the first person in the country to ride 1million miles 

Managing director of Weldtite, Paul Davis, said: “Ribble Pro Cycling’s 2019 season was full of excitement and success on the domestic scene and on the world stage.

“Similarly to Weldtite, the team have grown very organically and are well positioned to mount a strong assault on the domestic scene and Internationally in 2020. The Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain are now huge events in the cycling world and are a fantastic platform to increase consumer knowledge of Weldtite products.”

The organisers of the Tour of Britain, the Women’s Tour and the Tour Series are on the hunt for a new headline sponsor to replace OVO Energy.

Bristol-based energy firm OVO are bringing their sponsorship of the flagship British races to an end after three years, leaving the events without a main backer.

Organiser of the Tour of Britain, SweetSpot, is now trying to attract a new sponsor to support the three major British racing events.

SweetSpot CEO Hugh Roberts said: “All three events headline the British Cycling calendar and will no doubt continue to do so over the next decade as we work with partners, stakeholders, teams, riders and fans to inspire the next generation.

“We thank OVO Energy for their support of the events and look forward to beginning in the already illustrious histories of the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour and Tour Series in 2020 and beyond.”

This year marked a number of milestones for all three races - 15 years since the reintroduction of the Tour of Britain, the 10th anniversary of the Tour Series and an expanded Women’s Tour to mark its fifth year.

It was thanks to the OVO sponsorship that the Women’s Tour made the significant step of introducing a prize fund equal to that of the Tour of Britain in 2018, the first UCI stage race to do this.

>>> Tour of Poland organisers retire number 143 in memory of Bjorg Lambrecht 

OVO Energy brand and communications director Sarah Booth said: "We are proud of the contribution we’ve made through our sponsorship, helping fans across the country see the world’s best riders competing on their doorsteps and inspiring a whole new generation to get on their bikes.

"Our most meaningful legacy is taking a step towards gender parity in cycling by increasing the Women’s Tour prize fund, helping to provide an equal platform on the world cycling stage."

Earlier this year, SweetSpot signed a new 10-year extension to their partnership with British Cycling to run the Tour of Britain.

Callum Brown and Rebecca Richardson were victorious in the Monsal Hill Climb 2019 event, sealing their wins in the 89th edition of the race on a sunny day in the Peak District.

Brown defended his title, having won in 2018, by posting the fastest time of 1-16, beating both Andy Nichols (B38/Cycles In Motion) and Adam Kenway (Vitus Pro Cycling) who finished in joint second on the same time of 1-17.4.

>>> Riders call out ‘dangerous’ barriers involved in Álvaro Hodeg crash

However, Brown did miss out on the course record of 1-14.2, set in 1981 by Malcolm Elliott. Brown's 2019 time was also 1.5 seconds slower than his 2018 attempt, where he posted 1-14.

Gabriel Cullaigh (Team Wiggins - Le Col), who will move up to the WorldTour next year after signing with Movistar, finished in 14th overall with a time of 1-26.4.

Rebecca Richardson (Brother UK Fusion), posted the best women's time, finishing in 1-49.9, beating Emilie Verroken (Maxx), who won the veteran women's category, by just two seconds.

The Monsal Hill climb is 600m long with an average gradient of 9.5%, starting off flat for the first 100m or so and then ramping up all the way to the finish line.

Former pro Russ Downing (Team Giordana) came second in the veteran men's category, in what was his final ever race, posting a time of 1-28.3, beaten by Steve Tait (OVB) who set a new course record for the category of 1-25.3.

In the other categories, Simon Frohberg (Dinnington Racing Club) won the 50+ veteran men's category with a time of 1-41.7, Kieran Smith (Team Jewson - MI Racing) took the junior boy's with a time of 1-25.2 and Sarah Briggs (Matlock CC) the junior girl's with 2-20.3.

Meanwhile, Sebastien Cuming (East Bradford CC) was the fastest schoolboy with a time of 1-40.5 and Erin Avill (RFDA) the fastest schoolgirl at 2-15.8.

Craig Malkin and Peter Howard (Worrall Wheelers) also set a new fastest tandem course record, completing the climb in 2-57.5. The full list of provisional results can be found here.

Result (Provisional)

HMT Monsal Hill Climb 2019

1. Calum Brown (B38/Cycles In Motion S), in 1-16

2. Andy Nichols (B38/Cycles In Motion S), at 1-17.4

2. Adam Kenway (Vitus Pro Cycling powered by Brother UK S), at same time

4. Josh Coyne (Bpm Coaching S), 1-21.1

5. Cameron Biddle (Morvelo Basso RT S), 1-21.6

6. Craig Rogers (Cambridge University CC S), 1-22.4

7. Callum Dixon (Go Below – Kingud S), 1-22.6

8. Gregg Booker (Loughborough Students CC S), 1-22.9

9. Benjamin Harmer (Wold Top The Edge RT S), 1-23

10. Jim Brown (Team Inspired S), 1-23.2

Others:

14. Gabriel Cullaigh (Team Wiggins - Le Col), at 1-26.4

18. Russell Downing (Team Giordana V), at 1-28.3

86. Rebecca Richardson (Brother UK Fusion RT L), at 1-49.9

Marcin Bialoblocki has announced his retirement from racing.

