The staffing changes at Ineos Grenadiers have continued with head coach Xabier Artetxe confirming in a LinkedIn post that he has now left the team.

Artetxe coached both Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodríguez, working closely with the former after he arrived at Ineos in 2018, and was heavily involved in his victories at the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d’Italia. He also played an important role in Bernal’s rehabilitation after his serious crash during training at the start of 2022 in Colombia.

Prior to fracturing his collarbone at the Clásica Jaén in Spain earlier this week, Bernal highlighted the work of both Artetxe and an Ineos Grenadiers soigneur, Cristian Alonso, in helping him return to fitness after the 2022 incident.

Artetxe was reported to be on the move at the end of last season, with the news trickling through around the time of the departure of Steve Cummings from Ineos. But the Spaniard has now confirmed in a lengthy LinkedIn post that he will be moving on to new challenges.

"Everything comes to an end, and after years of hard work, discipline, successes, and failures, I am leaving the team that has helped me grow both personally and professionally," Artetxe wrote. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Sir Dave Brailsford, Rod Ellingworth, Tim Kerrison, and Fran Millar for giving me the opportunity in 2014 to be part of the powerful Team Sky. Without the trust they placed in me, I would never have fulfilled many of my dreams."

"These have been ten incredible seasons in which the team has won five Tour de France titles, three Giro d'Italia titles, one Vuelta a España, several 'Monuments', as well as World Championships and Olympic medals in different disciplines,” he continued. "I also don't want to forget Nicolas Portal, who was always willing to help me from the very first day we met. We quickly connected and became more than just colleagues. His friendship and energy will always be with me."

As well as Bernal and Rodríguez, Artetxe also worked with the likes of Richard Carapaz before his move to EF Education-EasyPost. Artetxe thanked all the riders he had worked with during his ten year spell with Ineos and picked out some memorable moments, including the Ecuadorian's victory in the road race at the Tokyo Olympic games.

He added: "It is time to change goals and start new challenges and projects that I am very excited about. Challenges that will push me out of my comfort zone and help me improve, something that coaches should never forget. Don’t think I am leaving cycling behind; I will always remain connected to this sport because it has always been and always will be my passion."

In addition to the departures of both Artetxe and Cummings, Dan Bigham left Ineos last September to become Head of Engineering at another major WorldTour team, Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe. Ineos announced a raft of changes to their performance staff in the autumn after a review had been carried out by performance director Dr Scott Drawer.

The team has enjoyed a successful start to the new season with Josh Tarling winning the individual time trial on stage two of the UAE Tour this week. This followed on from Michał Kwiatkowski winning the team’s first pro race in 226 days at Clásica Jaén on Monday. Ineos are also reportedly looking for a new second sponsor in order to aid their return to the top level of the sport.

Ineos Grenadiers were contacted for comment in relation to this story.

Steve Cummings is a former professional cyclist and won two individual stages of the Tour de France in 2015 and 2016. He also won a stage of the Vuelta a España in 2012. Other career highlights include overall victory at the Tour of Britain in 2016, and being crowned British national road and time trial champion a year later. After retiring from racing, Cummings worked as a Sports Director at Ineos Grenadiers before joining Australian WorldTour team Jayco-AlUla ahead of the current season.

This interview is part of Cycling Weekly's Q&A series.

What was your first racing bike?

My first racing bike was a Peugeot 653. It was pink and purple, I bought it from another bike rider, so it was used. I think I paid about £350 quid for it, which I gradually earned through selling doughnuts in school.

I think I was about 13-14 at the time. Someone lent me a bike at first, so I used to go on that, but that was the first bike I bought that Peugeot. I had a few mountain bikes before that. I haven't got it anymore, I can't remember what happened to it. I think I may have sold the frame, and then I think I kept the other bits but I can't really remember.

What’s the first race you remember watching?

Probably the Tour de France. It's hard to be specific on when, but probably just the Tour de France in general. It was around the time of Miguel Indurain, Marco Pantani, Laurent Jalabert, Mario Cippolini.

I always particularly liked Pantani. I remember a guy called Erik Dekker as well in the Tour one year when he won three stages, Triple Decker they called him. He was Double Decker, and then he won the third so it became Triple Decker. He was Dutch champion as well at the time. Then there was the Chris Boardman stuff. It was always worth watching the prologues when he was around.

Did you have a cycling hero when you were getting into the sport?

Michele Bartoli, I always say him when people ask that. It's just because of the way he raced, I always liked that he was very aggressive. I don’t think you ever really try to imitate riders you liked when you then get into racing though. I think what you do though is maybe try to take the best bits that you can maybe apply to yourself from certain role models. Bartoli was very aerodynamic. There's no point dreaming of being someone like Cipollini if you can't sprint.

Is there one single person who has been particularly influential on your and your career in cycling?

I'd probably say a few to be fair. Steve Peters, Max Sciandri and Dave Brailsford, probably those three.

What's the best place your career has ever taken you to?

I remember going to the Great Barrier Reef. We did the Tour of Queensland, I think we were in Australia for almost three months, I just remember that was a really great trip. I remember we did a boat trip and went out to the barrier reef one day.

What do you think you would have ended up doing if you hadn’t got into cycling?

I don't know, it's really hard to say. I still think about this now and ask myself what I'd do if I didn't do cycling. I'm much more studious now than I was, I do quite enjoy working with numbers and stuff like that.

I don't know though, I was doing all right selling a bit of clobber and stuff like that in school. At the time I was working as a chef as well, so I was enjoying that to be fair. I started off as a dishwasher, and then I was veg man, and then salads, and then I was doing first courses for a bit. That was in a pretty good restaurant too.

I don't think I'd have done that long term though, chef-ing, I did enjoy it, but it was just super long shifts. We always had a good craic there and always had a laugh.

Did you play any other sports when you were younger?

I've tried out a lot of different sports, but I played quite a lot of football. I still play football now. I also played basketball, and a bit of tennis, Mum and Dad got us into everything really and I've had a crack at everything. Position wise I was a right back in football, I think I was more a Trent Alexander-Arnold than a Gary Neville, at least in my own mind!

What was the most significant victory during your career and why?

The most significant was probably the first stage win in the Tour de France in 2015. I had done well in other races and stuff before that, but a stage win in the Tour really changes your profile. Then if you do it again it shifts your identity even more, and if you do it 35 times you become a legend!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to do a lot of exercise. I go running, riding, and walking in the mountains. I occasionally do a bit of weight training, but not too much. I also play around with music, I like to do that too. Other than that I love going to football. I like going to the theatre, I went to the Scouse panto the other day. The Scouse Red Riding Hood is brilliant, you'll have to go. I like anything like that to have a bit of a laugh.

What were your most played tracks on Spotify last year?

I don't really tend to listen to one specific track or genre or anything like that. I just am into all sorts, but I tend to go back to a lot of DJ stuff. I actually tend to mix my own stuff, and then I'll listen to that when I'm out about or I listen to a podcast or something.

Before I was studying, I was getting into more production and stuff like that, but then I stopped doing it. It was just too much screen time with work and study. But maybe at some point I'll go back and pick it up, it would be good to get into that a bit more.

Steve Cummings has joined Jayco AIUla as a sports director ahead of the 2025 season after opting to move on from Ineos Grenadiers in recent weeks.

The move comes shortly after the 43-year-old announced his decision to "step away" from Ineos on LinkedIn after months of uncertainty regarding his position on the team. The former professional rider had not attended any races for Ineos since June and was left out of all three Grand Tours this year, including the Tour de France.

Ineos staff insisted that Cummings was playing a remote role during the Tour. Towards the tail end of the season, the team said that he was occupied with planning for the new campaign; Cummings left the team weeks later.

Cummings now has a new role at Jayco AIUla and is one of many new arrivals for the Australian team during the off-season. Jayco brought in Ben O’Connor from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale after Simon Yates moved on to Visma-Lease a Bike.

"I’m really excited to be joining Team Jayco AlUla. This team has a strong reputation for its professionalism, and commitment to success, which aligns with my own values and experiences in sport," Cummings said. "I’m looking forward to contributing to its ongoing success, helping all my teammates reach their full potential.

"For me, this is more than just joining a team - it’s an opportunity to be part of a culture that celebrates growth, resilience, and meaningful results. Naturally through having a long career within cycling, on and off the bike, I already know a lot of team members and I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started with them."

Welcoming the former British pro, Jayco AIUla boss Brent Copeland said: "We are delighted to be welcoming Steve onto the team in 2025. His personality and professionalism is something that we believe will fit very well within our culture."

He added: "Steve has such a wide skill set and is a very experienced sport director having of course experienced first-hand what it means to be a rider himself, having won at the highest level during his time as a pro rider. I was truly impressed by Steve's attention to detail and visionary approach during our first conversation about the team. I immediately felt that he would bring a dynamic energy that we would all benefit from."

Steve Cummings has confirmed that he has left his role as Director of Racing at Ineos Grenadiers after months of uncertainty surrounding his future and position on the team.

Cummings was promoted to his senior role at the back end of last year. He was then controversially left out of the team’s on-the-ground management group at the Tour de France and was not seen at a race again. His last race in person for the team was June’s Critérium du Dauphiné.

The British former pro was also not mentioned in a series of recent staffing updates from Ineos, which included the news that Kurt Asle Arvesen was returning to the team to work as a lead sports director.

For weeks Ineos staff have insisted that Cummings' absence from races was of little significance and suggested that he was deep in preparation for the new season. This was the message when Cummings was absent from the Tour of Britain Men as well as other smaller stage races.

The team have regularly been unable to comment when asked by Cycling Weekly when Cummings would return to on-race work.

Cummings confirmed on LinkedIn on Tuesday evening that he has now left Ineos Grenadiers and issued the following statement.

"I’m aware there has been some speculation so I just wanted to clarify my situation," Cummings said. "I’ve reached the decision to step away from Ineos. This may seem like a big move, but I’m now ready to begin a new phase of my career. It’s been a privilege to work with such a talented group of riders and staff for the last four years. I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and dedication."

He added: "I’ve always enjoyed and thrived working in a high performance environment and I will continue to have significant involvement in the sport. My focus is now on a new challenge within professional cycling."

As well as the Tour de France, Cummings was not included in the team’s management group for the Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España meaning he missed all three Grand Tours this year.

Ineos CEO John Allert, as well as other senior team officials, insisted during the Tour that Cummings was supporting the team remotely but this was contradicted by DS Zak Dempster who said that he felt it would be "impossible" for Cummings to play an important role from home.

At the time sources close to the situation told Cycling Weekly that Cummings absence from the biggest race of the season was in part due to his apparent fractured relationship with Tom Pidcock. The duo’s relationship was said to be severely strained and Pidcock then told Cycling Weekly at the team presentation in Florence that he felt Ineos would be "better" without Cummings at the Tour.

Pidcock was heavily linked with a move away from Ineos for the second half of the year, with Q36.5 Pro Cycling said to be his next destination. However, the move has been reported to be off in recent weeks despite Pidcock’s surprising deselection from Il Lombardia.

Geraint Thomas gave his input on Pidcock's tense relationship with Ineos and said that he felt Pidcock's entourage "did not help" the situation.

Pidcock was then seen at a Manchester United match with several Ineos teammates last weekend. The Premier League giants are now owned by the Ineos group headed up by Jim Ratcliffe.

Sources told Cycling Weekly that Pidcock’s situation meant little to Cummings' future and that they felt there was no way back for the 43-year-old on the team regardless of whether the British star left, or not.

Cycling Weekly reached out to Ineos Grenadiers for comment on Cummings' departure and will update this article when the team responds.

Geraint Thomas has suggested that the "people around" Tom Pidcock do not help him, after the latter had an apparent fallout with Ineos Grenadiers' management.

On the eve of ll Lombardia, Pidcock took to Instagram to reveal that he had been "deselected" by Ineos ahead of the final Monument of the men’s WorldTour season. Pidcock had previously been down on the provisional startlist.

"Just as things were on the up after a turbulent end to the year I am deselected for Lombardia tomorrow," Pidcock wrote on Instagram. "I am in great shape and was really looking forwarded to it! Good luck to the boys, I guess off season starts early. Thanks for everyone’s support even in the tough times."

Thomas discussed the tense situation with his Ineos teammate Laurens De Plus in a clip shared by Eurosport after the race - which was won by Tadej Pogačar - and said he knew little about the reasoning behind the move.

"I don’t actually know what has gone on," Thomas said. "It’s obviously a really c**p situation. He’s not happy, the team’s not happy. How has it got to this point? I don’t know."

"People around Tom I don’t think help," he added. "It's the fact he had a great chance of performing today. I saw that Zak said it’s a management call, it’s not a performance call. So I certainly don’t know anything about that… It’s just not good is it? All the bulls**t aside, he’s a great talent."

Ineos Grenadiers have largely remained silent since the news of Pidcock’s deselection broke. Cycling Weekly reached out to the team for a comment.

DS Zak Dempster spoke to Cyclingnews before Lombardia to discuss the situation, acknowledging that the decision looked "strange" and confirmed that it was a call from the management and not a performance-based decision. Just a few days previously Pidcock finished second to Pogačar at the Giro dell’Emilia.

"I mean, these are Tom's words. Obviously, I'm not stupid - it does look strange, but, the reality is that the team has the right to select the team they feel fits it," Dempster said.

"That's all the information I have at the moment. it was a management decision on the final team, that's their right and here we are without Tom.

"We have a process in place where we have a long list of riders and then those final seven names that go on the list - it can be a performance decision, and in this case, it was a management decision."

There has been speculation surrounding Pidcock's long term future throughout the summer. He has been heavily linked with a move away from the team and this has been amplified in the wake of his social media comments.

It was reported recently that Q36.5 Pro Cycling are one of the teams chasing the Brit’s signature. Journalist Daniel Benson has since reported that several WorldTour teams, including Visma-Lease a Bike, are also interested in Pidcock.

On the eve of this year’s Tour de France, the 25-year-old told Cycling Weekly that he believed the team would be "better" without Steve Cummings, the team’s director of racing, at the French Grand Tour. At the Olympics, Pidcock said that transfer speculation surrounding his future at Ineos Grenadiers had left him mentally "frazzled". This came after he had successfully defended his mountain bike gold.

