This is an edited version of our brand new British Conti CC newsletter. See the original version here. Subscribe to British Conti CC to get future editions of the Communiqué delivered straight to your inbox.

Intro

Hello British Conti CCers!

It has only been six days since our last Communiqué but boy has a lot happened.

There has been more success on the road for Brits in the last few days, with youngsters Oliver Knight, Lukas Nerurkar and Joseph Blackmore catching our eye in particular. There has also been a flurry of domestic elite team new signings and some important race news too. 

We’ve also been taking a look at local authority finances – not sexy perhaps, but vitally important for town centre bike races in the UK. And we’re now offering a whopping 60% off the last few exclusive Rapha x British Conti garments. When they are gone, they are gone!

Lastly, congratulations to Glenn Forrest, Gray Surman, Ally Rae, David Ilsley and Chris Lawrence for winning the prize draw for a Rapha x British Conti casquette. We will be posting the caps out in the next few days.

Denny Gray, Founder & Editor, The British Continental

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Feature

The latest blow to domestic road racing was last week’s announcement that the Tour Series will take a hiatus in 2023. The news highlights just how important the state of local authority finances is to the future of domestic road racing.

In our latest post, we take a look at why the state of local authority finances is so intertwined with the future of domestic road racing. With local government facing a bigger-than-ever funding gap, will councils be able to afford to host town centre bike races in the coming years?

We also recall Tom Pidcock’s remarkable mid-race bike change in the 2017 Durham Tour Series round and ponder how likely a Tour Series return in 2024 is.

Read more here.

Digest

Results

UCI road races

• Opening weekend arrived on Saturday and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) was a smart 5th in the men’s version of the first big one-day race of the year, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (1.UWT).
• Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM)underlined her classic ability with 5th too at the women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (1.WWT), with Lifeplus-Wahoo’s Margaux Vigie finishing 12th.
• On Sunday, Lukas Nerurkar (TRINITY Racing), just 19, confirmed he is one to watch this season, displaying a fine set of climbing legs at the Gran Camiño (2.1) to seal 6th overall and the best young rider’s jersey. His teammate Max Walker finished a solid 7th on the final stage ITT.
• The Tour of Rwanda (2.1) finished on the same day, where another 19-year-old, Joseph Blackmore (Great Britain), was busy making a claim to be a future GC contender, finishing 6th overall.
• On the same day, juniors Jed Smithson and Matthew Brennan (both Fensham Howes) bagged top 10s in the junior Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne(1.1), a race previously won by Brits Ethan Hayter, James Shaw, Geraint Thomas and Adam Blythe.
• On Tuesday, AT85 Pro Cycling‘s season debut at the men’s Le Samyn (1.1) was a baptism of fire, with all the team’s riders recording a DNF on the cobbles.
• In the women’s edition of Le Samyn (1.1), Margaux Vigie scored Lifeplus-Wahoo’s first top 10 of the year, finishing 7th. We also spied that our journal writer Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck) was 17th.

Amateur road races

• Oliver Knight (AVC Aix-en-Provence) continued his remarkable winning streak (4 wins from 6 races in 2023) with victory at the Circuit Vallee du Bedat.
• Benjamin Peatfield (Vendée U) and Farley Barber (UC Cholet) both grabbed top 10s elsewhere in France, while Henry Lawton (AG2R Citroën U23) and Tyler Hannay (G.S.Mastromarco-Sensi-FC Nibali) both recorded top 10s over the border in Italy.

Transfers & contracts

• After revealing the first eight of its 2023 squad by the time our last Communiqué had gone out, Spectra Cannondale has since announced the additions of Lucy Nelson (Liverpool University Cycling Club), Theo Obholzer (Saint Piran) and Laura Senior (LAKA Pedal Mafia RT) to its ranks.
• The Alba Road Team has added the talented Irish teenager Amelia Tyler to its squad for 2023. Tyler won the green jersey at the Rás na mBan last year.
• Team Boompods have also announced a new signing. Jayati Hine (who previously rode for the University of Sheffield) will represent the team for the first time at the Capenwray road race.
• Wales Racing Academy rider Fred Meredith, who broke the British junior hour record last year, has announced he will join the Marian University Cycling Team this August, as he moves to the Indiana-based university to begin his undergraduate studies.

Race news

• Organisers of RideLondon, the three-day WWT stage race (26-28 May), have revealed the route for the 2023 edition. It will once again feature two Essex stages before a final stage in central London. All three stages will be televised by the BBC.
• With just over three weeks before the 7^th ANEXO/CAMS Women’s and 9^th Junior CiCLE Classics (26 Mar), the organiser says that over 100 riders are already entered for each event. The former will be the first race of the women’s National Road Series this year.
• The route for the 2023 edition of the iconic Rás Tailteann 2023 has been announced, revealing a much tougher route than last year’s race. The race traditionally features a strong contingent of British riders. Brit Louis Sutton was second overall last season.
• Cold Dark North has announced that 7 women’s and 10 men’s teams have entered Round One of the Proper Northern Road Race Series at Capenwray (Nat B, 12 Mar), with over 110 riders entries for the men’s and 58 for the women’s races (both max 60 fields). 
• Entries for the excellent Peaks 2 Day (Nat B, 18-19 Mar) close on 4 March.

Upcoming races

• On Saturday, both Saint Piran and AT85 Pro Cycling will line up at the Grand Prix Criquielion (1.1) in Belgium. Former WiV SunGod riders Matt Bostock, Rory Townsend and Jake Scott are also on the provisional startlist for their new team Bolton Equities Black Spoke.
• Elite team Rokit-SRCT will participate in a UCI race this year, at the Le Tour des 100 Communes (1.2), the team’s UCI race debut.
• On the same day, another British elite team will make its UCI road racing debut as Sn Vitae Bim Bam Coaching RT start the Visit South Aegean Islands two-day stage race (2.2).
• On Sunday, AT85 Pro Cycling continues its Belgian adverntures at the Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré (1.1).
• While over in France, Saint Piran and Rokit-SRCT take part in the catchily-titled Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers Souvenir Bruno Comini (1.2)
• Then next Wednesday, Lifeplus-Wahoo are at the GP Oetingen (1.1).

Kit cut

There is still a limited number of Rapha x The British Continental jerseys and gilets available. If you would like to get your hands on them before they go, feel free to use the code 60OFF to get 60% off your order.

The British Continental. Proudly presented by Rapha, supported by HUNT and Dolan.