The Polish rider, who has been a stalwart of the British time trial scene, has been absent from the time trials and races in recent weeks, confirmed his retirement on Saturday (September 21).

Bialoblocki, 36, currently holds the records for the 10-mile, 15, 25, 50, 100-mile time trials.

>>> Nicolas Roche extends contract with Sunweb to keep racing until 2021 

In a statement, released through his sponsor Nopinz, he said: “So it’s time to end my cycling career.

“It has been 24 unforgettable years full of emotions, great adventures and unique experiences.

“Thanks to the hard work, sacrifices and perseverance, I can safely say that it was a time of mainly ups and successes, but I also took motivation from the mistakes or losses, and they motivated me to work at full speed.

“I leave competitive cycling proud of my achievements and with unforgettable memories of racing in the UK and overseas.”

Bialoblocki, who lives in the UK, has raced for a host of road teams including One Pro Cycling and CCC Sprandi Polkowice, winning a time trial stage of the Tour of Poland in 2015, the Polish TT title the same year, and the general classification in the An Post Ras in 2013.

But it is Bialoblocki’s performances in the domestic time trial scene that stand out most.

In 2016, he set a new 10-mile TT record of 16-35, beating the time of Alex Dowsett by almost a minute.

Last season he set a record of 42-58 for the 25-mile TT, a 50-mile record of 1-30-31.

This year he also set a new fastest 15-mile time of 26-35 and a provisional new 100-mile record of 3-13-37.

>>> Peter Sagan says he is ‘not dreaming of fourth World Championship title’ 

He added: “So what’s next? Through my experiences, I have gained the knowledge needed to raise my performance level.

“Now I wish to share that knowledge as a coach and continue my success through the achievements of my protégés.

“For now, take care and thank you.”

The organisers of the Tour of Britain have revealed their plans to expand to nine days and “build the fourth biggest race in the world.”

Capitalising on a successful 2019 edition of the race and a home World Championships, the Tour of Britain organisers and British Cycling have also confirmed they have applied to be part of the new UCI ProSeries race status, which will be introduced next year.

Hugh Roberts from race organiser SweetSpot said: “Together with British Cycling we want to build the Tour of Britain into the fourth biggest race in the world, and as such are looking for new commercial partners to join us on this exciting journey.

“The fantastic crowds and exciting action we have seen across the country over the past eight days show that the appeal of the Tour of Britain continues to grow, and the fact that this year we achieved truly global television coverage shows how the race can continue to celebrate Britain and our fantastic culture, heritage and natural landscapes at home and abroad.”

>>> British Cycling confirms men’s road race and time trial squads for Yorkshire 2019 World Championships

Organisers of the HC categorised Tour of Britain hope to be a UCI ProSeries level race from next season, the new category which will replace the current HC and Class One events.

They also aim to increase the number of stages from eight to nine, in order to cover more of the country each edition.

The 2019 edition saw 20 teams and 120 riders racing over eight stages from Glasgow to Manchester, with an estimated 500,000 fans watching the final stage from the side of the road.

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) emerged victorious, with stages also won by Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott).

>>> Tom Pidcock will return to racing at Yorkshire 2019 World Championships after serious crash 

British Cycling chief executive Julie Harrington said: “The 2019 OVO Energy Tour of Britain confirmed its status once again as a landmark of the British sporting summer and gave us the perfect platform from which to look forward to the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

“For British Cycling, working with SweetSpot on events like the Tour of Britain and with local authority partners like Manchester City Council mean we can reach even more people and encourage everyone to get active by getting on their bikes.”

Mark Renshaw shared an emotional moment with his family during his last ever professional race in what has been an esteemed 16-year career.

In heartwarming scenes, the 36-year-old stops during the eighth and final stage of the 2019 Tour of Britain to collect a bottle being held out by a soigneur with a special connection to the Australian, his son.

After smiling as he rides up to collect the bottle and give his son a hug, Renshaw is emotional as he pulls away. He then rides up to greet more family members before chasing back up to the peloton.

Renshaw announced his retirement in July, saying: "After 16 years, I’m proud to announce that 2019 will be my final year as a professional road cyclist."

Riding across the finish line in Manchester, Renshaw was accompanied by his Dimension Data team-mates Bernie Eisel and Mark Cavendish.

