British Cycling has launched a new Great Britain Cycling Team ‘Pro Road Membership’ to support aspirations on the road, while opening up places on the organisation’s World Class Programme for talented riders across other Olympic disciplines.
With a home UCI Road World Championships and the Tokyo Olympic Games on the horizon, the new Pro Road Membership aims to galvanise the men’s and women’s professional road riders by offering a network of support. This includes access to Great Britain Cycling Team coaching, medical and performance support services, as well as providing dedicated training camps and race information for major events.
Performance Director Stephen Park explained, “British Cycling’s World Class Programme is famous for producing podium results at the highest level with big ambitions to continue this legacy through Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 and beyond.
“The World Class Programme structure is key to the development and success of the other Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, but we have recognised that it isn’t the primary support structure for the majority of our professional road riders.
“Working closely with UK Sport, we have considered how we can optimise our relationship with Britain’s best pro riders, who we know are proud to be a part of the Great Britain Cycling Team, and to ensure they are part of our journey and indeed part of our legacy.
“The new Pro Road Membership allows us to do this, and it also means we aren’t limited to the World Class Programme numbers, and as such we can provide our ‘safety net’ of support to 23 male and eight female riders. We have been working closely with riders and obtained their buy in at our inaugural training camp in Yorkshire in December, and the feedback we’ve had from their pro teams has been positive.
“By transferring across eight professional road riders onto the new Pro Road Membership, we have liberated eight places on the World Class Programme, and this has served to benefit BMX Beth Shriever and mountain bikers Sean Flynn and Cam Orr. We can now offer them support and provide opportunities to aid their development as they pursue their cycling ambitions.”
Geraint Thomas, 2018 Tour de France champion, said “There is no doubt my time on the Great Britain Cycling Team’s academy programme played a huge part in my successes on the track and road, and it’s great that British Cycling have found a way to be able to offer more places to riders who can benefit from this opportunity, while creating a membership which better suits the needs of pro riders.
“We are fortunate to have such a strong squad of road riders on both the men’s and women’s side, and I think we can expect great things over the coming months and years. It’s always an honour to represent the Great Britain Cycling Team and with the introduction of this new programme for pro riders, I think we will be more prepared than ever to race for our country.”
Mountain biker Sean Flynn said “I’m really grateful to have a place on the development squad with the Great Britain Cycling Team. I’m able to focus full-time on my ambition to be an Olympic champion with world-class support from my coaches and performance support team. I’ve also had opportunities I wouldn’t get outside of this programme; for example I recently represented GB on the road at the Tour de Yorkshire which was really cool and helped me develop my cycling skills.”
Great Britain Cycling Team – Pro Road Membership
Men
Adam Blythe
Hugh Carthy
Mark Cavendish
Gabriel Cullaigh
Steve Cummings
Scott Davies
Owain Doull
Alex Dowsett
Chris Froome
Tao Geoghagen Hart
James Knox
Chris Lawless
Dan McLay
Luke Rowe
James Shaw
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
Connor Swift
Harry Tanfield
Geraint Thomas
Scott Thwaites
Adam Yates
Simon Yates
Women*
Lizzy Banks
Dani Christmas
Henrietta Colborne
Anna Henderson
Nikki Juniper
Abby Mae Parkinson
Hayley Simmonds
Sophie Wright
*Alice Barnes, Hannah Barnes and Lizzie Deignan will remain on the World Class Programme.
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycling as recognised by the UCI – the international federation for the sport. Based in Manchester at the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre, British Cycling works across all levels and six disciplines of the sport (BMX, Mountain Bike, Cyclo-cross, Road, Track and Cycle Speedway).
British Cycling also works to represent cyclists’ interests at all levels, including campaigning on important issues including road safety. As a membership organisation, British Cycling provides a suite of benefits and support to its members who currently number over 146,000. All membership revenue is invested back into cycling.
