Every rider dreams of putting their hands in the air to celebrating winning a big race. These are moments to cherish. And for developing riders, they can be a stepping stone towards gaining a contract with a professional level team.
Having reviewed team wins last week, this post takes a look at the domestic rider wins in both UCI and National A road races in 2019. Last season, Matt Gibson topped the domestic rider wins rankings with four UCI wins and two National A wins. Who topped the rankings this season?
UCI race wins
UCI race wins – overall
Let’s start with UCI races. In total, 12 different British domestic riders won UCI races in 2019 (compared with 17 in 2018).
UCI race wins by British male riders below World Tour level in 2019
New Team Ineos signing Ethan Hayter (Great Britain Cycling Team / VC Londres) took the most UCI race wins amongst domestic riders with five victories. The only other British rider to win as many UCI races in 2019 was Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott). Hayter’s most eye-catching victories were his two stage wins at the Baby Giro (2.2U) and a further stage win at the Tour de L’Avenir (2.Ncup). He also took a stage and the overall win at the A Travers les Hauts de France stage race (2.2). Add in second places in stages at the Tour de L’Avenir, the U23 time trial at the National Road Championships and the Orlen Nations Grand Prix (2.Ncup), and Hayter can count his 2019 road season as a true success. If he hadn’t broken his collarbone at the Tour de L’Avenir who knows what more he may have achieved.
The only other British rider to win as many UCI races as Ethan Hayter in 2019 was Adam Yates
Tom Pidcock (Team Wiggins Le Col) topped the domestic rider points rankings in 2019 and finished just behind Hayter when it came to UCI road wins with four victories. Pidcock’s most prestigious road win was undoubtedly his Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (1.2U) victory in June (Pidcock also won the junior version of this race). No less impressive was his win on the Planches des Belles Filles at the Tour Alsace (2.2), where Pidcock also won the overall. His fourth win was at the Belgian development race Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux (2.2U) where he won stage 2b. In addition to his four wins, Pidcock also grabbed two second places and five thirds (including his bronze at the U23 road race at the World Championships).
Three riders won two UCI road races apiece: Fred Wright (Great Britain Cycling Team), Alexander Richardson (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) and Matt Walls (Great Britain Cycling Team). Wright, who will ride for Bahrain-McLaren in 2020, won stages in both the Baby Giro and the Tour de L’Avenir. Walls added stage wins at the Baby Giro and A Travers les Hauts de France to the three UCI wins he took in 2018. Whilst Richardson used his breakaway prowess to power to wins at both the Arno Wallaard Memorial (1.2) and a stage win in the Tour de la Mirabelle (2.2).
UCI race wins by ‘domestic’ (British and/or domestically-based) male riders below World Tour level in 2019
If we add in non-British riders who rode for domestic teams in 2019, then two new names appear in the rider wins table: New Zealander James Fouché (Team Wiggins Le Col) and Irishman Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes). Fouché began 2019 by winning both the elite road race and the U23 time trial at the New Zealand National Road Championships. Whilst Townsend finished the year with two stage wins at the recent Tour of Fuzhou (2.1).
UCI race wins – ‘senior’ level races
Looking at ‘senior’ level UCI races only (i.e. UCI races that are not restricted to U23 riders), then Townsend, Pidcock, Richardson and Hayter top the rankings with two wins each.
UCI race wins by domestic riders – senior race classifications only (.1, .2 and NC)
UCI race wins – ‘U23’ level races
Whereas for U23 races only, Hayter comes out top, followed by Pidcock and Wright.
UCI race wins by domestic riders – U23 race classifications only (.2U, .NC and U23 NC)
National A race wins
What about wins in the National A road races (i.e. National Road Series races, as well as the Bourne CiCLE Classic)?
National A race wins by domestic riders, 2019
Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis), Rory Townsend and James Shaw (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) each won three National A road races in 2019. Matt Holmes took two stages and the overall at the Manx International. Rory Townsend won three National Road Series races: the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prix, the Beaumont Trophy and the Circuit of the Mendips. And James Shaw won stage 2 and the overall at the Tour of the Reservoir, as well as the Grasscrete Ryedale Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Ed Clancy (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK) took two stage wins in the Manx International.
Combined race wins
So, put UCI and National A road race wins together and what do we get?
Combined UCI and National A road race wins by domestic riders in 2019
Hayter and Townsend come out as the most winning domestic riders in 2019, with Pidcock rounding out the rider wins ‘podium’.
Featured photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. 2019 HSBC UK National Road Championships, Men’s Road Race – Norwich, Norfolk, England – Ethan Hayter, Matt Bostock, Jake Stewart.
Methodology. These rankings include all races that took place in the 2019 calendar year (i.e. not the UCI’s 2019 season, which ran from October 2018 to October 2019). All UCI races included in the rankings are those classified as such in the UCI’s rankings system.