Eisel and Renshaw have been team-mates at the South African outfit since 2016, having previously ridden together for FDJ between 2004-2005 and Team Columbia-High Road from 2009 to 2011.

Cavendish and Renshaw's careers have intertwined since they first raced together in 2009 at Columbia-High Road, the Australian being one of the Manx Missile's key lead-out men in what has turned out to be one of the most prolific partnerships in the professional peloton. After leaving the American team in 2011, they crossed paths again at Quick-Step in 2014, before both leaving for Dimension Data in 2016, where they also joined back up with Eisel.

Renshaw said at the time of his retirement announcement: "Looking back on my career it’s very gratifying to note the individual successes, as well as being a major component in victories for my team-mates.

"Being a key part of these victories has certainly been a career highlight and motivated me to perfect the role of a lead-out rider."

Cavendish added: "My long-time friend, team-mate, lead-out man, pilot fish, room-mate, and much more Mark Renshaw announced his retirement from professional cycling. A social media post would not do justice to the tribute you deserve from me mate.

"So I shall wait until you’ve officially taken your last pedal revolution to do a proper tribute. I sincerely hope we race together again before this day. Thank you for everything."

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) sealed overall victory at the 2019 Tour of Britain by sprinting to the stage eight win, edging out Cees Bol (Sunweb) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) to take his third stage of the week.

The 24-year-old Dutchman went toe-to-toe with the former European champion Trentin, exchanging the race lead multiple times, before Van der Poel's two victories on the final couple of stages helped him pull clear.

Trentin finished in second place overall, 17 seconds down, while Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Soudal) takes third, 50 seconds back.

The Italian takes home the points jersey as a consolation prize, while Brit Jacob Scott (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) wins the king of the mountains classification.

How it happened

The eighth and final stage from Altrincham to Manchester offered up a number of categorised climbs en route to shake up the battle for the overall win. Two second category climbs followed by a first category 70km from the finish.

From the moment the flag dropped, riders from two teams in their final international race, Madison Genesis and Wiggins - Le Col, went on the attack. Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis) was honouring his home roads while Gabriel Cullaigh (Wiggins - Le Col) was paying homage to his development team before he moves up to the WorldTour with Movistar next year.

After 12km of racing the British pair had opened up nearly a three minute gap over the peloton, with Emil Vinjebo (Riwal Readynez) joining to bolster the breakaway's number to three.

Holmes took the first sprint point ahead of Cullaigh, taking the three-second time bonus, useful as he was sat just a minute and a half behind Van der Poel on GC at the start of the day.

Vinjebo led the escapees over the first climb of the day at Werneth Low, with their gap being maintained, meaning Holmes held the virtual race lead on the road.

By the time Holmes took the second sprint point with 60km raced, their advantage had narrowed to under two minutes, before Cullaigh led over the second climb at Grains Bar 5km later.

As the trio of leaders neared the first category Ramsbottom Rake, their gap had shrunk to just 30 seconds. Ineos then came to the fore, looking to propel fourth place Pavel Sivakov up the GC, tearing the race to pieces as echelons appeared. Both race leader Van der Poel and Trentin made the front group, though, while the breakaway trio were caught with 90km remaining.

On the climb the race fractured further, with the 30 riders in the front group opening up a 45 second gap. Sivakov was the first to the summit of The Rake, ahead of Van der Poel, as Sivakov went solo and built up a lead of 15 seconds on the descent towards Hawkshaw.

After the Russian was brought back in, Ineos looked to further animate the race, with Michał Golas and Gianni Moscon increasing the pace.

With 65km to go the race split again, as 10 riders including Van der Poel and Trentin going off the front. 30 more riders eventually got back onto this group before Andrey Amador (Movistar) went solo, the Costa Rican sitting eighth overall, with Corendon-Circus keeping his gap to within 10 seconds.

However, as Amador approached the final sprint point of the day, he had built up a lead of 46 seconds, leaving him only 10 seconds off the race lead on the road.

Dries De Bondt (Corendon-Circus) then sprinted to second at the sprint point to restrict Trentin to only the one bonus second in third place, aiding Van der Poel's chances of overall victory.

With under 40km to go, Amador was caught after another group went away and an acceleration from Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) brought them all back, as a flurry of attacks continued.

Next to go on the offensive was Golas, Larry Warbasse (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Mark Christian (Wiggins - Le Col), never managing to take out more than a 15 second gap over the next 20km.

With 14km remaining the trio were caught, with Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) then attacking with Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton-Scott) on his wheel, the Australian then switching to Sivakov's as he came to the front.

No moves were sticking, though, as Connor Swift (Great Britain) surged forward, before Trentin attacked and found Van der Poel immediately on his wheel.

Mitchelton-Scott worked hard to keep the race together in the closing kilometres, as Moscon was one of a number of riders to hit out and try to steal a march on the bunch.

