'I have gone as far as I can in the UK cycling scene' – promising British cyclist launches crowdfunder to join team abroad

Promising British cyclist Max Hereward is seeking donations to help him afford to join a development team in Italy from next season.

The 20-year-old, who won the British under-23 National Road Series this year, believes he needs to look beyond the UK scene if he is to realise his dream of racing on the WorldTour.

He now hopes to raise £11,500 to join Zappi’s development squad, who have offered him a contract, and count Tom Pidcock, Ben Healy and Paul Double among their former riders.

Although the team will cover race and equipment costs, Hereward has been asked to part-fund his accommodation, as well as his travel from his home in Lancashire to the team’s base in Italy.

“The contract I need to sign for Zappi and be there next year is about £11,000-12,000, and we, as a family and myself, don’t really have that,” he told Cycling Weekly. “Any help really will go a long, long way.”

Hereward competed this season for club team 360cycling, winning the Yorkshire Classic and Clive Tiley Memorial Stage Race, as well as placing fourth at the British National Circuit Race Championships. He describes himself as an “all-rounder”, who thrives on courses with short, punchy climbs.

Having previously emailed Zappi his CV, Hereward was recommended to the manager by one of his team-mates, and was invited to Italy to ride as a guest earlier this month.

“First race, I punctured out, and then in the second race, I fractured my wrist,” Hereward said. “The middle of the season is probably where I was strongest, winning more and racing much better.”

This season marked the first in more than 20 years that there were no British men’s UCI Continental teams, following the collapses of Trinity Racing and Saint Piran. As a result, teams like Hereward’s have been able to compete for National Series wins, but their riders have no top-tier domestic squads to graduate into.

“I have gone as far as I can in the UK cycling scene,” wrote Hereward on his GoFundMe page.

Expanding on the point further, he told Cycling Weekly: “There’s only an amount you can go in the UK cycling scene to become a professional rider. I feel I’ve done what I can results wise and gaining as a developing rider in terms of racing and experience.

“There used to be teams like JLT, and maybe associations with Ineos [Grenadiers] giving British Cycling a dev team, but they didn’t do that. That would be a huge deal in terms of British racing, but it’s kind of just on its last legs now, and they need a bit of a revive.”

So far, Hereward has raised just over £2,000 through his crowdfunder. He has also applied for funding from The Rayner Foundation, a charity that supports up-and-coming British riders in Europe, although, he stresses, “it’s not guaranteed they’ll accept me”.

“The goal is £11,500, but I think we can make up means elsewhere if the fundraiser doesn’t reach that. Just any help is greatly appreciated,” he said.

Donations can be made to Hereward’s GoFundMe page here.