Steve Cummings appeared set to make a return to working as a directeur sportif (DS) on the ground for Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour of Britain Men this week, but was replaced just before the race began, by Tom Pidcock’s coach, Kurt Bogaerts. 

Cummings has not been physically present at races for the team since he was seen at the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June. Despite being promoted to director of racing in December last year, he was also left out of the team’s on the ground race management group for all three Grand Tours this year, including the Tour de France. 

Cummings was listed as DS for the Tour of Britain on the initial start list, but was removed on Monday. He was also listed as DS for August's Deutschland Tour, but he was later removed.

At the Tour of Britain Men, Cummings has been replaced by fellow Ineos DS, and Tom Pidcock’s personal coach, Kurt Bogaerts. The Belgian former pro is working alongside Ian Stannard as one of the team’s sports directors this week. 

Tom Pidcock’s presence in the Ineos Grenadiers team selection has made the British registered squad one of the two favourites for overall victory at the six day stage race. Pidcock’s tense relationship with Cummings was notable in the second series of the Tour de France:Unchained documentary on Netflix. 

Pidcock was present at the Tour in July, and suggested that he felt Cummings surprise absence from the team would have no negative impact on their strategy for the race. 

"I don’t think it’ll have an impact," Pidcock said. "Things change, it’s not really for me to comment."

During the Tour, Ineos insisted that Cummings was supporting the team’s DS group remotely. 

"Steve’s still working on the Tour, he’s just not at the Tour," team CEO John Allert said at the time. "He’s feeding stuff in, he’s part of a team, we’ve got a team of coaches and DSs and he’s obviously an important part of that."

However, the team’s lead sports director on the ground, Zak Dempster, said that he felt it would it would be challenging for the former pro to be involved in decisions remotely. 

"I think that’s impossible," Dempster said. "For the moment I am the lead DS here and it’ll be me managing the race on behalf of the performance team."

Speaking after the first stage of the Tour of Britain in Kelso, Ian Stannard told journalist Daniel Benson’s Substack page that Cummings was supporting remotely once again. 

Stannard also suggested that the Ineos DS group had continued to undergo major overhaul which has inadvertently meant that Cummings role on the team is changing. 

"A provisional start list changes all the time, just like the riders," Stannard said. "Steve’s supporting from home."

"He’s the director of racing, he’s sorting stuff out for the team," Stannard added. "He’s working on the race programme for next year, the signings, the planning and stuff like that."

Steve Cummings, Ineos Grenadiers' director of racing, will not be present at the Vuelta a España, the final men’s Grand Tour of the year. 

While Ineos say that he was never supposed to be at the Vuelta, Cummings’ absence on the ground for the race, which starts in Portugal on Saturday, means that he has now been left out of the team’s in-person race management group for all three Grand Tours during the 2024 season after he was not directly involved with the Giro d’Italia or Tour de France. 

The 43-year-old was promoted to director of racing ahead of the 2024 season, after a shakeup of the team's management kickstarted by Rod Ellingworth's departure.

In 2023, Cummings was present at both the Tour and the Vuelta. In the former, Carlos Rodríguez was their highest finisher in fifth overall and the team won two stages, while in the latter the team failed to have an impact on general classification, but finished top-five on five different stages.

While it has not yet been officially confirmed, Cycling Weekly understands that Christian Knees will head up the British-registered team’s Vuelta DS pool. It is also understood that Cummings was supposed to return to on-the-ground DS work at the Deutschland Tour, which takes place from 21-24 August, but his programme is unknown.

Ineos Grenadiers will be spearheaded at the race by Rodríguez and Thymen Arensman, who will both be aiming for the podium at least, with Josh Tarling riding a Grand Tour for the first time. 

When Cummings was not taken to the Tour, the team insisted that he was working on the race from home, while Zak Dempster was the lead directeur sportif on the road. 

Viewers of the recent Tour de France: Unchained Netflix series spotted tension between Cummings and star rider Tom Pidcock when discussing rider leadership duties at last year's race, which led to speculation about their relationship. Neither will be at the Vuelta.

Pidcock told Cycling Weekly at the Tour team presentation that he felt Cummings absence would have a negligible impact on the team.  "I don’t think it’ll have an impact," Pidcock said. "Things change, it’s not really for me to comment."

Ineos eventually finished the race without a stage win for the first time since 2014, with their main general classification hope, Rodríguez, finishing in seventh, 25 minutes down on the eventual winner, Tadej Pogačar. 

Tom Pidcock has said that Ineos Grenadiers will be "better" without the team’s director of racing, Steve Cummings, at this year’s Tour de France, after he was surprisingly left at home. 

Despite Cummings' senior role in the team he has not travelled to the Grand Départ in Florence. Instead, Zak Dempster will be the British team's lead DS, supported by second DS Xavier Zandio Echaide.

Cummings' absence has come as a shock after he was instrumental in assembling the eight-man Ineos squad and race strategy. 

A spokesperson for Ineos Grenadiers confirmed to Cycling Weekly that Cummings would be "supporting Zak and the team remotely" once the three-week Grand Tour begins on Saturday.  

Pidcock told Cycling Weekly at the race's team presentation on Thursday evening that he felt Cummings absence would have no effect on the team.  "I don’t think it’ll have an impact," Pidcock said. "Things change, it’s not really for me to comment."

He then went on to say that the team would be "better" without the former British champion, when asked if he thought things would be the same.

Viewers of the recent Tour de France: Unchained Netflix series spotted tension between the pair when discussing rider leadership duties at last year's race.

On Wednesday, Pidcock joked about the "bad guy" portrayal of him in the series, dismissing it as "drama." 

Cycling Weekly understands from sources close to the team that the depiction of the relationship by the Netflix cameras did have some degree of accuracy. Sources also suggested that Pidcock has a big say in major decision making on the team.

John Allert, the team's CEO, said that there was "nothing to add" to the story and that he would not be drawn on the reasons behind Cummings' absence. He repeated the team's line that the DS will be supporting the squad remotely during the race. 

"Steve’s still working on the Tour, he’s just not at the Tour," the Australian said. "He’s feeding stuff in, he’s part of a team, we’ve got a team of coaches and DSs and he’s obviously an important part of that."

However, Dempster said that he felt it would be difficult for the former Tour stage winner to play a big part in decisions from afar. 

"I think that’s impossible," Dempster said. "For the moment I am the lead DS here and it’ll be me managing the race on behalf of the performance team. But for sure, he will have an input and he’s done a really good job building this journey so far and we go on with it."

Dempster went on to say that he had found out he would lead the team more than "a couple of weeks ago", but other reports have suggested that the decision was in fact only taken less than a week before the Tour began.

Chased by Pandas, Dan Martin’s autobiography of his career in professional cycling, has been nominated for the cycling book of the year prize as part of the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards. The Irishman’s book is one of half a dozen that are up for the award, the winner of which will be revealed in a ceremony held at The Oval cricket ground in London on 24 May.

‘Really happy to have made this shortlist. #chasedbypandas tried to bring something different to cycling books. Hope any of you who have read it enjoyed my take,’ Martin said on Twitter following news of his nomination.

The Irishman faces strong competition for the prestigious prize, notably from Beryl, Jeremy Wilson’s biography of Beryl Burton, which won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize last December. Alyson Rudd, the chair of the judging panel for that award, said of Wilson’s book: ‘Too few biographies focus on sports women, but this book helps to alter the balance. It is quite simply a tour de force and leaves the reader emotionally drained but also uplifted. Beryl deserved for her story to be told in style and Jeremy Wilson achieves that while also charting the more controversial elements of her extraordinary life.’

The four other books on the list are: The Break, Ineos team director Steve Cummings’ account of his 15-year racing career; Jan Ullrich, Daniel Friebe’s biography of the controversy-hit 1997 Tour de France champion; Two Wheels Good, Jody Rosen’s history and mystery of the bicycle; and Climbers, Peter Cossins’s exploration of the characteristics, feats and foibles of the sport’s kings and queens of the mountains.

Retired British pro Steve Cummings has Ineos Grenadiers as a sports director. 

Cummings, a two-time Tour de France stage winner, previously raced for the British WorldTour squad in 2010-11 and said he knew he wanted to rejoin the outfit. 

The 39-year-old left the peloton at the end of the 2019 season after seeing out his last few years with Dimension Data, but returned to Ineos at the start of the year as a sports director and coach.

Cummings told Cycling News:  “When I stopped racing I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I was on this journey of finding out and I was trying new things. I was trying TV and few other things and it just became more and more apparent that I loved cycling and that I missed the competition.” 

Cummings said he had been in conversation with former Ineos Grenadiers CEO Fran Millar, who left the team in 2020.

But team principal Sir Dave Brailsford then contacted Cummings to offer him a new role in the team, with Cummings helping to steer the team’s new aggressive and instinctive approach to racing. 

He said: “At times maybe the style of racing was robotic so it’s about being a bit less predictable so part of my role is to work with the group, to understand and figure out how we can make any adjustments or add that dimension to the already existing things that the team do so well.”

Cummings rode in the pro peloton for 15 seasons, picking up 17 career wins including two Tour stages, the overall at the 2016 Tour of Britain, and the British National Championships double in 2017. 

He is also a veteran of the biggest races in cycling, riding 13 Grand Tours and 25 Monuments during his career.

>>> Chris Froome says he’s ‘not 100 per cent sold on disc brakes’ as he reviews his new bike 

Cummings said: “I’m looking forward to getting back into the action and working with the riders and staff. It’s the start of a new journey. If you look at the team and you’re talking about selection, it’s definitely a team blessed with unbelievable talent. There’s a strong British contingent coming through with Ethan [Hayter] and Tom [Pidcock].

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) was not ready to retire just yet, but does so smiling with the superb run that included an Olympic silver medal and two Tour de France stage wins.

The Briton had tried to continue, but without any offers, agrees that the time was right for him to stop a 15-year career.

"The teams were not interested, maybe they were worried about a 38-year-old and his form sliding away, which it inevitably does. But I would have gone until I was 60 years old!" Cummings told Cycling Weekly.

>>> Eight highlights from Steve Cummings' career

He stopped for a moment on the road to visit Monaco and Geraint Thomas (Ineos). With Thomas he raced several years, including at Barloworld and Team Sky. Likewise he raced with Bradley Wiggins, including on the track to win the 2004 Athens Games silver medal in the team pursuit with Paul Manning and Chris Newton.

Cummings also won two stages of the Tour de France with his first in 2015 while riding with MTN-Qhubeka, going solo in Mende in their white and black jersey. The victory was huge for him and for the South African team, coming on Nelson Mandela Day in their first Tour de France.

He reached his zenith in those years after years tinkering and learning while working and leading in some of the top teams, from Discovery to Barloworld, Sky to BMC Racing.

"Those were the best years, 2015, 2016 and 2017," Cummings continued. "I felt great. I began the 2016 Tour thinking I'd win a stage."

That 2016 season saw Cummings winning a stage in the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Critérium du Dauphiné. And he closed the season with the Tour of Britain overall victory.

When he wasn't winning, he was sitting at the back of the peloton. That was OK, though, because keen followers knew that if Cummings was at the back, then everything was going well.

"They would criticise me some times, 'Why are you at the back?' In cycling, you always have the directors saying, 'Go to the front, ride at the front.' Sometimes, though, I think about what is best, whether it makes sense or not," he said.

"If a team has the strongest rider in the race, they keep in him the front, and inevitably, he's out of trouble and will win the race, but when you're hunting a stage and not going for the GC, then it's not obligatory that you ride at the front all day because that comes at a cost," Cummings explained.

"Sometimes, it's better to relax a little bit and make sure you are in the front fighting to be in the breakaway when when it's your day. When your purpose is stage victory, you take your day, because you can't win every stage."

Cummings's career spanned Bradley Wiggins to Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick-Step). When he heard the names Remco and Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus), he had a laugh.

"They are impressive. I'm glad I got a chance to ride alongside Remco and see him in action," he continued.

"My career, I don't have regrets. You always look back and think about what you did wrong, but that was part of the process. And it all came together for me too, I can be proud."

Age and a crash at the Tour of Britain this September (which resulted in fractured vertebrae), forced Cummings to a stop. He said his agent was speaking with Dimension Data and other teams for 2020 options, but the "offers dried up."

Now, he continues his road trip to touch base with some of his friends and colleagues, and try to discover what will be the next chapter in his life.

"I just want to find something, the right mix," he added, "where I can earn enough money and have time to live life, too."

Steve Cummings has announced his retirement from the professional peloton at the age of 38.

The British rider said he felt physically ready to continue his career and was “happy to continue, but also happy to stop” after struggling to find a new team at WorldTour or Pro Continental level, with Dimension Data (soon to be Team NTT) deciding not to renew his contract for what would have been a fifth year with the team.

>>> British pro hospitalised after collision with van

Cummings said he was grateful just to have "lived his dream" since his career began in the early 2000s. Here are seven highlights from his two decades of racing.

Takes silver in the team pursuit at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

After achieving a time of a time of 3:59.866 in the heats, Cummings and a fresh-faced Bradley Wiggins took silver in the team pursuit at the Athens Games in 2004.

Clinches the rainbow bands in the team pursuit at the 2005 Track World Championships

Cummings improved on his silver with a gold in the team pursuit a year later at the World Track Championships in Los Angeles.

Cummings takes gold at the Commonwealth Games 2006

Alongside Paul Manning, Chris Newton and Rob Hayles, Cummings took gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. He also came close to winning the individual pursuit, eventually taking the bronze medal.

Wins his first Grand Tour stage at the 2012 Vuelta a España

After two years at Sky, his first WorldTour team, Cummings moved to BMC in 2012 and took his first Grand Tour stage victory in his debut Vuelta a España, beating Cameron Meyer and Juan Antonio Flecha.

Blows away Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet in emphatic Tour de France stage victory

One of the most memorable Tour de France moments in recent years, at least for British fans. Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet began playing cat and mouse as they thought they were closing in on a French victory at their home Grand Tour. Next, a black and white object came zooming past the pair and the tv moto and was gone up the road ahead before they knew it and they wouldn't be able to catch him.

On return to WorldTour with Dimension Data, Cummings takes the eighth and final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné 2016

Cummings stepped down to Pro-Continental level in 2015 after he left BMC to join MTN-Qhubeka, and Dimension Data took over as sponsors for 2016 and team regained their WorldTour status. After a stage victory at Tirreno-Adriatico earlier that year, Cummings followed up with another win on the final stage of the 2016 Dauphiné.