However, Cees Bol (Sunweb) led out the sprint in the finishing straight, with Van der Poel soon drawing level, the pair coming together but managing to stay upright. This caused them to slow, allowing Trentin to make a late surge and nearly draw level, but with a bike throw Van der Poel was first across the line, sealing the overall victory and a third stage win.

Results

Tour of Britain 2019, stage eight: Altrincham to Manchester (166km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, in 3-49-26

2. Cees Bol (Ned) Sunweb

3. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott

4. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma

5. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy

6. Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First

7. Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Sunweb

8. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

9. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

10. Danilo Wyss (Sui) Dimension Data, all at same time

Final general classification

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, in 29-47-41

2. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott, at 17 seconds

3. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 50s

4. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos, at 52s

5. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin, at 1-01

6. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos, at same time

7. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-03

8. Andrey Amador (Crc) Movistar, at 1-04

9. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 1-07

10. Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma

Final points classification

1. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott - 86 pts

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus - 73 pts

3. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy - 73 pts

Final king of the mountains classification

1. Jacob Scott (GBr) SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling - 59 pts

2. Dries De Bondt (Bel) Corendon-Circus - 35 pts

3. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos - 34 pts

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) extended his race lead at the Tour of Britain 2019 with a dominating show of strength to claim stage seven ahead of rival Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott).

British road race champion Ben Swift (Ineos) kicked things up on the final ramps up to the finish, before Van der Poel came storming through with Trentin on his wheel.

The Italian sat on the young Dutchman's wheel as the two pulled clear before Van der Poel kicked again at 150m, looking back as he crossed the finish line with Trentin congratulating him with a thumbs up.

Simon Clarke (EF Education First) then led the peloton across the line, three seconds down on Van der Poel.

The 24-year-old now leads Trentin by 12 seconds with only tomorrow's Manchester stage remaining.

How it happened

With Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) retaking the race lead from Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) after stage six's individual time trial, a lead of just six seconds invited more action on stage seven as the Tour of Britain headed to Warwickshire.

Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) and Jake Scott (Swift Pro Cycling) were two of the first riders to attack as soon as the flag dropped, before Gabriel Cullaigh (Wiggins - Le Col) launched off the front.

Next to go on the offensive was Tony Gallopin (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Connor Dunne (Israel Cycling Academy), before the main sprint contenders went clear at 12km as the first sprint point loomed ahead. However, with Van der Poel involved Mitchelton-Scott were not going to let the group away and reeled them back in.

This mattered little to the young Dutchman, who won the first sprint ahead of Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Soudal) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), picking up a three-second time bonus, as Trentin picked up only one.

The attacks kept coming until a trio of riders finally got away after 40km of racing. Gallopin was involved once again, alongside Remy Mertz of Lotto-Soudal and Alex Colman (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes), soon being joined by John Dibben (Madison Genesis).

The quartet gained an advantage of 30 seconds before being brought back in to just 15, with a counter-attack following from the cousins, Ben Swift (Ineos) and Connor Swift (British Cycling).

Once again, though, these six riders off the front were all brought back in before Dylan van Baarle (Ineos) and Cameron Meyer (Mitchelton-Scott) attacked with 130km to go.

The duo had a lead of 1-45 by the time they swept up the first two places at the second intermediate sprint, with Gediminas Bagdonas (Ag2r La Mondiale) taking third spot. The Lithuanian and Carlos Verona (Movistar) attempted to chase down the breakaway, lingering just 10 seconds ahead of the peloton with just over 100km remaining, eventually being brought back in 25km later.

As Van Baarle and Meyer approached Friz Hill, they led the peloton by 2-40, with the Australian leading the Ineos rider over the summit.

Approaching the third and final intermediate sprint, Mitchelton-Scott and Corendon-Circus lined up their trains before Rory Townsend came shooting through the middle early. Trentin, however, latched on to his wheel and easily swept up the solitary bonus point left for third place, with the Irishman showing his frustration at having been bested.

Jon Dibben then led Matt Holmes off the front of the peloton in a spirited attack on the first ascent of Burton Dassett, but Jake Scott eventually took third place to add to his KOM tally.

With 25km to the finish, the two leaders' gap was down to 1-10, with two of three ascents of Burton Dassett remaining.

Their advantage continued to dwindle and Meyer was eventually caught with 12km remaining, Ineos' Gianni Moscon then attacked, with Van der Poel setting off after him and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos) also electing to get involved in the action.

Van Baarle was still holding out off the front, only nine seconds ahead, but then the race all came back together quickly, with a group of five then launching off the front, including British road race champion Ben Swift (Ineos).

Movistar decided to take up the chase in the closing kilometres, the break's gap holding at 15 seconds into the final 3km.

