British Cycling announces next steps in return to riding events after coronavirus lockdown

British Cycling has released a new update on club activities and racing as the UK continues to ease the coronavirus lockdown.

The national governing body for the sport is now moving into the next phase of easing restrictions and a number of cycling activities are now permitted earlier than planned.

British Cycling says that club activities and coaching sessions can resume with immediate effect, as long as they adhere to government rules on group sizes and social distancing.

Racing will remain on hold, but British Cycling said it will be looking to reintroduce some competition formats at the next stage of the process.

The HSBC Breeze and Guided Rides will still be suspended until July 4, with new training materials for ride leaders being made available at the end of the month.

You can read the full plan here. 

This is phase three of British Cycling’s six-step plan to return to normality, with stage six being a return of all sanctioned activity.

British Cycling delivery director Dani Every said: “Today’s announcement is an important next step in our plan to safely reintroduce activities, and I want to thank all of the riders, clubs, coaches and other stakeholders for their patience as we have developed our planning over recent weeks.  

“We know that many will have concerns about how and when to resume activities, and through today’s update we want to empower people and equip them with the necessary tools to deliver their activities with confidence. We will continue to develop this as the wider landscape evolves, and I’d encourage anybody with questions to get in contact with our team for further support. 

“The nationwide enthusiasm for cycling we have seen develop over recent months should give us cause for optimism and excitement, and we are keen to ensure that our incredibly popular recreation programmes are able to provide invaluable support to riders as they continue their personal journeys.”

As previously announced, the suspension on regional racing and non-competitive events like sportives is in place until August 1, with international and national level events on hold until September 1.

But these restrictions are being reviewed every two weeks and British Cycling will give four weeks notice of any extension or shortening of the suspension for regional and non-competitive events and six weeks notice for bigger events.

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The organisation will also will also be releasing a series of webinars aimed at supporting clubs, groups and coaches with the new guidance.

Every: “I am pleased to say that our plans to reintroduce certain racing disciplines are now being developed with the support of our Discipline Commissions, to establish how we can safely deliver events while complying with government guidance.   

“I know that this is something our riders, teams and officials are keen to hear more about and we will be announcing further details on this next month.”