Doubles up Tour de France victories with solo breakaway

The following year Cummings wanted a more comfortable victory than just a few seconds. After a solo breakaway he had time to soak in the adulation of the crowds in the final kilometre as he finished more than a minute ahead of Daryl Impey on stage seven.

Cummings wins the overall at the 2016 Tour of Britain

The culmination of a dream 12 months for the Wirral rider. To go along with his smash-and-grab stage victories in the WorldTour, Cummings took the overall victory to be the second British winner after Bradley Wiggins in 2013 since the British stage race became the Tour of Britain in 2004.

Cummings completes stunning British nationals double with solo victory in road race

In 2017, Cummings then became the first rider since 2007 to win the British road race and time trial title in the same year with a stunning road race victory on the Isle of Man.

Steve Cummings has confirmed his retirement from professional cycling at the age of 38.

The British rider told Ned Boulting in his podcast that he has chosen to call time on his career. The former national road and time trial champion said he felt physically ready to continue riding but just couldn't find an opportunity with a team after being dropped by Dimension Data (now NTT) at the end of this season.

Cummings said he was "happy to continue, but also happy to stop" after struggling to find a new team at WorldTour or Pro Continental level. He added he was grateful just to have "lived his dream" since his career began on the track in the early 2000s.

A three-time Grand Tour stage winner, Cummings blossomed in the latter part of his career, winning two stages at the Tour de France in 2015 and 2016, having previously won a stage of the Vuelta a España in 2012.

Other major victories include an overall win at the Tour of Britain in 2016, as well as stages in prestigious week-long races, the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tirreno-Adriatico. He also took a remarkable double at the British Road National Championships in 2017, becoming road and time trial champion in the Isle of Man.

Prior to transitioning to full-time on the road in 2005, Cummings enjoyed a successful track career, winning multiple medals in the team and individual pursuit, including a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, a World title in 2005 and a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2006.

Having tasted road cycling's top level in the ProTour with Discovery Channel in 2007, Cummings moved from Pro Conti team Barloworld to the WorldTour in 2010 with Sky Procycling. He stayed with Sky for two years before moving to BMC Racing, where he stayed for the next three years.

Cummings' most successful period on the road came after joining MTN-Qhubeka in 2015, staying with the team until the end of this year after their change to Team Dimension Data in 2016.

His final season was far from his best as he struggled to make an impact in the first part of the season, before crashing at the Tour of the Basque Country in April and suffering a collarbone break.

He was then surprisingly included in the Dimension Data Tour de France squad in July, before going on to race the Arctic Race of Norway and then the Tour of Britain. Cummings' final season was cut short however with a crash on stage five of the race; his home stage to and from Birkenhead. He suffered multiple fractured vertebrae in the incident and missed the remaining races of the year as he recovered.

Steve Cummings has been forced to end his season early after a nasty injury suffered at the Tour of Britain.

The Dimension Data rider spent a number of days in hospital after he fell with 50km of racing left on stage five to Birkenhead.

Cummings, 38, has now been discharged from hospital, but his team have confirmed he will not race again this year after fracturing four vertebrae in the fall.

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The Brit, who won the Tour of Britain overall in 2016, will not need surgery and his team said there is no further neurological damage.

A statement from Dimension Data, released on Tuesday (September 17), said: “Following his crash during stage five of the Tour of Britain, Steve Cummings has been discharged from hospital.

“He underwent thorough diagnostics at the neurosurgical department in Liverpool and was found to have fractured four vertebrae of the thoracic spine. Luckily no further neurological damage occurred and an operation is not necessary.

“Under conservative treatment he now needs to fully recover and will not be able to participate in any further races until the end of the season."

The team added: “We would like to extend our gratitude for all the messages of support we’ve received for Steve and wish him a speedy recovery.”

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Cummings, whose contract with Dimension Data comes to an end this year, has already spent time off the bike after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash on stage three of the Tour of the Basque Country.

He also DNF’d the Tour of Norway and the Critérium du Dauphiné, but managed to finish the Tour de France and then returned to form at the Artic Race of Norway last month where he narrowly missed out on stage one victory.

Steve Cummings returned to racing, after breaking his collarbone in a crash during the Tour of the Basque Country, with a win in a Manchester & District time trial.

The Dimension Data rider won by over two minutes, racing for Birkenhead North End CC, posting a time of 50-21 on the 25-mile circuit.

In second place was Joseph Dobson, coming off a win in the Birkenhead North End 22 last month, riding for Manchester Bicycle Club, who finished 2-35 down on Cummings.

In the women's event, Deborah Moss (Team Merlin) took a convincing win, finishing in 1-40, five minutes faster than the next quickest time.

Cummings has raced local time trials on his road to recovery before. After fracturing two vertebrae at the 2017 Tour de France he went on to win the Birkenhead North End CC five mile club time trial by 30 seconds a month later.

The 38-year-old had abandoned on stage three of the Tour of the Basque Country 2019, in a crash that also claimed Jonathan Castroviejo (Team Ineos), who fractured his vertebra, wist, collarbone and a rib.

This latest crash came on the back of a self-described "terrible" 2018 season for the Brit, with a change to his usual programme leading to breathing issues that needed to be resolved by a specialist.

Cummings has previously won two stages of the Tour de France, in 2015 and 2016, as well as a stage of the Vuelta a Espana in 2012.

In 2017 he also won both the British national road race and time trial championships, denying Alex Dowsett a sixth victory after Cummings took the win on the Isle of Man by just eight seconds on the 44.4km course.

British rider Steve Cummings puts his "terrible" 2018 season down to multiple factors including a change in his race programme at Team Dimension Data.

Cummings, who currently has a chest cold, is starting the Vuelta a España in Málaga on Saturday with the team after a tough year. The goal is to help Louis Meintjes win the race overall.

"It's been a s**t year. A terrible year," Cummings told Cycling Weekly by telephone from the south of Spain in Andalusia.

>>> Vuelta a España 2018 start list: Nibali, Sagan, Porte, Quintana among starters

"There's no use of sugar coating it. I'm not being negative, but I've not been near my potential. It's sad for me and sad for the team."

Cummings won stages of the Tour de France in 2015 and 2016 and both the British national road race and time trial titles in 2017. He knows the highs and can recognise the lows, but says a 2018 race programme that saw him miss Tirreno-Adriatico and take part in other races like the Tour de Romandie did not suit him.

"They wanted to take a risk with a race programme that didn't work. That's been the main reason. There's more intricacies than that but... If you have been training for one way for many years and then you start changing...

"I thought we had a good recipe that was working well. I didn't want to change. Even now at the Vuelta. If you asked me at the start of the year the races I wanted to do, the Vuelta wasn't on my list.

"I am happy to be here but it's just like the whole season has been like that. The only time I really was going well was July then they didn't select me for the Tour de France. I didn't understand that."

The 37-year-old has coped remarkably well considering the change in programmes and setbacks. Recently, he just recovered from a fractured fibula head in his left leg suffered in the Tour of Austria.

"Normally, I start with one race before Tirreno-Adriatico. Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo, País Vasco. I wanted to do the Giro this year because of the extra week ahead of the Tour. I would've asked to do the Giro, that was the only difference," continued Cummings.

"It's about races that suit me and then timings between races to have time to work in the best way I can. Some guys work best under load. I've understood what's best for me, the blue print, then to change it and do other stuff just didn't make sense."

The change in programme led to breathing issues that needed to be resolved by a specialist. In certain parts of central Europe, Cummings has always suffered in his career. As a result, he always tailored his race programme to avoid those areas.

"I did Romandie for the first time this year. I had a massive breathing problems, it affected me in the Dauphiné, but with a specialist he fixed it," he added. "But then if I didn't go to Romandie, I probably won't have that problem at all, but I'm just doing what's best for the team."

Dimension Data was hit with a number of injuries in the team this year, including Mark Cavendish suffering several setbacks. As a result, the team needed to shift its healthy riders around and fill race rosters. And it needed WorldTour points.

"I'm a rider who needs a lot of work, objective driven, but if I'm not working properly then I'm not going to get the best out of myself," Cummings said.

"The secret for the last few years has been hard work and consistency, good planning, but if you take good planning away it's more difficult to find consistence and train properly because it's not clear what you are preparing for.

"I'm not a big risk taker, I ride at the back. I take calculated risks because I have to. But if something's not broken then there's no need to fix it."

Cummings has won stages in both the Tour and the Vuelta in his career. His goal is to get through the Vuelta with Meintjes, perhaps win a stage, and "decompress" after 2018.

In 2019, a Giro stage victory in his adopted home country of Italy is his "big objective." He added, "but for sure, I need to go back to following a proper plan."

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) gave a glimpse of what the Great Britain team might have had in the World Championships road race, as he won the opening stage of the Giro della Toscana in Italy.

Double national champion Cummings was initially selected to compete in the time trial at the World Championships rather than the road race, withdrawing himself from the team altogether as he had been training specifically for the latter event.

Taking place in his first race since the team was announced two weeks ago, the Dimension Data rider won the first stage of the Giro della Toscana from a breakaway.

Cummings attacked the peloton with 25km remaining alongside Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Frederick Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), and soon-to-be Team Sky rider Egan Bernal (Androni-Sidermec).

That foursome steadily built a lead over the chasing peloton, with the sprinter's teams trying to set up a bunch sprint, taking an advantage of just under a minute into the final 7.7km lap around the town of Pontedera.

After co-operating well to maintain their lead, Cummings then out-sprinted Bernal on the flat finish,with Backaert completing the podium.

Nibali rolled in fourth, with the Italian's Bahrain-Merida team-mate Sonny Colbrelli winning the bunch sprint from the peloton at 12 seconds.

Results

Giro della Toscana, stage one: Pontedera to Pontedera (181.8km)

1. Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, in 4-21-39

2. Egan Bernal (Col) Androni-Sidermec

3. Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert

4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, all at same time

5. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 12 secs

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

7. Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates

8. Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Team Fortuneo-Oscaro

9. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli

10. Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, in 4-21-39

2. Egan Bernal (Col) Androni-Sidermec

3. Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert

4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, all at same time

5. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida, at 12 secs

6. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

7. Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates

8. Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Team Fortuneo-Oscaro

9. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli

10. Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini, all at same time

Steve Cummings has withdrawn from the Road World Championships after being given insufficient time to prepare for the individual time trial, which takes place on Wednesday, 20 September, and not being selected for the road race, which takes place four days later.

In a statement issued through British Cycling, the British time trial champion explained how he had been caught off guard by being selected for the individual time trial event rather than the road race, the event around which he had been focussing his training.

>>> Chris Froome and Lizzie Deignan head up confirmed Great Britain World Championships team

"On 15 August I was told I would be reserve for the time trial so I decided to focus on one day races such as the Worlds, the Canada GPs and some Italian race," Cummings said.

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"I was surprised to learn eight days before the Worlds I had been selected for the time trial. I can't prepare for the time trial event in eight days from what I'm coming off. So I don't feel I can do myself justice and would prefer to concentrate on other goals for my team."

Watch: UCI Road World Championships essential guide

The Dimension Data rider, who won both the time trial and the road race at the National Championships in June, said that with the training he had been doing to prepare for the road race, who would not be able to perform to a necessary standard in the time trial.

"For me to do a proper job it takes specific training in order to produce a good time trial performance and I haven't been training on my time trial bike as I was concentrating on the road race. Given that I won't be able to give my best, it would be appropriate to give the opportunity to another rider.

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"I'm a little surprised and disappointed with not making the Worlds road race team.  But I have to respect the selection process, and wish all the lads well. I will focus on the remaining Italian races for my team."

Cummings's withdrawal means that Chris Froome will now be joined by Tao Geoghegan Hart in the individual time trial, which British Cycling performance director Stephen Park described as "an opportunity he will relish".

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) is set to make his WorldTour racing return at the Grand Prix de Québec on Friday, where he will be given a 'free role' by his team.

The British road and time trial national champion has endured an enforced lay-off from racing in August after discovering he had fractured two vertebrae as a result of crashing in the Tour de France in July.

>>> Steve Cummings turns up to local time trial and smashes it on his road bike

The injury meant that the 36-year-old could not defend his Tour of Britain title, and instead will contest the pair of Canadian WorldTour races this weekend – Friday's GP de Québec and Sunday's GP de Montréal.

Announcing Dimension Data's roster for the races, the sports director Oli Cookson commented on Cummings's role: "He’s a rider you can never underestimate but the other riders also know that by now. He will have a free role but we will have to wait and see how he feels after coming back."

Cummings had made a success of late attacks during races, utilising his time trial ability to solo to the line.

Although his 2017 season has been hampered by injury, last season he took four memorable stage wins in the Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour of the Basque Country, as well as his overall win in the Tour of Britain.

>>> Steve Cummings reveals he fractured two vertebrae during Tour de France

Joining Cummings in Dimension Data's roster in Canada are Tyler Farrar, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Nathan Haas, Kristian Sbaragli, Jaco Venter, Ben O'Connor and Natnael Berhane.

They will face a list of starters that includes world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).

"Both of these races are like World Championships races," said Cookson. "They wear you down and there is only so much you can plan. It all comes down to who has got the legs at the end.

"Last year, we proved that we can get close to the podium with Nathan and that’s going to be the general objective again this year. We have great riders like Kristian and Reinie who can be there in the final to help Nathan."

Double British national champion Steve Cummings will continue to ride for Dimension Data after signing a new contract with the South African team

Cummings, who has been a member of the squad since joining from BMC Racing in 2015, spoke of his enjoyment of riding for the team where he has won two Tour de France stages as well as the general classification of the Tour of Britain during the last three years.

"I’ve spent three of my best years with this team. I love the whole project and the way it has progressed and continues to progress. I’m super happy, grateful, honoured and proud to be part of this amazing team and project," Cummings said.

"There is a real pathway for all aspiring African riders from Qhubeka to U23 to World Tour level. I want to continue to help the team grow and I look forward to hunting my own opportunities."