Xandro Meurisse (Wanty-Gobert) led the group of five onto the incline of the third and final climb, with Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Jumbo-Visma) on his wheel, and with 1km to go they still had a gap of eight seconds.

Ben Swift then kicked as the incline increased, with Jansen following, before Van der Poel countered from behind and came through the gap between the two riders.

Trentin locked onto his wheel before the Dutchman kicked again and rode across the line to increase his overall race lead with the 24-year-old only needing to defend his green jersey for one more day in Manchester to secure the overall victory.

Results

Tour of Britain, stage seven: Warwick to Burton Dassett (188.7km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, in 4-07-49

2. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott, at one second

3. Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First, at 3s

4. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy

5. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

6. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

7. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos

8. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert

9. Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise

10. Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma, all at same time

General classification after stage seven

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, at 25-58-25

2. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott, at 12 seconds

3. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 40s

4. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos, at 42s

5. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin, at 51s

6. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos, at same time

7. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 53s

8. Andrey Amador (Crc) Movistar, at 57s

9. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at same time

10. Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma, at 58s

Tour of Britain leader Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) said he “surprised himself” in the stage six time trial where he took the lead.

The Dutch sensation placed sixth, 12 seconds behind stage winner Eduardo Affini (Mitchelton-Scott) but crucially he was nine seconds ahead of Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) taking the jersey in the process.

>>> Mathieu van der Poel decides against riding road race at Toyko 2020 Olympics

“I kind of surprised myself, I think the last real TT I did was when I was a junior a long time ago,” he said reflecting on his performance.

The Corendon-Circus rider said he would now need to mindful of Trentin at the finishes as there are bonus seconds on offer and he only has six seconds in hand. Trentin retook the overall lead on stage five from Van der Poel after finishing third in a bunch sprint and gaining bonus second.

“I’ve not really looked at the stages but I’m told tomorrow is an uphill finish so that should suit me," Van der Poel said. "We have shown we have some strong riders here who can help me defend the jersey.”

But he added that it wasn’t just the Italian that he had to watch out for.

“There are riders from Ineos who are also not far behind and they have a really strong team,” he said referring to Pavel Sivakov and Gianni Moscon who are 24 and 33 seconds behind respectively.

Stage seven from Warwick to Burton Dassett tomorrow features four categorised climbs in the final 50 kilometres and ends on a short but steep ramp to the finish.

The same road was sued for the finish of a stage of the Women’s Tour in June and was won by Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in a narrow victory over Sunweb rider Liane Lippert.

Van der Poel’s team will be crucial for him as the road is quite narrow making positioning into that final climb key to getting a good result at the top.

Edoardo Affini (Mitchelton-Scott) won stage six of the Tour of Britain, taking the top spot at the individual time trial after remaining in the hot seat for almost two hours.

Second place was earned by Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First), 7s behind the 23-year-old winner, with Dylan van Baarle (Ineos) tied in third.

The day's action saw Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon–Circus) return to  the leader's jersey, having completed the course 17s quicker than pre-stage GC, Mitchelton-Scott's Matteo Trentin.

Speaking once all scores were on the doors and the stage win was secured, the former under 23 Italian national time trial champion Affini said: "It was probably more stressful staying in the hot seat than doing the time trial. But it was worth it.

"I managed to do a good time trial, and pace myself well, so I was able to give everything on the way back home."

How it happened

The 14.4 kilometre test in Pershore, Worcestershire sent riders on a loop traversing traditional Malvern B roads and small country lanes.

A 500 metre ramp, averaging 6.8 per cent, reared its head within the first two kilometres, before flatter roads let riders settle into more of a rhythm ahead of the gradual descent to the line.

Affini, twelfth rider off, set an early time of 16 minutes 39 seconds which was good enough to see him remain in the hot seat even as his team mate, final rider Matteo Trentin, set off almost two hours later.

British National time trial champion Alex Dowsett, off 51st around 40 minutes later, was the fastest through the intermediate time split at the time in 9-11, to Affini's 9-12.

However, Dowsett's finishing time saw him roll in 13s adrift of the Italian in the top spot, eventually pacing in seventh.

In the end the quickest intermediate check went to the trio of Tanel Kangert (EF Education First), Van der Poel and Trentin - all three tied at 9-04, Kangert eventually earning fifth on the stage.

With just two riders left to threaten the top spot, the closest rider to Affini was 71st off, Langeveld (EF Education First), in a time of 16-46, which had pushed Van Baarle (Ineos) into third also 7s back.

Once Van der Poel charged through the finish line in 16-51, there was only one rider left to threaten Affini's win.

Trentin stopped the clock at 17-08 - leaving the podium as before and also representing a re-shuffle in the GC as Van der Peol moved into green.