Wins were counted from UCI classified races or National A road races only (criterium races were not included). Wins for secondary competitions (points, king of the mountains) were not counted.
For the purposes of this review, we have counted any British rider below the level of World Tour as a domestic rider. We have also included non-British riders riding for British teams.
Every rider dreams of putting their hands in the air to celebrating winning a big race. These are moments to cherish. And for developing riders, they can be a stepping stone towards gaining a contract with a professional level team.
Having reviewed team wins last week, this post takes a look at the domestic rider wins in both UCI and National A road races in 2019. Last season, Matt Gibson topped the domestic rider wins rankings with four UCI wins and two National A wins. Who topped the rankings this season?
UCI race wins
UCI race wins – overall
Let’s start with UCI races. In total, 12 different British domestic riders won UCI races in 2019 (compared with 17 in 2018).
New Team Ineos signing Ethan Hayter (Great Britain Cycling Team / VC Londres) took the most UCI race wins amongst domestic riders with five victories. The only other British rider to win as many UCI races in 2019 was Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott). Hayter’s most eye-catching victories were his two stage wins at the Baby Giro (2.2U) and a further stage win at the Tour de L’Avenir (2.Ncup). He also took a stage and the overall win at the A Travers les Hauts de France stage race (2.2). Add in second places in stages at the Tour de L’Avenir, the U23 time trial at the National Road Championships and the Orlen Nations Grand Prix (2.Ncup), and Hayter can count his 2019 road season as a true success. If he hadn’t broken his collarbone at the Tour de L’Avenir who knows what more he may have achieved.
Tom Pidcock (Team Wiggins Le Col) topped the domestic rider points rankings in 2019 and finished just behind Hayter when it came to UCI road wins with four victories. Pidcock’s most prestigious road win was undoubtedly his Paris-Roubaix Espoirs (1.2U) victory in June (Pidcock also won the junior version of this race). No less impressive was his win on the Planches des Belles Filles at the Tour Alsace (2.2), where Pidcock also won the overall. His fourth win was at the Belgian development race Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux (2.2U) where he won stage 2b. In addition to his four wins, Pidcock also grabbed two second places and five thirds (including his bronze at the U23 road race at the World Championships).
Three riders won two UCI road races apiece: Fred Wright (Great Britain Cycling Team), Alexander Richardson (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) and Matt Walls (Great Britain Cycling Team). Wright, who will ride for Bahrain-McLaren in 2020, won stages in both the Baby Giro and the Tour de L’Avenir. Walls added stage wins at the Baby Giro and A Travers les Hauts de France to the three UCI wins he took in 2018. Whilst Richardson used his breakaway prowess to power to wins at both the Arno Wallaard Memorial (1.2) and a stage win in the Tour de la Mirabelle (2.2).
If we add in non-British riders who rode for domestic teams in 2019, then two new names appear in the rider wins table: New Zealander James Fouché (Team Wiggins Le Col) and Irishman Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes). Fouché began 2019 by winning both the elite road race and the U23 time trial at the New Zealand National Road Championships. Whilst Townsend finished the year with two stage wins at the recent Tour of Fuzhou (2.1).
UCI race wins – ‘senior’ level races
Looking at ‘senior’ level UCI races only (i.e. UCI races that are not restricted to U23 riders), then Townsend, Pidcock, Richardson and Hayter top the rankings with two wins each.
UCI race wins – ‘U23’ level races
Whereas for U23 races only, Hayter comes out top, followed by Pidcock and Wright.
National A race wins
What about wins in the National A road races (i.e. National Road Series races, as well as the Bourne CiCLE Classic)?
Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis), Rory Townsend and James Shaw (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling) each won three National A road races in 2019. Matt Holmes took two stages and the overall at the Manx International. Rory Townsend won three National Road Series races: the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prix, the Beaumont Trophy and the Circuit of the Mendips. And James Shaw won stage 2 and the overall at the Tour of the Reservoir, as well as the Grasscrete Ryedale Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Ed Clancy (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK) took two stage wins in the Manx International.
Combined race wins
So, put UCI and National A road race wins together and what do we get?
Hayter and Townsend come out as the most winning domestic riders in 2019, with Pidcock rounding out the rider wins ‘podium’.
Featured photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. 2019 HSBC UK National Road Championships, Men’s Road Race – Norwich, Norfolk, England – Ethan Hayter, Matt Bostock, Jake Stewart.
Methodology. These rankings include all races that took place in the 2019 calendar year (i.e. not the UCI’s 2019 season, which ran from October 2018 to October 2019). All UCI races included in the rankings are those classified as such in the UCI’s rankings system.
Wins were counted from UCI classified races or National A road races only (criterium races were not included). Wins for secondary competitions (points, king of the mountains) were not counted.
For the purposes of this review, we have counted any British rider below the level of World Tour as a domestic rider. We have also included non-British riders riding for British teams.
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