>>> Steve Cummings turns up to local time trialand smashes it on his road bike

The team has also announced that four of its South African riders, Jay Thomson, Jaco Venter, Johann van Zyl and Jacques Janse van Rensburg, have also signed new contracts, with compatriot Louis Meintjes rejoining the team after two years at Lampre-Merida/UAE Team Emirates.

"It is really exciting to be able to renew the contracts of these riders who in different ways have added so much to this team’s culture and purpose both on the bike in the races and off the bike with staff, partners and fans," said team principal Douglas Ryder.

"This team has grown over the years thanks to the fantastic people in it who continue to challenge and push themselves, who get up every day willing and wanting to improve and do more. Thank you, Jay, Jaco, Johann, Jacques and Steve, onwards and upwards we go."

He may be recovering from fracturing two vertebrae at the Tour de France, but that didn't stop Steve Cummings rocking up at his local club time trial last night.

Going back to his roots, Cummings showed up to the Birkenhead North End CC club time trial, the club he rode for as a junior, on Tuesday evening, resplendent in his British champion's jersey for the five mile event.

>>> Watch: Dr Hutch meets... Steve Cummings (video)

Unsurprisingly, Cummings managed to win the event, and by a pretty decent margin as well (particularly over such a short distance).

The final rider to roll out of the lay-by on the B5151 just outside Willaston, Cummings - riding his road bike complete with saddle bag and 750ml water bottle - set a time of 10 minutes dead, beating Liam Cottrell of Total Tri Training into second place by 30 seconds.

From the number of photos posted to Facebook and Instagram by other riders at the event, Cummings then seems to have spent significantly more time posing for photos than he did out on the road.

>>> Cycling time trials: how to get into time trialling

Cummings is far from the only British pro to spend time back at his roots, with Alex Dowsett also a regular at his local 10 mile time trials at Maldon and District CC.

Bradley Wiggins also caused a stir last year when the former time trial world champion rocked up to a Tuesday evening 10 on the D10/1, clocking a 19-15 to win the event by 39 seconds.

Having fractured vertebrae at the Tour, it's unclear whether Cummings will be racing again this season, but could return to attempt to defend his Tour of Britain title in September.

Since his maiden Tour de France stage victory in 2015, Steve Cummings professional trajectory has been on the up.

With two stage victories in the Tour de France (2015 and 2016), a Tour of Britain overall win in 2016 and now the British National Championship double, Cummings has started to light up races.

Dr Hutch travels to his Tuscan home to sit down and talk about his career while looking round the Dimension Data man's house.

With garage full of bikes including his indoor time trial bike that Cummings found himself plastered on after a serious injury earlier in 2017.

Trophies and race memorabilia fill other rooms as Hutch delves into the Merseysider's racing past as they discuss his time on the track and with Team Sky, BMC and Dimension Data.

Cummings gives an insight into his aggressive racing and fighter mentality when it comes to bike racing. A tour of his garden and his favourite garden gnome later paint another picture of the Brit entirely.

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) has revealed that he finished the 2017 Tour de France with two fractured vertebrae.

Answering a query on Twitter regarding his non-selection for the Vuelta a España later in August, the 36-year-old British road race and time trial champion said that he had fractured the L1 and L2 vertebrae in his lower back.

"Heat or steep climbs don't concern me, it's part of cycling. The problem is, I fractured L1 and L2 vertebrae in the tour. I had to rest." said Cummings in reply to Twitter user Mark Gray who had suggested that Cummings "doesn't need 30 per cent climbs and blistering heat".

Cummings suffered a heavy fall on stage 17 of the Tour, when he was forced off the road, into a ditch and flipped head-over-heels into a field. He remounted and carried on, evidently unaware of the extent of his injury.

German sprinter Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) abandoned the race after the same crash while in the green jersey.

Cummings told Cycling Weekly after the race that he had struggled with a sore back after the crash, and that it had worsened in the penultimate stage's time trial.

>>> Dan Martin finished Tour de France with fractured spine, scans reveal

"I think my form is quite good, the last few days I have suffered a lot with my back after the crash," he said after the time trial stage. "I was really sore and it was exaggerated with the time trial. I raced good in the Pyrenees, I was close [to winning a stage].”

Cummings's injury and the fact that he finished the Tour with vertebral fractures matches that of Irishman Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors), who also found out after the race that he had fractured two vertebrae in his lower back after a crash on stage nine.

Cummings was scheduled to defend his Tour of Britain title in September, but may now have to assess the progress of his recovery.

Steve Cummings has admitted that he has been “disappointed” by his 2017 Tour de France results.

The British road and time trial champion came to the Tour hoping to win a stage for the third successive year.

But the Dimension Data rider was unable to do so, with a combination of there being few stages suited for breakaway victories, as well as coming back from injury stacking up against the Wirral man.

The 36-year-old, however, has put his frustrations into perspective, aware that prior to the Tour he had only ridden one road race since a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April resulted in a fractured collarbone, scapula and sternum.

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"I did my best, I always tried. I'm disappointed but after some weeks I'll probably feel better," he said after completing the 22.5km time trial in Marseille. "I wanted to reach August and know that I had done everything I could and I have. Every day I have tried.

"But there's only been two breakaway stages this year. The last few days I haven't felt like I have had the edge. I'm a little bit rusty in a race, too. When you're in a race, you see who is moving well and who isn't, and I haven't been able to see that. Maybe that's a bit of it as well.

"We have to realise that I only started riding my bike back on the road on May 28. I did an hour and couldn't bend my arm, so I have to be realistic. I think my form is quite good, the last few days I have suffered a lot with my back after the crash. I was really sore and it was exaggerated with the time trial. I race good in the Pyrenees, I was close."

>>> Why is it so difficult to form a successful breakaway at the Tour de France? Riders explain

Given his performances over the past few years, Cummings was heavily tipped to win stages that appeared to suit a breakaway victor. He said that "the pressure doesn't bother me" but wanted onlookers to appreciate the complexities and difficulties in winning a Tour stage.

"Winning Tour stages you need to be very strong," he said. "You don't win Tour stages by luck. Ultimately, you have to be super strong to even have a chance of winning.

"Edvald [Boasson Hagen] won yesterday and it's been six years since he last won which is incredible, but that shows you what it takes to win a Tour stage."

Cummings also confirmed that he would be defending his Tour of Britain title in September.

Marcel Kittel could be in trouble after a big crash early on in Stage 17! He's a long way back - Watch on @ITV4 pic.twitter.com/TCaAl0ybRh

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2017

Marcel Kittel's position in the green jersey of points classification leader suffered a setback at the start of stage 17 of the 2017 Tour de France after the German was involved in a crash.

Kittel was one of a number of riders felled in the incident at the back of the peloton after just 20km, which also took down British rider Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) and mountains classification leader Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb).

Kittel suffered scuff and cuts to his right shoulder in the fall, and was left to make his own way back up to the peloton after the incident. Immediately after the crash, his green jersey rival and the previous day's stage winner Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) was part of a large 30+ rider escape group.

Television pictures showed that Cummings suffered a rip across the back of his shorts, revealed quite a bit of his lower physique. He later had the rip tidied up with some safety pins.

All riders remounted and got back into the race.

The incident served to shake up the peloton early in the high mountains stage which features four classified climbs, including the category one Col du Télégraphe, and hors categorie Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Galibier.

A battle between the general classification contenders is expected, as well as a fight for both green jersey points and mountains points.

Update: Kittel subsequently abandoned the race at the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer.

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) said he felt in really good form on stage 12 of the Tour de France as he returned to what he knows best: chancing his luck in a breakaway that brought him within eight kilometres of his third Tour stage win.

At the finish of stage 12 in Peyragudes, holding the prize for the day’s most aggressive rider, Cummings said he felt proud of his effort and to be wearing the British national champion’s jersey in front of the peloton on what was the 50th anniversary of Tom Simpson’s death.

>>> Chris Froome loses yellow jersey to Fabio Aru as Romain Bardet wins Tour de France summit finish

The 36-year-old Dimension Data rider was part of a 12-rider break that went clear on the 214.5km stage from Pau to the summit finish in Peyragudes, with the Port de Balès and Col de Peyresourde both climbed in the final 30km of the day. However, despite dropping all his breakaway companions, he was eventually caught by a group of GC favourites with 8.5km to go to the finish line.

“I felt really good,” Cummings said. “Of course [I’ll try again another day].

“It’s nice to get out in front in the jersey, especially today with Tom Simpson and everything,” he continued. “I’m pretty proud of the effort, unfortunately there’s not much I can do if they chase behind, I can’t really control that.”

Watch: Tour de France stage 12 highlights

Before the Tour began Cummings spent almost three months out injured, after he crashed at the Tour of Basque Country and broke his collarbone, scapula and sternum. He faced a race against time to be fit for the Tour, but returned to competition in spectacular form the week before the Düsseldorf Grand Départ, winning both the road race and time trial at the British National Championships to confirm his selection.

Having spent much of the Tour’s opening week and a half at the back of the bunch – where he likes to position himself – Cummings confirmed he had marked stage 12 in his road book as one to target, despite saying he thought it might have been “too hard” for him.

>>> Five talking points from stage 12 of the Tour de France

“At the start I thought today was too hard for me to be honest, and it proved it was,” he continued. “In the Tour you can’t be so selective, you might say this is the day, this is the day and you might miss the break.

“Today I got in the break and once you’re there you commit to it. I think there was a chance to win at Port de Balès. It was a chance, so you go full for it until the moment you can’t do it.

“It’s not black and white, there’s grey. There are some stages you can say no I can’t do that, but there are ones like today where it’s a bit grey – maybe if I have a good day and the right combination you can do it.”

The breakaway group began to splinter and on the Port de Balès with 30km to go, with Lotto-Soudal’s Thomas de Gendt accelerating and upping the pace.

Despite initially being distanced by De Gendt, Cummings was the only rider who was able to follow him before he eventually dropped the Belgian and continued solo towards the line. However, he had a gap of just two minutes at the bottom of the Col de Peyresourde, which didn’t prove enough to keep the chasing GC riders at bay.

“The Col de Peyresourde is 12km and there’s no need to panic, and we had another climb after that. Just be calm and some days you’ve got good legs and some days you haven’t,” Cummings continued.

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“Some guys were attacking at the bottom of Port de Balès and where are you going to go at 600 watts, you can’t do that for half and hour.”

Having won stages from breakaways at the 2015 and 2016 Tours, it seems everyone has been waiting for the Wirral-born rider to do the same again this year. Indeed, when it was confirmed Cummings was among those in the breakaway, there was an expectation of what he could possibly do. Yet Cummings refuted the fact he has any extra pressure on his shoulders these days.

“The only pressure is to do my best, I don’t feel pressure," he said. "People look at me more but if you use your head and you're smart and you’re strong it doesn’t really matter."

Unsure of his form heading into the British National Championships last week, now double national champion Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) admits that he is now marking out Tour de France stages which he could target.

Prior to the winning the British time trial and road race titles, Cummings had not raced for 10 weeks after fracturing his sternum, scapula, and collarbone in a crash in the Tour of the Basque Country, and was understandably unsure of his form.

"I had two phases in my training and [at the Nationals] I’d just completed phase one and started phase two, and normally to get the full confidence I needed to have finished that phase," Cummings said at a pre-Tour press conference.

"I didn’t really have time so I knew I was coming into form but I also knew that I was missing that last little few per cent you need in a race."

>>> New British champion Steve Cummings asks Twitter whether he should go for white shorts

Despite apparently not being in top form at the National Championships, Cummings became the first rider to win the time trial and road race in the same year since David Millar in 2007.

He is now turning his attention to winning a stage of the Tour de France for the third year in succession, something which he didn't do in the build-up to the race as he had done in previous years.

Watch: Tour de France 2017 preview - stages one to nine

"I had a brief look at the route [while injured] but I wasn’t getting carried away because it was so much in the balance if I was coming to the Tour or not," the 36-year-old explained.

"Now I’m here I still haven’t had a chance to do it yet but I need to go through the roadbook and see which is a good stage for me

"You may think that’s not organised but you have to understand when you start the race where you are. I think I know where I am now so I can go through the book and put some crosses on good stages."

>>> Steve Cummings: British road race 'was the worst race I have ever done in my life'

However given his long recovery from injury, Cummings is still eager to reduce the pressure in himself, saying that he would not be disappointed if he came away from the Tour without a stage win, so long as he gave his best.

"I'd love to win a stage," he continued, "but you have to put in context where I've come from. My expectations are simple just to do my best, that’s it.

"Three weeks is a long time so if you do the right things and really concentrate through the race I hope I can build my condition better than what I started with and be on the same level I have been for the last few years."

Newly-crowned double British champion Steve Cummings has asked his Twitter followers whether he should opt for controversial white shorts to match his national champion's jersey, or go for a more subtle black option.

It may seem a trivial question on the back of a dominant show of force by Cummings in the time trial and road race championships on the Isle of Man – but it is one that always stirs up heated debate among cycling fans.

The 36-year-old Dimension Data rider posted a poll on Twitter on Sunday, asking his followers to vote for the colour of his shorts in the forthcoming season, simply saying 'So?' and with two possible answers.

Critics of white shorts brand them impractical and too flash; whereas black shorts are the more traditional option, not showing the grime of bike racing but perceived as a bit staid.

At time of writing, Cummings' poll had attracted well over 9,000 votes, with a convincing 84 per cent saying he should go for black.

>>> Steve Cummings: ‘That was the worst race I have ever done in my life’

Previous British national champion Adam Blythe was not so sure. Blythe opted for an all-white kit for his year in the national champ's colours and gave his opinion to Cummings in a Twitter reply: first saying "ALL WHITE Stevo!" and then "Does a bear s**t in the woods? Obvious answer."

Cummings' double win was a remarkable one – it was his return to racing after fracturing his collarbone, sternum and scapula at the Tour of the Basque Country in April.

It's the first time that a male rider has taken both titles since David Millar in 2007.

Although the result clearly signals that the enforced lay-off has done little to diminish his fitness and racing style, Cummings is waiting to see whether he gets a call-up for this year's Tour de France (July 1-23).

Last year, Cummings won stage seven of the Tour after a trademark solo attack to Lac de Payolle.

There is perhaps a more controversial question that has yet to be addressed by Cummings with respect to his new national champs' outfit: should he go for white or black socks?

After soloing to a sensational historic National Championships double in the Isle of Man, Steve Cummings described his road race victory as "the worst race I have ever done in my life".