Results

Tour of Britain 2019, stage six Pershore (14.4km ITT)

1 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott in 16-39

2 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Ef Education First at 7s

3 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos at 7s

4 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott at 8s

5 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Education First at 10s

6 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon–Circus at 12s

7 Alex Dowsett (Gbr) Katusha-Alpecin at 13s

8 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 16s

9 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos at 17s

10 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto-Soudal at 20s

General classification after stage six

1 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon–Circus in 21-50-49

2 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott at 6s

3 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos at 24s

4 Jasper de Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal at 26s

5 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin at 27s

6 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos at 33s

7 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 35s

8 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Education First at 36s

9 Andrey Amador (Crc) Movistar at 39s

10 Armund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma at 40s

Steven Cummings (Dimension Data) spent the night in hospital on Wednesday night following a crash on stage five of the Tour of Britain.

The 38-year-old crashed with 50km to go on the stage to Birkenhead, which was eventually won by Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) with Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) taking the overall lead.

Cummings was immediately attended to by medical staff and was transported to hospital for further investigation. His Dimension Data team have yet to confirm where the fracture is and the extent of its severity.

The 2016 overall winner of the Tour of Britain was racing on home roads on the Wirral Peninsula on Wednesday, and thanked fans for their support in a statement released by his team.

“It was really cool to see everyone today, I knew every road, and the support myself and the team received was fantastic," Cummings said.

“To everyone that’s sent in messages of support I’d just like to say a big thanks and the message from me is that I’m fine.”

Cummings has suffered bad luck with injuries in recent years. He already spent time off the bike this season after breaking a collarbone at the Tour of the Basque Country, and had a horrendous crash at the same race in 2017.

At the 2017 Tour de France he also fractured two vertebrae in a crash in the Alps, but was able to complete the race.

A two-time Tour stage winner, Cummings has not taken a race victory since 2017 having struggled for form and was a surprise call up to the Dimension Data squad for the Tour de France this year.

Cummings is out of contract with Dimension Data after this season, and has yet to confirm a new team for 2020.

The Tour of Britain stage six time trial kicks off on Thursday afternoon and sees riders cover 14.4 kilometres in Pershore.

Leader Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) will be last to embark upon the loop.

The Italian enters the stage with just a three second advantage over Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus), with all riders in the top ten on the overall standings within 22 seconds of the leader's time and 19 of the best within 30 seconds.

The circular route is almost entirely flat, and eyes will be on British National time trial champion Alex Dowsett (Katusha Alpecin) to see if he can shine in the race of truth.

