Shibden Apex RT confirms 2026 squad as new riders step up
Shibden Apex Race Team has confirmed its line-up for the 2026 season, combining returning second-year juniors with a group of riders stepping up from the youth ranks.
Shibden Apex Race Team has confirmed its line-up for the 2026 season, combining returning second-year juniors with a group of riders stepping up from the youth ranks.
New to the team are Melissa Moscrop (360cycling), Lily-Ann Scott (Team RL360 Isle of Man), Grace Upshall, and Ayesha Vose (Brother UK–Team On Form). All except Vose move up to junior level for the first time. They join re-signed riders Aelwen Davies, Maia Howell, Anna Lloyd, Mabli Phillips, and Phoebe Taylor.
Departing the team are Arabella Blackburn and Evie Smith, who both age out of the junior category, and Mille Salmon, whose future team has not yet been announced.
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Based in Yorkshire and managed by Tim Ferguson, Shibden Apex RT was established to support female riders transitioning from youth to junior racing, offering a mix of domestic and European race opportunities. The team has quickly become one of the most prominent development programmes in British cycling, recognised for its focus on progression as much as performance.
The 2025 season saw the team build on its previous successes, particularly on the track. Arabella Blackburn, Evie Smith and Phoebe Taylor were part of the British squad that won gold in the team pursuit at both the UEC Junior Track European Championships and the UCI Junior Track World Championships, where they also set a new junior world record. Their achievements underlined the team’s strength in developing riders capable of performing at the highest level across multiple disciplines.
In 2024, Shibden Apex RT was named Team of the Year at The British Continental Awards after a season that included international victories at the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie, Bizkaikoloreak Juniors, and the Peaks 2 Day, as well as the Scottish Junior Road Race Championship. Four of the team’s outgoing riders from that year – Cat Ferguson (Movistar), Imogen Wolff (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lucy Glover, and Alice Colling (both Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) — progressed into the UCI ranks.
Shibden Apex Race Team has confirmed its line-up for the 2026 season, combining returning second-year juniors with a group of riders stepping up from the youth ranks.
New to the team are Melissa Moscrop (360cycling), Lily-Ann Scott (Team RL360 Isle of Man), Grace Upshall, and Ayesha Vose (Brother UK–Team On Form). All except Vose move up to junior level for the first time. They join re-signed riders Aelwen Davies, Maia Howell, Anna Lloyd, Mabli Phillips, and Phoebe Taylor.
Departing the team are Arabella Blackburn and Evie Smith, who both age out of the junior category, and Mille Salmon, whose future team has not yet been announced.
Based in Yorkshire and managed by Tim Ferguson, Shibden Apex RT was established to support female riders transitioning from youth to junior racing, offering a mix of domestic and European race opportunities. The team has quickly become one of the most prominent development programmes in British cycling, recognised for its focus on progression as much as performance.
The 2025 season saw the team build on its previous successes, particularly on the track. Arabella Blackburn, Evie Smith and Phoebe Taylor were part of the British squad that won gold in the team pursuit at both the UEC Junior Track European Championships and the UCI Junior Track World Championships, where they also set a new junior world record. Their achievements underlined the team’s strength in developing riders capable of performing at the highest level across multiple disciplines.
In 2024, Shibden Apex RT was named Team of the Year at The British Continental Awards after a season that included international victories at the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie, Bizkaikoloreak Juniors, and the Peaks 2 Day, as well as the Scottish Junior Road Race Championship. Four of the team’s outgoing riders from that year – Cat Ferguson (Movistar), Imogen Wolff (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lucy Glover, and Alice Colling (both Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) — progressed into the UCI ranks.
Read our domestic women’s team guide here.
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
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