The Dimension Data rider, 36, broke away from a lead group of six riders with 10km to go in Douglas and crossed the finish line at the grandstand by 40 seconds from Chris Lawless (Axeon-Hagens Berman) and Ian Bibby (JLT-Condor).

Following on from his time trial success on Thursday, he became only the second rider in British cycling history to win the double after David Millar in 2007, and this despite it being his first road race since he quit the Tour of the Basque Country on April 8 with a fractured collarbone, sternum and scapula.

>>> Who are all the new national champions?

His victory margin may have been sizeable, but the Merseysider found the two laps of the island's famed TT course and 10 laps in Douglas punishing. "It was proper horrible," was his assessment.

"The worst race I have ever done in my life. It was just stop-start... horrible. The one thing you miss when you haven't been racing is that kind of thing. It's difficult. It was really tough."

Cummings attacked on the final small ascent on the lumpy finishing circuit, and despite an attempted chase by his breakaway companions, he was able to ride on alone to complete the double.

>>> Lizzie Deignan explains how she won the national title for a fourth time in seven years

"It's cool, isn't it," he said of his two wins. "When I am on my own I just go full-on and if they come from behind, they come."

It is Cummings' first ever senior red, white and blue stripes - not bad considering he rarely competes with the road race coming so close ahead of the Tour de France.

"I don't normally come because normally I am 100 percent concentrated on the Tour de France," he said.

"It's nice to win so I will enjoy it now. You're in the spotlight with the jersey. We have had some really good national champions so I would like to do the jersey proud for everyone to show the jersey off."

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) became the first rider since 2007 to win the British road race and time trial title in the same year with a stunning road race victory on the Isle of Man.

Cummings, who beat Alex Dowsett (Movistar) to the time trial on Thursday, went clear in the final 10km of the 193.7km race, leaving Chris Lawless (Axeon-Hagens Berman) and Ian Bibby (JLT Condor) to complete the podium.

>>> Who are all the new national champions?

The Dimension Data rider had kept his powder dry for much of the race as attacks flew off the front on the opening 120km on the famous Mountain Course.

Cummings was then one of a number of riders to bridge across to an elite group which dominated the latter stages, including Ian Stannard and Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky), Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates), and Alex Dowsett (Movistar).

The leaders worked well to keep any more chasers at bay, before the attacks started in the final three 6.7km laps around the finish in Douglas.

>>> Lizzie DEignan wins her fourth British national road race title with late solo attack

Kennaugh, Swift, and Lawless all tried their luck, but it was only Cummings who was able to make a move stick, pulling clear with seven kilometres to go and extending his advantage all the way to the line.

While Cummings crossed the lines with his arms aloft to become the first rider since David Millar in 2007 to win the British road race and time trial titles in the same year, Lawless out-sprinted Bibby for second, while Kennaugh was the best of the rest in fourth.

How it happened

The first of two laps of the Mountain Course saw a large group of around 20 riders go clear including defending champion Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) and Alex Dowsett (Dimension Data).

They gained a maximum advantage of more than a minute, but with no Team Sky riders in the move it seemed likely that the break would be caught.

The break was caught near the start of the second 60km lap, and the next few kilometres saw a number of moves slip off the front and come straight back, before a sizeable group of around 25 riders was able to get away and open a gap of around a minute.

That group worked well together to the bottom of the climb up Snaefell Mountain when Ian Stannard (Team Sky) attacked, pulling Dowsett, Scott Davies (Team Wiggins), Chris Lawless (Axeon-Hagens Berman), Graham Briggs (JLT Condor), and James Shaw (Lotto Soudal) clear with him.

Those six riders led onto the shorter 6.7km circuit around Douglas, holding a lead of around 25 seconds over the chasers. They worked well together, but there were counter-attacks coming from behind, with Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky) bridging across with Ian Bibby (JLT Condor), before Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) joined a few kilometres later.

The gap between the leaders and the chasing group remained at around 30 seconds for a number of kilometres, allowing Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jon Dibben (Team Sky), Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data), and Tom Moses (JLT Condor) also coming across to further swell the front group.

With five laps to go a flurry of attacks from Kennaugh and Swift, with those two going clear with Bibby, Lawless and Cummings. Those five riders worked well for the next couple of laps, with Stannard engaged in a typically dogged solo chase behind.

At the start of the penultimate lap the cooperation broke down with Swift and Lawless attacking through the finish line. That briefly looked like a promising move, but was eventually closed down, giving the opportunity for Cummings to had a go on his own.

Cummings opened a lead of around 12 seconds over Lawless, Kennaugh, and Bibby with six kilometres to go. Over the next couple of kilometre Cummings showed exactly why he won the national time trial title three days ago, extending his lead out to 27 seconds.

With that lead there was no catching Cummings, who comfortably held on to the finish, while Lawless out-sprinted Bibby for second.

Results

British Road National Championships, men's road race: Douglas to Douglas (193.7km)

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, in 4-28-49

2. Chris Lawless (GBr) Axeon-Hagens Berman, at 40 secs (under-23 champion)

3. Ian Bibby (GBr) JLT Condor, at same time

4. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky, at 48 secs

5. Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, at 2-17

6. Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky, at 3-03

7. Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data, at 3-44

8. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky, at 4-43 (under-23 second place)

9. Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor, at 6-17

10. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar, at same time

An emotional Steve Cummings has said that his win in the British Time Trial Championships confirms the form he thought he had - and he is now hopeful that he will be selected in Dimension Data's Tour de France squad.

The 36-year-old beat defending champion Alex Dowsett (Movistar) by eight seconds in the Isle of Man on Thursday evening to secure his first senior national stripes.

Remarkably, it was Cummings's first race since he fractured his collarbone, sternum and scapula in a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April.

He was a late entrant to the time trial, with Dimension Data only insisting this week that they wanted to assess the Merseysider's form to see if he could ride a three-week Grand Tour on the back of a 10 week lay off.

>>> Steve Cummings edges out Alex Dowsett to win British National Time Trial Championships

After winning, Cummings went backstage on the podium to cry and then shed tear in a TV interview afterwards. The victory, after a frustrating few months, meant a lot, for it proved his condition is worthy of Tour selection.

"Today is the perfect confirmation of what I was seeing in training and feeling," he said. "I said in the morning that I would go full gas. I managed to go faster and I was probably better than what I thought. It's pretty cool to be national champ."

Cummings, who was joined by his Dimension Data DS Roger Hammond, told Cycling Weekly before the race that being picked for the Tour was dependent on his result in the time trial and Sunday's road race. Asked what he needed to do, he joked: "There's no pressure expect I have to win one of them! No, I have to do a good performance, that's crucial."

He is confident that he has done enough to earn a place in the South African outfit's nine-man roster where he is aiming to win a Tour stage for the third successive year.

Who will win the 2017 Tour de France?

"I have to prove myself this weekend because that's what the team want," he added.

"Unfortunately, I can't just say I am ready, I have to prove it. If I am dropped on the first climb [on Sunday] I won't be in the team. But if I am in the final racing for the win, I might be there.

>>> Claire Rose takes national time trial title as Hayley Simmonds misses out on third successive victory

"My mind is alright. I am confident in the work I have done and the process I have done over the years to get me in shape and to get me results.

"I'm always pretty confident. I am a logical guy; I look at the numbers and what I do in training. But it's the Tour and I understand that the team wanted to see me race, because three weeks is a long time if you're not on form."

As for doing the Nationals double on Sunday? "Of course, why not? I'll try me best," he smiled.

Dowsett, meanwhile, was understandably upset at not being able to win a record-equalling sixth national time trial title, and he also doesn't expect to earn a call up to Movistar's Tour squad.

>>> Who are all the new national champions?

"I'm not happy, but I couldn't have done any more," he said. "That was probably one of my best rides I've ever done at the Nationals - I got everything out. I tore myself apart up the climb and on the corners.

"I'm happy for Steve. He's a had a rough year and I'm sure he will do the jersey proud.

"I thought he was going to be either really, really good or nowhere. I've jumped onto Zwift a few times and knew he had been working hard.

"Steve out rode me, but not by a great amount. It was a good race, a good fight, we had to dig deep. I couldn't have done a great deal more."

As for the Tour de France, Dowsett said: "I’ll be surprised if they [Movistar] take me. There’s no team time trial and with two GC guys, they don’t give a monkey’s what I can do in a time trial. I’d have to go as a helper and my team is full of them.”

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) denied Alex Dowsett (Movistar) a record sixth national time trial title as he took victory by just eight seconds on the Isle of Man.

Riding his first race since fracturing his collarbone, sternum, and scapula in a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April, Cummings entered the race in unknown form, but pulled out a stunning ride to beat Dowsett by just eight seconds on the 44.4km course.

>>> Claire Rose takes national time trial title as Hayley Simmonds misses out on third successive victory

Setting off in the first half of the 44-rider field, Cummings did not have any splits to aim for on his ride, and set a time of 28-42.48 through the first of the two 22.2km laps.

That time stood for nearly three quarters of an hour until Dowsett, who as defending champion had been the final man down the start ramp, went 13 seconds faster.

Almost at the exact moment that Dowsett went through the first lap, Cummings was completing his ride, setting a time of 57-18.66 to put him in the hot seat.

For a while no rider was able to get close to that mark, with Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Sky) and Harry Tanfield (Bike Channel-Canyon) both finishing around 1-30, before James Gullen (JLT Condor) went into provisional second with a time of 58-09.45.

>>> Steve Cummings in race against time to make Tour de France after injury setback

From there it was going to be between Cummings and Dowsett, and with the advantage from the earlier split, the odds seemed to be in the favour of the Movistar man who was chasing a sixth national time trial to put him level with the record held by Stuart Dangerfield.

However it was not to be for the defending champion, who wasn't able to hold onto his lead, eventually finishing eight seconds down to give Cummings his first national title on the road since he took the junior road race in 1999.

Earlier in the day Scott Davies (Team Wiggins) won a fourth consecutive under-23 title ahead of Tom Baylis (One Pro Cycling) and Charlie Tanfield (Brother NRG).

Results

Men’s British National Time Trial Championships (44.4km)

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, 57-18.66

2. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar, at 8 secs

3. James Gullen (GBr) JLT Condor, at 50 secs

4. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky, at 1-27

5. Harry Tanfield (GBr) Bike Channel-Canyon, at 1-33

6. Peter Williams (GBr) One Pro Cycling, at 1-52

7. Ryan Perry (GBr) Raleigh GAC, at 1-55

8. Sam Harrison (GBr) Team Wiggins, at 2-30

9. Richard Handley (GBr) Madison Genesis, at 2-47

10. Jon Dibben (GBr) Team Sky, at 3-18

Steve Cummings faces a race against time to be fit for the Tour de France this summer, as he suffered a setback in his recovery from fracturing his collarbone, scapula and sternum in a crash last month.

The 36-year-old Dimension Data rider has been on the sidelines since he came down on stage four of the Tour of the Basque Country on April 6. He had an operation on his shoulder that went well after the incident, and was back on a bike the day after. However, he slipped on a wet floor and fell while recovering at his home 10 days later and doctors have now said he requires more complex surgery next week.

The surgery takes place exactly two months before the Tour kicks off in Dusseldorf on July 2, and Cummings admits he’s unsure yet if he will be on the start line.

“I’ll have to see how the surgery goes, it’s the second of May the surgery and the Tour is the second of July so it’s eight weeks,” Cummings told Cycling Weekly. “There’s time but there’s no real space for error. It’s possible but if something else… you have problems or you have a bad surgery, or you can’t ride the bike like you want.”

Cummings enjoyed the most successful season of his 13-year professional career to date in 2016, winning stages at Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Criterium du Dauphiné, before taking his second Tour stage victory in two years last July and securing the Tour of Britain overall in September.

However, he’s endured a frustrating 2017 so far, falling ill while racing at the Tour of the Algarve in February, before suffering this injury in April when he returned to racing.

Despite fracturing three bones in the initial crash, Cummings originally only needed surgery on his clavicle. Doctors believed his scapula fracture (shoulder blade) would heal without surgery, however his second fall has caused the fracture to worsen and now requires a plate being put in.

“The surgeon said three months for a full recovery but it’s a more difficult surgery because they have to go in behind the shoulder blade,” Cummings explained. “They put a plate in at the front but you’ve got more muscle and stuff behind so it’s more complex.

“A collarbone is nothing – he said a three out of 10 difficulty, whereas this is like eight or nine out of 10 difficulty so yeah, not that nice.

“It depends how I am after the surgery what I can do. In theory once the plate’s in it’s stable, but obviously they’ll have to cut through muscle and stuff to get to it so I don’t know. I might be a bit more limited to what I can do – I don’t know, I’ll have to see.”

Cummings has been back in the UK with his family where he will continue his recovery.

>>> Mark Cavendish's Tour de France preparation in jeopardy after glandular fever diagnosis

"It's pretty difficult to be honest, now it's better but even my good arm I couldn't use too much because it was attached to the sternum," he said. "Every time I used that arm it was just pulling on the sternum so my poor wife. Honestly it's incredible, she's taken care of two people - well three, the baby as well."

While Cummings said he was “hopeful” still of making the Tour, his injury comes at a time Dimension Data’s other key rider for the race Mark Cavendish is also off the bike for an unknown time. The sprinter was diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis – better known as glandular fever – caused by the Epstein Barr virus earlier this month, and hasn’t raced since Milan-San Remo on March 18.

Steve Cummings is facing surgery after fracturing his left collarbone, sternum and left scapula (shoulder blade) as a result of a crash during stage four of the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain on Thursday.

The 36-year-old British Dimension Data rider was caught up in a crash involving several riders towards the end of Thursday's stage to Bilbao. He immediately abandoned the race and was taken to hospital for examination.

X-rays revealed the extent of Cummings' injuries, and he was kept in hospital overnight for observation.

Dimension Data team doctor Dr Jarrad Van Zuydam said in a statement: "The scapular fracture extends into the joint meaning that Steve will likely need surgery to ensure an accurate reduction. He will stay in hospital overnight to allow adequate pain management but we hope to transfer him by tomorrow and schedule the surgery in the next two days.

"If all goes well, we can expect to have him on a trainer in two weeks’ time with a gradual return as pain allows."