1 ROBBINS Tristan (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 1.01pm

2 IVERSEN Rasmus Byriel (Lotto Soudal, Den), 1.02pm

3 BOUWMAN Koen (Jumbo Visma, Ned), 1.03pm

4 TENNANT Andrew (Canyon DHB, Gbr), 1.04pm

5 VEYHE Torkil (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Den) 1.05pm

6 FRISON Frederik (Lotto Soudal, Bel) 1.06pm

7 STOKBRO Nielsen Andreas (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Den) 1.07pm

8 STEWART Thomas (Canyon DHB, Gbr) 1.08pm

9 MCEVOY Jonathan (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 1.09pm

10 MERTZ Remy (Lotto Soudal, Bel) 1.10pm

11 DIBBEN Jonathan (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 1.11pm

12 AFFINI Edoardo (Mitchelton-Scott, Ita) 1.12pm

13 EISEL Bernhard (Team Dimension Data, Aus) 1.13pp

14 TANFIELD Harry (Katusha Alpecin, Gbr) 1.14pm

15 CAVENDISH Mark (Team Dimension Data, Gbr) 1.15pm

16 CUMING Michael (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 1.16pm

17 BAGDONAS Gediminas (AG2R La Mondiale, Ltu) 1.17pm

18 WALKER Joey (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 1.18pm

19 HARDY Ben (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 1.19pm

20 DE BONDT Dries (Corendon - Circus, Bel) 1.20pm

21 BOSTOCK Matthew (Canyon DHB, Gbr) 1.21pm

22 JENNER Samuel (Wiggins Le Col, Aus) 1.22pm

23 TOWNSEND Rory (Canyon DHB, Irl) 1.23pm

24 SCOTT Jacob (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 1.24pm

25 HANSEN Lasse Norman (Corendon - Circus, Den) 1.25pm

26 FOUCHE James (Wiggins Le Col, Nzl) 1.26pm

27 ROWSELL Erick (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 1.27pm

28 CARRETERO Hector (Movistar, Esp) 1.28pm

29 WILLIAMS Peter (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 1.29pm

30 BOL Cees (Sunweb, Ned) 1.30pm

31 RENSHAW Mark (Team Dimension Data, Aus) 1.31pm

32 SCOTT Robert (Wiggins Le Col, Gbr) 1.32pm

33 BROWN Jim (Great Britain, Gbr) 1.33pm

34 DEBUSSCHERE Jens (Katusha Alpecin, Bel) 1.34pm

35 KREDER Wesley (Wiggins Le Col, Ned) 1.35pm

36 COLMAN Alex (Canyon DHB, Bel) 1.36pm

37 BAUER Jack (Mitchelton-Scott, Nzl) 1.37pm

38 BRITTON Rhys (Great Britain, Gbr) 1.38pm

39 DUNNE Conor (Israel Cycling Academy, Irl) 1.39pm

40 CURVERS Roy (Sunweb, Ned) 1.40pm

41 NOPPE Christophe (Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Bel) 1.41pm

42 CULLAIGH Gabriel (Wiggins Le Col, Gbr) 1.42pm

43 LAVERACK Edward (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 1.43pm

44 VERNON Ethan (Great Britain, Gbr) 1.44pm

45 MODOLO Sacha (EF Education First, Ira) 1.45pm

46 TRONDSEN Trond Håkon (Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team, Nor) 1.46pm

47 EEKHOFF Nils (Sunweb, Ned) 1.47pm

48 VALLÉE Boris (Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team, Bel) 1.48pm

49 WALLS Matthew (Great Britain, Gbr) 1.49pm

50 GROENEWEGEN Dylan (Jumbo Visma, Ned) 1.50pm

51 DOWSETT Alex (Katusha Alpecin, Gbr) 1.51pm

52 HAGA Chad (Sunweb, USA) 1.52pm

53 DOMONT Axel (AG2R La Mondiale, Fra) 1.53pm

54 CIMOLAI Davide (Israel Cycling Academy, Ira) 1.54pm

55 DUNBAR Edward (Ineos, Irl) 1.55pm

56 PERRY Benjamin (Israel Cycling Academy, Can) 1.56pm

57 STEWART Jake (Great Britain, Gbr) 1.57pm

58 GOLDSTEIN Omer (Israel Cycling Academy, Isr) 1.58pm

59 VAN EMDEN Jos (Jumbo Visma, Ned) 1.59pm

60 WALSLEBEN Philipp (Corendon - Circus, Ger) 2pm

61 VINJEBO Emil Nygaard (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Den) 2.01pm

62 LANDA MEANA Mikel (Movistar, Esp) 2.02pm

63 VERWILST Aaron (Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Bel) 2.03pm

64 VAN BAARLE Dylan (Ineos, Den) 2.04pm

65 WILLEMS Thimo (Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Bel) 2.05pm

66 LUNKE Sindre Skjøstad (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Nor) 2.06pm

67 BARBERO CUESTA Carlos (Movistar, Esp) 2.07pm

68 GASTAUER Ben (AG2R La Mondiale, Lux) 2.08pm

69 VERONA Carlos (Movistar, Esp) 2.09pm

70 STORK Florian (Sunweb, Gbr) 2.10pm

71 LANGEVELD Sebastian (EF Education First, Ned) 2.11pm

72 CHRISTENSEN Ryan (Canyon DHB, Nzl) 2.12pm

73 VERMOTE Julien (Team Dimension Data, Bel) 2.13pm

74 VERGAERDE Otto (Corendon - Circus, Bel) 2.14pm

75 GALLOPIN Tony (AG2R La Mondiale, Fra) 2.15pm

76 JANSSENS Jimmy (Corendon - Circus, Bel) 2.16pm

77 DURBRIDGE Luke (Mitchelton-Scott, Aus) 2.17pm

78 GOLAS Michal (Ineos, Pol) 2.18pm

79 MEYER Cameron (Mitchelton-Scott, AUS) 2.19pm

80 VAN MOER Brent (Lotto Soudal, Bel) 2.20pm

81 EDMONDSON Alexander (Mitchelton-Scott, Aus) 2.21pm

82 KAMP Alexander (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Den) 2.22pm

83 DONOVAN Mark (Wiggins Le Col, Gbr) 2.23pm

84 ERIKSSON Lucas (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team, Swe) 2.24pm

85 SEPULVEDA Eduardo (Movistar, Arg) 2.25pm

86 CHRISTIAN Mark (Wiggins Le Col, Gbr) 2.26pm

87 SWIFT Connor (Great Britain, Gbr) 2.27pm

88 KANGERT Tanel (EF Education First, Est) 2.28pm

89 HAMILTON Christopher (Sunweb, Aus) 2.29pm

90 WYSS Danilo (Team Dimension Data, Sui) 2.30pm

91 WARBASSE Lawrence (AG2R La Mondiale, USA) 2.31pm

92 HERMANS Ben (Israel Cycling Academy, Bel) 2.32pm

93 SHAW James (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, Gbr) 2.33pm

94 CHEREL Mikaël (AG2R La Mondiale, Fra) 2.34pm

95 VAN ASBROECK Tom (Israel Cycling Academy, Bel) 2.35pm

96 HOLMES Matthew (Madison Genesis, Gbr) 2.36pm

97 MOSCON Gianni (Ineos, Ita) 2.37pm

98 MEURISSE Xandro (Wiggins Le Col, Bel) 2.38pm

99 BENOOT Tiesj (Lotto Soudal, Bel) 2.39pm

100 SPRENGERS Thomas (Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Bel) 2.40pm

101 SIVAKOV Pavel (Ineos, Rus) 2.42pm

102 POLITT Nils (Katusha Alpecin, Ger) 2.44pm

103 JANSEN Amund Grondal (Jumbo Visma, Nor) 2.46pm

104 AMADOR Andrey (Movistar, Crc) 2.48pm

105 SWIFT Ben (Ineos, Gbr) 2.50pm

106 TEUNISSEN Mike (Jumbo Visma, Ned) 2.52pm

107 CLARKE Simon (EF Education First, Aus) 2.54pm

108 DE BUYST Jasper (Lotto Soudal, Bel) 2.56pm

109 VAN DER POEL Mathieu (Corendon - Circus, Ned) 2.58pm

110 TRENTIN Matteo (Mitchelton Scott, Ira) 3pm

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) coasted to victory on the Tour of Britain stage five, taking his third stage win of the race well ahead of second place Matt Walls (Great Britain) and Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott).

>>> Philippe Gilbert wins Vuelta a España stage 17 as crosswinds disrupt general classification

Groenewegen was dropped off comfortably at the front of the bunch in the final 250m of the stage to Birkenhead by his lead out man Mike Teunissen and was able to  launch his sprint and hold off those behind to take the win.

Walls, 21, was able to try and follow and jump clear from the rest of the peloton, hanging on for an impressive result ahead of Trentin in third and Cees Bol (Sunweb) in fourth.

Thanks to his third place and four bonus seconds, Trentin was able to regain the overall lead from Mathieu van der Poel who took it yesterday. The Dutchman, whose team had done much of the work on the front in the final half of the race, was only able to finish 14th on the stage and now sits three seconds behind in second place on GC.

How it happened

Stage five of the 2019 Tour of Britain would see riders take on an undulating 174.1km stage out and back from Birkenhead.

While the stage looked likely to end in a sprint despite a late climb in the final 4km, a breakaway got up the road early on.

Jake Scott (SwiftCarbon), Matt Bostock (Canyon-dhb), Emil Vinjebo (Riwal Readynez) and Rob Scott (Wiggins-Le Col) were the four men to ride clear, gaining a maximum advantage of around 2-10.

The peloton were content to let them hang out front, with Jake Scott able to take maximum king of the mountains points over two of the three climbs along the route.

After taking maximum points on the first of two ascents of Flaybrick Hill with 34km to go, Jake Scott dropped back to rejoin the peloton, which was driven on by race leader Mathieu van der Poel’s Corendon-Circus team as well as contributions from Sunweb and Jumbo-Visma.

Rob Scott was also distanced around this point, leaving just Bostock and Vinjebo out front with still over a minute’s advantage, still holding 1-20 as they fought on into the final 20km of the stage.

With 18.2km to a number of riders took the wrong exit of a roundabout, some ending up on the wrong road and some in a lane of stationary traffic.

That slowed the peloton momentarily, with the gap stalling at 55 seconds with 17km to go.

The chase by Corendon-Circus continued with the gap then gradually decreasing, and in the final 10km things were looking ominous for the leading pair.

With gap now just 10 seconds or so Vinjebo decided to try his luck solo with 9km to go, but it was short lived.

Numerous attacks then came over Flaybrick Hill in the final 4km from the likes of Gianni Moscon (Ineos), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) and Simon Clarke (EF Education First), though nothing could stick

With high speed in towards the finish, it was Sunweb who took control into the final kilometre with Jumbo-Visma coming to the front with Groenewegen with 250m to go.

By the time they had taken the gentle left hand bend towards the line, Groenewegen was well in front and just had to launch his sprint to coast home to victory.

The Tour of Britain continues tomorrow with stage six; a 14.4km time trial out and back from Pershore.

Results

Tour of Britain 2019, stage five: Birkenhead to Birkenhead (174.1km)

1. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, in 3-57-31

2. Matt Walls (GBr) Great Britain

3. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott

4. Cees Bol (Ned) Team Sunweb

5. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy

6. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

7. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos

8. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy

9. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott

10. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data, all at same time

General classification after stage five

1. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, at 3 seconds

3. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 10 seconds

4. Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First, at 17 seconds

5. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 18 seconds

6. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos, at 22 seconds

7. Andrey Amador (CRC) Movistar

8. Armund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Jumbo-Visma

9. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin

10. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos, all at same time