>>> Steve Cummings: Doing it his way

Cummings had been scheduled to lead the South African-registered WorldTour team at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but will now have to change the focus of his early season in light of the injuries.

Watch:Steve Cummings wins Tour de France 2016 stage seven

Last year, Cummings enjoyed his most successful season to date, winning stages of the Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour of the Basque Country. He rounded off the year with an overall win in the Tour of Britain. Cycling Weekly magazine named Cummings as its Rider of the Year 2016.

David De La Cruz (Quick-Step Floors) currently leads the general classification in the 2017 Tour of the Basque Country going into the race's final two stages on Friday and Saturday. Cummings had been in 37th place overall at the start of the stage, just three seconds adrift of De La Cruz.

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) will make his return to racing at Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy, starting on Wednesday.

Cummings put in an impressive ride in last year's race, kicking off what turned into an impressive season.

The 35-year-old from the Wirral launched a trademark solo attack on stage four of 2016 Tirreno-Adriatico to seal the stage victory. He subsequently won stages of the Tour de France, Tour of the Basque Country and Criterium du Dauphiné, and won the Tour of Britain overall.

>>> Steve Cummings: Doing it his way

Cummings has only raced on two days so far in 2017. He started the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal in early February, but withdrew during stage two.

Along with British sprint star Mark Cavendish and Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, Cummings is spearheading the South African team's hopes of taking stage victories.

"Tirreno-Adriatico was a great race for us last year," said sports director Roger Hammond.

"It was the race where we really kicked off our World Tour victories with Steve [Cummings] so we have good memories from racing in Italy. Furthermore, with our team being based in Lucca, it feels a little bit like our home race so of course the guys get a bit more motivated for it.

>>> Tirreno-Adriatico 2017: Latest news, reports and info

"The terrain here is also well-suited for the team we are bringing with a couple of sprint stages for Mark and some undulating and hilly stages for Steve and Edvald. We are looking forward to getting some good results and hopefully it goes as well for us as it did last year."

Yorkshireman Scott Thwaites continues his debut year for Dimension Data in Tirreno-Adriatico. Thwaites goes into the race for the first time in his career, fresh from finishing 10th in Saturday's Strade Bianche, also on his debut.

Watch: Steve Cummings wins stage seven of the 2016 Tour de France

“I’m looking forward to starting Tirreno-Adriatico," said Thwaites. "As it has been the theme for me this year, it’s my first time participating in this race so it will be a new experience again.

"We have been working well together this year and the guys are all very motivated. I think that if luck swings our way, we could be in the hunt for a few stages both in the sprints and in hilly terrain."

Dimension Data's line-up for the race is completed with Bernhard Eisel, Mark Renshaw, Jay Thomson and Johann Van Zyl.

The WorldTour-level Tirreno-Adriatico starts on Wednesday March 8 and finishes seven days later on Tuesday March 14.

Sat in the cold winter sunshine outside a cafe in Vinci, Tuscany, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, an Americano on the table in front of him and the church bells clanging every 30 minutes, Steve Cummings looks content amid the Italian way of life.

Far from the Wirral, Merseyside, where he grew up, Cummings has called Tuscany home for the past eight years. Aside from the food, numerous climbs, endless roads and good weather that means he generally doesn’t miss a day of training, it’s the sense of freedom in Italy that the 35-year-old loves most.

“Everyone’s free, they live with common sense and not too many rules and I like that,” Cummings tells Cycling Weekly. “I like freedom. You see when you come here — I’m just free. I’m on my own, I do what I want.”

It’s freedom, Cummings says, that has been the key to his success the last two seasons, which started with a maiden stage win at the Tour de France in 2015, and continued this year to what he called the best season of his 12-year pro career “by far”.

Three victories in WorldTour races — Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of the Basque Country and Critérium du Dauphiné — were followed by a second Tour stage win, and rounded off with the overall win at the Tour of Britain in September.

He cites his Dimension Data team, which he joined at the start of 2015, as being the catalyst to letting him realise his own potential; released from the constraints of having to protect a team-mate chasing the general classification, as he had in the previous squads he’d been in, they gave Cummings permission to chase victories. And chase them he has, repeatedly, often on lone, solo maverick missions.

“This year everything fell into place,” he says. “I don’t know whether because I won early that took away pressure, you think ‘sod it, I’ll go’ and just try.

“It’s just a combination of those things [why I’ve performed well], confidence, freedom from the team, and then just not having bad luck.”

The Tour de France victory in 2015, in which Cummings outsmarted French duo Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot for his South African team on Mandela Day was another defining moment he credits for his success this year.

“It definitely gave me the confidence that I could win at the highest level,” he continues, admitting it took him months before he could come to terms with what he’d achieved, and watch the footage back on TV. “Then this year I’ve just been trying more and more crazy stuff.

"And it’s been working. Confidence breeds confidence, and sometimes you think too much as a rider. This year I didn’t think, I would just go.”

Considering how much Cummings says he loves winning, and how assertive and assured he sounds in his own ability, it’s surprising to learn that wasn’t always the case. Early in his career, when he was part of British Cycling’s Performance Programme racing on the track, he admits he struggled with a fear of failure.

“I was scared to fail. For a few years I’d only try now and again,” Cummings explains. “It was a self-protection thing, I wasn’t sure if I was good enough, so I could justify it in my own mind by saying, ‘I didn’t really try so I don’t really know.’”

It was only when the then performance director Dave Brailsford told him in 2003 he was going to be removed from the programme if he carried on, that he sought to change his outlook with the help of a sports psychologist.

“He helped me focus and plan, and from that moment I took control of everything and started to get the best out of myself consistently,” he says.

“They [BC] encouraged us to do our own programme, to do our own plan, that worked really well for me — it gave me a belief. There’s been points in my career where people have tried to do that for me but it hasn’t worked. If I don’t believe in the goal or the process then I can’t really commit to it.”

Stepping stones

Cummings first started cycling with the Birkenhead North End Cycling Club when he was a teenager. Chris Boardman, then the country’s most famous cyclist having won Britain’s first Olympic medal in the sport for 72 years, was from the local area and his father Keith coached Cummings through the club.

“It was good because I could just go out all day and be out of trouble,” Cummings remembers. “I enjoyed it and I was quite good straight away, quite strong — you kind of enjoy what you’re good at.”

In 1999 aged 17, he became the first ever junior to win the Eddie Soens Memorial Race and added victories in the National Junior 10 and Junior National Road Race that year. Two years later he joined British Cycling’s Performance Programme as lottery funding was introduced, and started racing on the track, going on to win silver as part of the team pursuit at the Athens Olympics in 2004 alongside Bradley Wiggins, Rob Hayles and Paul Manning.

Though Cummings enjoyed his time in the velodrome, particularly the relationship he had with his team-mates, he saw it as a way to progress to racing on the road full-time.

“I was never in love with the track, never mad on it. I was just doing it like a stepping stone,” he says. “It was a chore; it’s quite suppressing being a track rider.”

He left the track, however, head- strong and full of belief in his own convictions, moving to Belgium in 2005 after signing his first pro contract with Landbouwkrediet- Colnago, determined to make a career on the road. He lived with his directeur sportif on and off for two years, though the team didn’t speak much English and he didn’t speak much French or Flemish.

Even then Cummings was trying to carve a place for himself in the sport, a role within the team, a niche, something he could make his own. While many others were content to follow team orders, get in breakaways to get the team exposure, he had higher ambitions.

“I wanted a bit more than that, I wanted results,” he says. “It forced me to think for myself. I wanted to be better, using my own brain and thinking for myself, how am I going to get a result here? It’s helped me in the long run.”

Outspoken

Stints followed at Discovery Channel — “Sheryl Crow was at a training camp in California, Lance [Armstrong] was there, George Hincapie, all these stars and I was a bit in awe of it to be honest”— Barloworld, where he first moved to Italy and shared a flat with Geraint Thomas and Mark Cavendish, then two years at Sky and three at BMC, before he settled at Dimension Data.

It was at the biggest squads, Sky and BMC, that Cummings struggled most to fit in. Though his results included a stage win at the Tour of the Algarve and second at the Tour of Britain in 2011, as well as his first Grand Tour stage win at the Vuelta a España in 2012, his form was inconsistent.

“The bosses couldn’t understand, one day I’d be not so good and the next day I’d be really good,” he says. “I was never going to be a big rider in those teams, they were more about winning GC. In the end there probably wasn’t space for a rider like me.”

He almost quit cycling in 2014. With his contract at BMC coming to an end he thought he was being kept on, but found out elsewhere he wasn’t, and struggled to find a new team before MTN-Qhubeka [now Dimension Data] came along.

“That was the moment I was ready to stop, if nothing came up I was like, ‘This is fate,’” he says. “I believe in that a lot. I’d always given my best so even if I had stopped I’d be like, ‘Well, I gave my best.’”

Cummings readily admits he clashed with management, which is partly why he’s moved teams so much during his career. While he will turn to people for advice, even when he was at school, he jokes he struggled with people telling him what to do.

“Often I was frustrated — [the team] would give me a programme, training camps — and it was doing nothing for me,” he recalls. “At times I wasn’t getting the best out of myself — these people who think they know me better than I know me,” he says.

He isn’t afraid to say what he thinks either, which is again where Cummings says he’s often got into “trouble”. “I’ll keep my mouth shut unless they ask. But if they ask I’ll tell them what I think. If you don’t want to know, don’t ask!”

Indeed, after initially not being selected for the road race at the Rio Olympics this summer despite having three WorldTour victories, he criticised Great Britain road endurance coach Rod Ellingworth, citing a conflict of interest between his role as GB coach and at Team Sky in the selection.

At the time Cummings admitted he knew speaking out could affect his relationship with the GB squad, and potentially his chances of riding in his national colours again, but he felt so strongly he said it anyway.

“It wasn’t a good decision I don’t think [his initial non-selection] but that’s my decision and they’ve got their opinion,” he says, insisting that his relationship with the other riders on the squad was fine when he was named in the squad after Peter Kennaugh withdrew.

“I think people respect I’m big enough to say what I think — people like that.”

There have been those that have criticised Cummings however, for not being a team player, saying he will only race a certain way, and only ride for himself not others if he thinks he has a chance of winning.

“Yeah, I’m selfish,” he says with a smile when it’s put to him. “Right at this point I still think I can win bike races, and I don’t need to change to being a helper and supporting someone else.

“But at the same time if you ask me to pull for Mark Cavendish I’ll give everything I have, because there’s nothing for me to do in those stages [the flat races targeted by sprinters].”

Yet would he work for a team-mate if asked on a day he thinks he has a chance of winning himself?

“You need to talk about the tactic really,” he says, before referring to his victory at Tirreno- Adriatico in March. Cummings was working for his team-mate Edvald Boasson Hagen in the closing kilometres, before finding himself in the race-winning move and being given the green light to go for the win himself.

“It’s just being smart and playing your cards as best you can but that’s smart tactics; it’s good tactics,” he says.

Lone wolf

Just like his racing style, it’s not a surprise to learn Cummings trains alone. Despite other riders living nearby in Tuscany he prefers solitude as he can just get his head down and get on with training, without getting distracted. He even rides up the same climb once a week, using it as a gauge to test where his fitness is.

“Everything I’ve achieved is because I’ve built this engine,” he says. “It’s just from hard work and to do that you have to go on your own, train the engine, tune the engine up as much as you can — and the best way to work is alone.”

He eats at the same restaurant in town each night when he’s at home alone and his family are back in the UK, although it’s a signed Mark Cavendish world champion jersey they have framed on the wall inside — for all his success Cummings isn’t the biggest star in this part of the world.

Away from the bike Cummings says he’s totally different than the lone wolf he is on the bike.

He loves watching his beloved Liverpool FC play and has dabbled as a DJ for years, mixing his own dance and electronic music.

“Last year I bought Ableton Live — it’s a proper studio thing where you can literally make your own beats from nothing. It’s like a pad and you hit it, I was kind of getting into it then the baby came and I haven’t touched it for a year!” he says.

It’s little things like spending time with his family — his wife and young daughter split their time between Italy and the UK — which he enjoys most though, even though that time can be limited.

“Cycling kind of consumes you, it’s hard. It kind of dictates everything,” he says. “Because of the way I am I have to be careful not to isolate people because maybe they [my family] like people!

“It’s easier for me than for my wife. It’s hard for them; sometimes I’m miserable, I’m tired, I don’t want to go out and want to stay at home and eat a salad. You don’t want to go out and eat with friends, you can’t drink too much.”

Though he’s just finished the most successful season of his career, thoughts of retirement have started to creep into Cummings’s mind, particularly getting a semblance of a social life back.

Staying in cycling is a must, potentially in a directeur or coaching role. “I think I could make a difference, with a lot of younger riders,” he says. “Eventually there’s loads of stuff I’ve got to do.

But it’ll wait; I’ll do it later. I still have quite a long time to race.” The sacrifice his family has made for his career is clearly a driving force in his determination to keep racing, to keep winning. “I just want to try and make more opportunities,” he says with a smile.

“I’m an opportunist, a hunter.”

And with that he takes his bike off into the open Italian countryside to get his training miles in for the day. Free to ride just as he pleases, while quietly plotting his next race-winning move.

British time trial national champion Alex Dowsett and Tour of Britain winner Steve Cummings will represent Great Britain in the elite men's individual time trial at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Dowsett, Cummings and Geraint Thomas were on GB's original long list for the discipline, but Thomas will focus on the men's road race.

The news will be welcomed by 28-year-old Dowsett, who missed out on selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In addition to the 2016 British TT title, the Essex Movistar rider won the individual time trial stage at the Tour of Poland in July by a convincing margin. His highest-profile TT victory is the Giro d'Italia TT stage in 2013.

Dowsett has also been selected as part of Movistar's line-up for the team time trial event in Doha.

>>> Preview: UCI Road World Championships 2016 time trials

Cummings, 35, has had a highly successful year with his Dimension Data trade team, winning a stages of the Tour de France, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of the Basque Country and Critérium du Dauphiné as well as the overall victory in the Tour of Britain.

Cummings placed fourth in the Tour of Britain TT stage in September, bettered only by World Championships TT front runners Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep/Germany), Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing/Australia) and Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin/Netherlands).

Dowsett was seventh on the same stage and then went on to place 10th at the Eneco Tour's ITT stage later the same month.

The flat time trial course in Qatar should suit both riders. The 40-kilometre course runs south east from the start in the Lusail Sports Complex and finishes on the man-made Pearl Island.

Technically adept riders will prevail, as there are numerous tight turns, roundabouts and corners to break up momentum.

>>> World Championships: men’s individual time trial start list

The final selection for the men's road race (Sunday, October 16) has yet to be confirmed by British Cycling, but it is highly likely that Cummings will be part of the squad.

The elite men's individual time trial takes place on Wednesday, October 12.

Steve Cummings has said that his therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate for salbutamol was for the treatment of asthma.

Cummings's TUE was published online by Russian hacking group Fancy Bears on Friday, and relates to the administration of salbutamol via inhalation for 12 months from December 10 2008. TUEs are issued when an athlete has to take a prohibited substance for a legitimate medical reason.

“The TUE for a salbutamol inhaler was granted following a positive diagnostic test which had to be submitted to the relevant anti-doping authorities," said the 35-year-old Dimension Data rider.

"As with many other athletes I continue to use this medication when needed to treat my condition, however, a TUE is no longer required for its use since it is now widely acknowledged it has no performance-enhancing effect, merely relieves symptoms and those who need to use it for genuine medical reasons.”

>>> Steve Cummings’s medical data published by Russian hackers

Salbutamol is currently not on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited substances list, although there is a limit to the amount an athlete can take in a given period. According to WADA's regulations, inhaled salbutamol can be taken by athletes up to 1600 micrograms over 24 hours. An amount of salbutamol taken by an athlete above that threshold could trigger an adverse analytical finding in a sample.

The WADA list states: "The presence in urine of salbutamol in excess of 1000 ng/mL or formoterol in excess of 40 ng/mL is presumed not to be an intended therapeutic use of the substance and will be considered as an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) unless the Athlete proves, through a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result was the consequence of the use of the therapeutic inhaled dose up to the maximum indicated above."

Salbutamol was removed from WADA's banned list for 2010, and at that time WADA stated: "Following several years of practice and consideration of all relevant information from stakeholders and others, WADA’s List Committee recommended a change for the status of the beta-2 agonist salbutamol – a substance listed as a specified substance in the 2009 List.

>>> Bradley Wiggins: corticosteroid use ‘wasn’t about trying to gain an unfair advantage’

"Over the past few years, almost all cases where salbutamol has been detected were covered by Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs). In the 2010 List, therapeutic use of inhaled salbutamol will not be prohibited and will therefore no longer require a TUE. For monitoring purposes, athletes using inhaled salbutamol will be required to declare their use on the Doping Control Form when they are tested."

As with other TUEs published by Fancy Bears, there is no indication of wrongdoing by Cummings. British riders Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Laura Trott and Callum Skinner are among the other athletes from a varierty of nations to have their TUEs published.

Fancy Bears accessed WADA's confidential computer files illegally, downloading historic TUEs for athletes attending the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It has been publishing them in batches during September. Fancy Bears says that it 'stands for fair play and clean sport'.

Steve Cummings is the latest British rider to have their therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate published online by Russian hacking group, the so-called Fancy Bears.

As with many other athletes, Cummings' TUE relates to the use of an anti-asthma drug, in this case salbutamol, administered by inhaler.

The certificate dates back to December 10 2008 and was for 12 months' use. Cummings has only this single TUE published by Fancy Bears.

Fancy Bears illegally hacked into the database of the World Anti-Doping Agency using an account set up for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They accessed and downloaded stored TUE certificates and have been publishing them online in batches throughout September.

>>> Bradley Wiggins to explain TUE medication on BBC this weekend

Cummings represented GB in the men's cycling road race. This season he won the Tour of Britain overall, a stage of the Tour de France and stages of Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour of The Basque Country and Critérium Dauphiné.

Along with Cummings, time trial gold medallist Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang and Swiss mountain bike gold medallist Nino Schurter have also had their TUEs published. Numerous other athletes from other sports also had their data published.

Cancellara has two TUE certificates on file, one for methylprednisolone, a corticosteroid, for one dose on August 17 2011 and a second for methylprednisolone and prednisolone, also a corticosteroid used as an anti-inflammatory, on May 18 2013.

>>> David Millar calls for Bradley Wiggins’s TUE medication to be banned

Fuglsang's single TUE is for a dose of triamcinolone at a mountain bike world championships, but no date is specified. This is the same substance that Wiggins also had a TUE for.

Previously, British riders Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Laura Trott and Callum Skinner have been among the TUEs published by Fancy Bears.

TUEs are issued when a substance on WADA's banned list is administered for a medical reason. Their publication is not proof of any wrong-doing.

Despite stealing the headlines by winning the Tour of Britain on Sunday afternoon, Dimension Data rider Steve Cummings says that he is happy to stay in the shadows of the likes of Mark Cavendish and Sir Bradley Wiggins.

The Wirral-born rider, who previously finished second in the national tour in both 2008 and 2011, secured the second stage race victory of his career in London on the final stage.

>>> Loss of WorldTour licence would be ‘horrific’ for Dimension Data

“I was motivated, I wanted to come home and ride well, because it's something I've not done for a while,” he said.

“People maybe forget about you; the hardcore cycling fans who follow all the racing know what you're up to, but maybe the public don't really see it.

'It's good to show them what I do, it's pretty cool. [But] I don't really like it [media attention] - I'm a simple guy who wants to stay out of the way.

“I'm happy to race my bike and I'm happy to talk to people, but I don't go looking around for it.”

Cummings also praised Dimension Data teammate Mark Cavendish, who helped him in his successful GC bid during the eight days of racing.

“He's been amazing, he's sacrificed his own chances here,” added the 35-year-old. “Again, the hardcore supporters understand that, but maybe the general public don't.

“If you don't see him winning, you can miss what he's done in the first hour [of each stage], which was him completely emptying myself for me and the cause.

“That was a lot of pressure for me – the team could have won a few more stages. Anything other than me winning wouldn't have been so good.”

Cummings hopes to end his season at October's Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar; British Cycling's team selection is scheduled to be announced this week.

Caleb Ewan (Orica-BikeExchange) sprinted to victory on the final stage of the 2016 Tour of Britain in London, as Steve Cummings (Dimension Data safely navigated the course to secure overall victory.

Cummings carried a 26 second advantage over Rohan Dennis (BMC) into the final stage, but that looked unlikely to be challenged with only 25 seconds worth of time bonuses available at the intermediate sprints along a predominantly flat 100km course around central London.

>>> Loss of WorldTour licence would be ‘horrific’ for Dimension Data

The 16 laps of the circuit were characterised by the early four-man break of Jasper Bovenhuis (AnPost Chain Reaction), Taylor Phinney (BMC), Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis) and Gabriel Cullaigh (GB), that got away and established a maximum gap of around 45 seconds.

The break allowed Bovenhuis to hoover up the intermediate points he needed to secure the win in the sprint classification, and the Dimension Data led peloton seemed content to let the four men dangle out in front.

The break survived until around 12km to go, though both Phinney and Steward made lone attacks to try and hold out against the bunch, as did Alex Dowsett (Movistar). But none of those were able to stick and eventually the sprinters' teams began to set their fast men up for a bunch sprint.

Lotto-Soudal looked to be lining up stage one winner André Greipel to contest the finish, but former Belgian champion Jens Debusschere was the allowed to attack off the front by his teammate in the closing kilometre.

And it looked like he might be able to hold out until Boy van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo) made a huge effort to bridge over, and the sprint then opened up behind.

Ewan launched his attack on the right hand side of the road away from the main bunch, and got well ahead of the likes of Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) before they could respond, and crossed the line to take the victory.

Cummings came in just behind, and confirmed his overall victory, becoming the second British winner of the race after Bradley Wiggins in 2013.

Result

Tour of Britain 2016, stage 8, London (100km)

1. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange, in 2-09-24

2. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

3. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

4. Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo

5. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky

6. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal

7. Daniel McLay (GBr) Great Britain

8. Steele Von Hoff (Aus) One Pro Cycling

9. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

10. Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani-CSF, all same time

Final overall classification

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data at 31-30-45

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing at 26 secs

3. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 38 secs

4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal at 1-02

5. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at 1-21

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky at 1-26

7. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert at 1-48

8. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky at 1-52

9. Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep at 2-12

10. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 2-32

Rohan Dennis (BMC) followed up his second place in Saturday morning's Tour of Britain time trial stage with a win in the afternoon's circuit race in Bristol. Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) finished in the chase group to set up overall victory in the race.

The win and bonus seconds mean that Dennis moves ahead of Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) to second place overall as the two riders started the stage tied on 38 seconds behind Cummings. After the stage, Dennis trails Cummings by just 26 seconds.

Maximiliano Richeze (Etixx-QuickStep) led the peloton home six seconds behind stage winner Dennis, with Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) in third.

>>> Steve Cummings places fourth in Tour of Britain time trial to retain overall lead

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) was a something of a surprise early attacker, taking his chance to instigate the day's escape rather than keep his energy for a possible bunch sprint. He was joined by Boy van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo), Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar) and Diego Rubio (Caja Rural).

The quartet worked well over the 90km race, which comprised six laps of the same 15km loop used in the morning's time trial stage. Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) was visible for a long stretch at the front of the bunch, working for race leader and team-mate Cummings before peeling off.

As the race hit the final lap of six, the break held a slim 55-second lead over the chasing bunch. Greipel remained the most animated of the escapees, putting in an attack off the front just before the final crossing of the Clifton suspension bridge with 12km to go.

Ian Stannard (Sky) then hit the front of the peloton to up the chase of the break, with Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) on his wheel. With that level of firepower at the front, the break's advantage was sliced.

Greipel and Izaguirre were the first to get caught with 5km to go. Van Poppel attacked Rubio, but it was short-lived all were caught just inside 4km to go to bring the bunch together.

Dennis attacked off the final climb, losing Cummings and GC rival Dumoulin. Despite the effort he expended in the morning's time trial, Dennis powered away to take a solo victory ahead of the chasing peloton.

The 2016 Tour of Britain concludes on Sunday in London, with a flat 100km stage that should end in a bunch sprint. Barring disaster, Cummings should seal the overall victory.

Results

Tour of Britain 2016, stage 7B: Bristol to Bristol, 90km

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing in 2-58-42

2. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Etixx-QuickStep at 6 secs

3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

4. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky

5. Carlos Barbero (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA

6. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

7. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-BikeExchange

8. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

9. Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

10. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at same time

General classification after stage 7B

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data at 29-21-21

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing at 26 secs

3. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 38 secs

4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal at 1-02

5. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at 1-21

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky at 1-26

7. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert at 1-48

8. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky at 1-52

9. Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep at 2-12

10. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 2-32

Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) placed fourth in the Tour of Britain's time trial stage in Bristol on Saturday morning, safely retaining his overall lead in the race.

Cummings had started the day occupying the top spot of the general classification 49 seconds ahead of Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) and 51 seconds ahead of Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) – both noted time triallists.

As Dennis can home with 18-09 and Dumoulin just behind with 18-11, Cummings needed to set a time of 19 minutes or quicker to retain the yellow jersey.

The Wirral man put in a strong ride, coming over the line with 18-22 to easily keep hold of his overall race lead with two stages remaining.

Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) took the stage win on the short and fast 15-kilometre course, clocking 18-06. Dennis was second, Dumoulin third and Cummings fourth. Britain's Alex Dowsett (Movistar) finished seventh.

>>> Tour of Britain 2016: Latest news, reports and info

Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Wiggins) took to the start house on his road bike, waving to the crowds on what is touted as his final appearance in his 'home' tour.

Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) had started quickly and set the fastest time at the mid-way point, but suffered a crash to scupper his chances of a high finish. To his credit, he still came home in 11th.

The 2016 Tour of Britain continues on Saturday afternoon with stage 7B in Bristol, a brisk 76.5km circuit race. It's then on to London on Sunday for the race finale. It is likely that Cummings will now take the overall victory – barring disaster – given his 38 second GC advantage over Dumoulin and Dennis.

The Tour of Britain's split stage on Saturday, with a time trial in the morning and circuit race in the afternoon, is something of a miniature dry-run for the World Championships in October. Many of the leading contenders in the Worlds are using the race as a warm-up and form guide.

The presence of Martin, Dumoulin and Dennis in the top order of the TT results shows that they will be the riders to watch at the Worlds in Doha, Qatar over October 9-16. Cummings has also put his name forward very convincingly to British selectors to represent GB in the Worlds TT.

Results

Tour of Britain 2016, stage 7A: Bristol to Bristol, 15km ITT

1. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx-QuickStep in 18-06

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing at 3 secs

3. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 5 secs

4. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data at 16 secs

5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal at 25 secs

6. Gorka Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar at 25 secs

7. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar at 35 secs

8. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky at 36 secs

9. Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac at 39 secs

10. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at 40 secs

Other

11. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing at 40 secs

12. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Great Britain at 44 secs

General classification after stage 7A

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data

2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 38 secs

3. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing at 38 secs

4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal at 1-02

5. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at 1-21

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky at 1-26

7. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wany-Groupe Gobert at 1-48

8. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky at 1-52

9. Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep at 2-08

10. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 2-32

Steve Cummings moved into the overall lead of the Tour of Britain as overnight leader Julien Vermote (Etixx-Quick Step) cracked on the final time to hand over the yellow jersey.

Team Sky's Wout Poels claimed his second successive Queen stage at the Tour of Britain, matching his Hartside Fell win in 2015 with victory up Haytor in Dartmoore.

Cummings took advantage of Vermote's struggles but trying to join Poels and the stage leaders, eventually finishing the stage 20 seconds behind Poels to take an advantage of 49 seconds into the final three stages.

Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis) was the sole British rider in the day's four-man breakaway, mixing it with WorldTour rider Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), intermediate sprints leader Jasper Bovenhuis (An Post Chain Reaction) and Miguel Angel Benito (Caja Rural)

Bovenhuis was the first to crack with 45km to the line and Visconti decided to go off on his own with 21km to go - a move that lasted 10km or so with Team Sky powering hard on the front of the peloton.

Danny van Poppel put a huge turn in on the front in the final 10km, looking to set up Poels or Irishman Nicolas Roche for the stage win.

Bardiani CSF's Edoardo Zardini attempted to up the pace with five kilometres to go, but was joined and passed by BMC's Rohan Dennis. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) and Poels sensed the danger and attempted to bridge to Dennis.

Yellow jersey holder Vermote began to struggle with three kilometres still to go on the climb, with Etixx-Quick Step changing their focus to Dan Martin, who sat fifth overall before the stage.

Second-place man Cummings (Dimension Data) made his move with 2,500m to go, having seen his nearest rival Vermote fade away. Cummings needed just six seconds to overtake Vermote, but with dangerous riders up the road the Wirral man couldn't allow the breakaway go get away.

Dumoulin, Poels and Dennis made another jump to distance Cummings and the Team Sky man dummied before speeding off in search of the stage victory.

Dennis and Dumoulin dug deep in hope of catching Poels, but the Dutch rider had enough of a lead to stay away up the steep finish of Haytor and take Sky's second win of the week.

Saturday sees riders enjoying a double day, with a 15km time trial taking place in Bristol in the morning before a 90km criterium following on the same course in the afternoon.

Tour of Britain stage six, Sidmouth - Haytor (150km)

1. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, 4-56-15

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC, at 6s

3. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, at 10s

4. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac, at 12s

5. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, at 16s

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, st

7. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal, st

8. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, at 20s

9. Erick Rowsell (GBr) Madison Genesis, at 30s

10. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar, st

Overall standings after stage six

1. Steve Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data, 27-04-11

2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, at 49s

3. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC, at 51s

4. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal, at 53s

5. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac,

6. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, at 58s

7. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, at 1-06

8. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky, at 1-14

9. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 1-20

10. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, at 1-24

Steve Cummings has declared his desire to claim one of Team GB’s two places in the World Championships time trial in Qatar next month, but admitted he’s frustrated by the selection process and the fact riders still don’t know who is racing.

The Dimension Data rider said he “of course” wants to contest the Worlds time trial if he can, which takes place on a 40km flat course on Wednesday October 12. However, he was critical of the fact that it’s almost a month until the event and no announcement about the squad has been made.

“You need to know soon [who’s selected] and it needs to be an objective,” he told Cycling Weekly at the Tour of Britain, where he is currently sitting second overall after four stages.

“It [the Worlds] needs to not be something we do on the back of something else. It’s difficult if you don’t know what the selector’s thinking to make it an objective, because there’s no point making it an objective if I’m not going. I’m hoping I can go.”

British Cycling states that selection for the squad Great Britain will send to the Worlds will be made on September 19, 23 days before the men’s individual time trial takes place, and is decided by a selection panel chaired by a member of Team GB’s senior management team.

Rod Ellingworth, British Cycling men’s endurance coach, previously told CW 14 riders are on the long-list for the Worlds, with nine selected for the road race and two the time trial. Alex Dowsett has also stated he hopes to be selected for the time trial.

However, Cummings said he had not had any conversations with anyone from British Cycling regarding the event.

Cummings criticised British Cycling and GB coach Ellingworth earlier this summer, after he was initially left out of Team GB’s line up for the Rio Olympics road race. He claimed Ellingworth’s role at Team Sky was a “conflict of interest”, while also questioning the team’s potential tactics. He was later installed in the team after Peter Kennaugh withdrew with illness.

“It’s just better whoever is going knows so they can prepare properly,” he continued. “Like I say it’s a big investment and you need to know if you’re going if you’re going to invest.”

British Cycling has been approached for further comment.

Cummings competed at the Worlds in the time trial last year in Richmond, USA, and finished in 15^th place. The average temperature in Qatar in October is 35 degrees, but Cummings said the potential scorching heat didn’t worry him.

“Flat’s good, but I can go uphill as well so it’s no problem,” Cummings said. “I’ve won races in very hot conditions so as long as you’re prepared properly the heat can be an advantage.

Julien Vermote (Etixx-Quick Step) won stage two of the 2016 Tour of Britain, snatching the victory from Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) to take the overall race lead.

Vermote was in the day's original breakaway and proved both strong and tactically astute. When the breakaway was caught, Vermote managed to stay with the new lead group and was the only rider who could follow the attack from Cummings.

Cummings had looked stronger and even dropped Vermote on a couple of occasions, but as the duo hit the final climb to the finish, Vermote attacked and Cummings was unable to do anything about it.

The Etixx rider stayed away to the finish line while his Dimension Data rival was forced to settle for second.

The original, and sizeable breakaway consisted of some well-known names. Stage winner Vermote was joined by race leader André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal),  Nicolas Roche (Team Sky), Loic Vliegen (BMC Racing), Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac), Hector Saez (Caja-Rural), Johann Van Zyl (Dimension Data), Conor Dunne (JLT-Condor), Xandro Meurisse (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Jochem Hoekstra & Martijn Tusveld (Giant-Alpecin), Tom Leezer & Bert Jan Lindeman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Marco Coledan & Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo).

The large group of 15 riders had a maximum lead of 5-20. The group included a majority of WorldTour riders, which was in contrast to the escape group on stage one.

The breakaway started to split apart on a climb with around 31.5km left to the finish line. At the same time, Mark Cavendish was seen on the front of the peloton playing a support role for his teammate Cummings.

The lead of the reduced breakaway dropped below a minute for the first time since it went away, and yesterday's winner Greipel was passed on the ascent by the peloton. Greipel had been active in the break, taking bonus seconds and sprint points at every opportunity.

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) went off the front of the peloton on the climb of The Struggle and made his way across to the five remaining leaders near to the summit. Cummings couldn't match the acceleration and instead measured his effort on the climb.

Dennis drove the group on as riders as Cummings tried to make his way across to the group. Dan Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) went with the burst from Cummings but was dropped before the Dimension Data rider made the junction with the Dennis group.

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) and Guillaume Martin (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) reached D. Martin and the four rode together in their attempt to reel in the lead group.

Cummings rode with the lead group for a short while before he launched his first attack. Dennis was alive to the danger and brought the group back to Cummings.

More and more riders came across and added to the riders in the front group. With 11.5km left to the finish the front group had both numbers and quality.

Just as Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac) made contact with the back of the group, Cummings and Vermote went off the front and no one took up the chase.

As the lead duo pushed out their advantage over 30 seconds, and later to almost two minutes, the chasers looked at each other and waited for someone else to take it up.

At this point it was clear that the chase group was riding for third as the chance for victory was a long way up the road.

Stage three runs from Congleton to Tatton Park, Knutsford and covers 182km. With some climbing in the middle but with a relatively flat last quarter, any sprinters able to stay in touch will have a shot at victory.

Results

Tour of Britain 2016, stage two: Carlisle to Kendal, 195km

1. Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep in 5-40-50

2. Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data at 2 secs

3. Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx-QuickStep at 58 secs

4. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

6. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky

7. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert

8. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin

9. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac

10. Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo all same time

General classification after stage two

1. Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep in 9-33-20

2. Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data at 6 secs

3. Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx-QuickStep at 1-04

4. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert at 1-08

5. Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky at 1-08

6. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal at 1-08

7. Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac at 1-12

8. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert at 1-12

9. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 1-12

10. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky at 1-16

1. Most of the world's best sprinters are here

Mark Cavendish? Check. Andre Greipel? Check. Caleb Ewan? Check. Elia Viviani? Check. Nearly all of the premiere sprinters in the professional peloton will be in Britain to contest the eight stages.

The Vuelta a España's loss is definitely the Tour of Britain's gain. With a pan flat World Championships road race in Qatar this year the sprinters are favouring the Tour of Britain's roads over the mountainous route put forward in Spain.

It's only really Marcel Kittel and Fernando Gaviria who are missing, both of whom ride for Etixx-Quick Step, as well as John Degenkolb. But there's also Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) here, Wouter Wippert (Cannondale-Drapac), JJ Lobato (Movistar) and national champion Adam Blythe to add to the mix.

With the vast majority of the eight stages featuring flat finishes we're likely to see some great battles between the fast men as they hone their fitness for the Worlds later in the year.

2. There's some great British talent on show

We've got Cavendish and Blythe, as already mentioned, but the list of Brits turning out for their home race is great.

Sir Bradley Wiggins may be taking part in his final stage race, with fellow Olympic champion and new Team Sky signing Owain Doull also in his Wiggins team.

National time trial champion Alex Dowsett is in the squad for Movistar and will look to fare well in the time trial in Bristol on the penultimate day.

Tour de France stage winner Steve Cummings joins Cavendish in the Dimension Data squad, with Ian Stannard and Ben Swift part of a strong Sky team.

Tao Geoghegan Hart and Dan McLay will turn out for the national team with Blythe and Mark McNally is heading up the Wanty-Groupe Gobert squad.

3. The time trial will be hard fought

The line-up of sprinters is good, but the time triallists on show at the Tour of Britain could be even better. With the Vuelta not really offering much to the riders targetting the time trial at the World Championships, they've all come to Britain to take advantage of our great roads.

The only time trial on the eight-stage route is only 15km long, but it will be an absolute bun fight between the big names for the win. After all, it could help decide the race winner, with only flat stages left before the end of the race.

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) is here after winning silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as is three-time world champion Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step).

Dowsett (Movistar) is somewhat of an expert over this kind of distance, holding the national 10mi record, and Rohan Dennis (BMC) is pretty handy over the short distances.

Then there's Wiggo, Cummings, Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac), Taylor Phinney (BMC), Jon Dibben (Wiggins)...the list just goes on.

4. The roads will be packed with fans

Whatever the weather, you can guarantee that British cycling fans will be out on the roadsides in their thousands on every day of the race.

Unlike countries like France and Belgium, we don't get much top-class cycling passing through our country, so people will take days off work, schools will take their kids to the roadside and plenty of tourists will flock to places they've never heard off just to watch the peloton pass.

We've seen that races like the Tour de Yorkshire can attract tens of thousands of fans over a weekend, but the Tour of Britain can attract those numbers all week and the atmosphere is brilliant.

5. The British Continental teams are looking strong

The domestic season may be coming to an end in Britain, but the best riders will be on show at the Tour of Britain. The great thing about these domestic teams is that the riders are used to racing in British conditions on a variety of courses.

Teams like Madison-Genesis, JLT Condor and Team Wiggins don't just ride in domestic races either, with trips to the Tour of Korea, Tour of California and the Tour Alsace giving riders young and old great experience of stage racing.

Expect to see many of the domestic riders trying to get out in the breakaway, partly to gain a bit of exposure for their team, but also to gain sprint and KOM points along the route to get into one of the coveted jerseys.

The likes of Tom Stewart and Ian Bibby have had solid seasons, winning Velothon Wales and the Manx International GP respectively, while the ever-reliable Russ Downing is set to start his ninth Tour of Britain.

Despite strong performances from all five riders, the British cyclists were unable to feature in the final sprint for the medals in the Rio 2016 Olympic men's road race.

Rod Ellingworth, Team GB men's road cycling coach, gave his thoughts after a race that saw Geraint Thomas crash out of as possible medal winning position.

"He [Thomas] is alright. He’s fallen heavy, he’s got plenty of skin off but he’s ok I think," Ellingworth said after the rider had been driven away for a medial check.

"Looking at Geraint there, he was proper proper disappointed and he knew that was a proper gold medal chance", the coach said after Thomas was seen sat in a gutter on the final descent of the long and gruelling race.

After other riders, including Vincenzo Nibali, had gone down ahead of his group, Thomas could have been riding to contest the podium. As it was, Greg Van Avermaet was the strongest at the end and took the gold.

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Analysing the race, the British coach said the race was as they'd expected, "It was exactly what we thought; pretty full on all the way.

"The guys, until we hit the final circuit, rode the perfect race I think, and we had bad luck with Ian [Stannard] breaking his bike. There was lots of little crashes and punctures all the time, a few little issues."

Steve Cummings had been overlooked for selection for the squad until Peter Kennaugh withdrew and Cummings was convinced to re-enter the fold.

On Cummings's ride, Ellingworth said, "Steve did a great job bringing the lads into that first climb. We wanted it to be hard, it was hard"

With the Olympics being a one day race with a national, composite team, analysis is only worth so much, but Ellingwoth gave feedback on all his riders; "G [Thomas] put himself in the bike race perfectly.

"Adam [Yates] came round really good, he had a really bad time at the beginning on that first circuit and then he rode himself in, so that was good.

"In general, good teamwork: the way the lads wanted to race was how they actually raced. It’s just unfortunate about the crash at the end; I knew from the test event that descent was perhaps going to be a deciding factor in the race and it was. You think about how many riders crashed down there it was pretty mad really.

That's the Olympics done for four of the five British riders, but Chris Froome will take the start in the time trial on Wednesday August 10, where he is billed as one of the favourites to take gold.

"He [Froome] is ok, he rode well today," said Ellingworh. "He climbed the last mountain, he left a lot of world class bike riders, favourites like [Alejandro] Valverde, all the French guys couldn’t stay with him.

"I think in general his condition’s good; it’s about recovery now and looking after him and giving him the best chance [in the time trial]."

Peter Kennaugh put his country before himself on Tuesday, withdrawing himself from Olympic selection to be replaced by Steve Cummings for the road race.

The Manxman, who broke his collarbone in a crash at the Amgen Tour of California in May, says his decision to step down was based on his lack of fitness after that injury.

“I did everything I possibly could to be in shape for the Rio Olympic Games with the time I had after breaking my collarbone at the Tour of California in May," Kennaugh said in a statement.

"Unfortunately I just didn’t feel at the level needed to compete at the Olympics and I didn’t want to be on the start line at 70 per cent as it wouldn’t be fair on the team or myself, especially when you have other guys who are in the form of their lives and it’s about having the best five guys there on the day. I wish all my team mates good luck on both road and track at Rio.

"I still have plenty of other goals for the rest of the season and am really motivated to get some more results before the season is over. My next races will be San Sebastián on July 30 and then Vuelta a Burgos starting on August 2.”

>>> Comment: Team GB has got it right for Rio – and just in time

Kennaugh won gold on the track at London 2012, riding the team pursuit alongside Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy and Steven Burke.

Cummings will replace Kennaugh in the Olympic road race on August 6 and could be a reserve for the time trial four days later if Chris Froome is unable to ride.