After a decade at the heart of Britain’s domestic peloton, Primera–TeamJobs is calling time.
For ten years, the Bournemouth-based outfit has been one of the sport’s constants – a familiar splash of blue in National B races, a steady presence at the sharp end of the National Road Series, and a nurturing home for riders balancing racing ambition with real-world life. But as team manager Jason Gault tells The British Continental, the time has come to stop pedalling uphill.
The joy has begun to seep out of it, and when that’s the main reason you do it, you have to ask yourself if it’s still worth it
“It’s just become hard work on a number of levels,” Gault says. “The joy has begun to seep out of it, and when that’s the main reason you do it, you have to ask yourself if it’s still worth it.”
Primera–TeamJobs grew from local roots. Shop owner Bill Temple, the driving force behind Bournemouth’s Primera Sports, had long sponsored a small club squad before Gault took the reins and helped turn it into a serious racing outfit. Over the next decade, the team evolved into a fixture of the national scene — part development pathway, part family.
“I speak to riders every year who join teams and they’re just another number,” Gault explains. “They don’t spend a lot of time with their teammates. That was the one thing we always tried to do differently. We’d have team rides, we would do a lot together and build the fabric.”
For Gault, that ethos helped Primera–TeamJobs become a rare constant in an increasingly volatile landscape. Riders came and went — some progressing to bigger teams, others staying loyal — but the team’s culture remained its hallmark.
Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
Still, even love has limits. Running a top-flight amateur team in Britain has never been easy, but Gault says the past few seasons had tested the resolve. What was once a hobby fuelled by enthusiasm had become a second job laden with admin, costs, and uncertainty, especially in today’s challenging economic climate.
“You need tens of thousands a year to do that,” he says. “On top of the kit, on top of, you know, trying to convince a bike sponsor… it’s not easy. But we just feel the reward versus the effort equation has just tipped for us. It’s just too much worry. Can we afford it? Is it worth it?”
That worry took its toll. “For the time me, Bill and the other people put in, we just thought, you know what, we just don’t think it’s worth it anymore. And we want to kind of bow out in a good way.”
Gault speaks with clear affection for the sport — but also frustration at how much it has changed.
The scene, I do feel, is in distress at the moment and it’s a shame really
“Even twelve years ago, when I first got involved, started racing the elite races and crits and everything else, it was a buzz,” he says. “There was so much going on. There were more races than you could shake a stick at… and in that time period it’s just a fraction of what it used to be and it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. So I think from a rider’s point of view, and as a manager, trying to get excited about a year ahead, it’s, ‘is that race going to actually run next year?’”
The decline of regular local racing has, he believes, eroded the sport’s foundations.
“We had a number of very local races which, although they weren’t big races on the calendar, they created a buzz locally,” he says. “Thruxton was on every week throughout the summer, Goodwood, Mountbatten… they then drove a buzz, a local buzz to get more people on bikes. Now most of those races have just died a death.”
He sees it as part of a wider malaise.
“The scene, I do feel, is in distress at the moment and it’s a shame really. You’re seeing a lot of cycle firms, teams closing. It’s just been a story of good teams shutting shop, not that many great teams coming in. There’s just a negative feel.”
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
While he stops short of blame, Gault believes British Cycling could do more to support those still keeping the domestic scene alive.
“I do think BC need to do something,” he says. “Organisers have got a really tough job at the moment. Councils are not helping them. They’ve got more and more hoops to jump through to actually organise a race in the first place.”
The introduction of upfront entry fees, he argues, has only deepened the malaise. Riders reluctant to part with £30 or £40 weeks in advance hold off entering; organisers panic at the low numbers; races get cancelled; and the next time around, trust erodes further.
Where BC changed the charging system to an upfront payment… the way that has unfolded, in my opinion, is riders are not putting entries in
“Where BC changed the charging system to an upfront payment, I can understand why — put your money where your mouth is, kind of thing — I do get it. But unfortunately, the way that has unfolded, in my opinion, is riders are not putting entries in because they’re going, ‘I don’t want to spend my thirty to forty, fifty quid or whatever now, I’ll wait.’ You end up in this vicious circle.”
He also recalls a moment this year that left him disheartened.
“We had an internal misunderstanding over some race entries and I had two riders who were supposed to ride the Nationals. We missed the cut-off by half a day. I spoke to probably three people [at British Cycling] and they just didn’t cut us any flexibility at all. I understand there needs to be a system, but when we’re an elite team that we put together to support the national race scene and everything we do… just cut us that tiny bit of slack we needed. To see those two lads miss the Nationals was quite distressing for me and for them.”
For Gault, it’s not about finger-pointing — it’s about culture. “Sometimes you just need someone at BC to say, we get it, we’ll help you out,” he says. “Instead, it feels like you’re talking to a wall.”
Gault insists there’s no bitterness – only realism. The team has enjoyed its time, he says, and made its mark. But with sponsors pulling back and the energy required to keep things afloat increasing, it feels like the right moment to draw the curtain.
“We’ve always been happy to put the hours in,” Gault admits. “But the landscape’s changed. The joy that used to fuel it has just faded. You get to a point where you ask: what are we doing all this for?”
He does, however, look back on the team with pride.
Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
“We’ve had a good run with it,” he says. “We’ve enjoyed what we’ve done. We’re very glad to have been a part of the scene.”
He measures the team’s legacy not in results but in relationships.
It’s been a real pleasure to bring riders in and almost, to some degree, be a stepping stone for them — creating that discipline, that culture, helping them develop not just as riders but as people
“It’s been a real pleasure to bring riders in and almost, to some degree, be a stepping stone for them — creating that discipline, that culture, helping them develop not just as riders but as people,” he says. “Some of the younger riders, particularly seventeen-, eighteen-year-olds who joined the team and wouldn’t say boo to a goose… seeing them just develop as people, build their confidence — I think that’s the legacy we’ve given to a lot of people.”
The confirmation of the team’s loss, following so closely on the heels of SRCT’s closure, leaves the domestic road scene a little thinner and a little quieter — and serves as another reminder of how fragile the ecosystem of British racing has become.
After a decade at the heart of Britain’s domestic peloton, Primera–TeamJobs is calling time.
For ten years, the Bournemouth-based outfit has been one of the sport’s constants – a familiar splash of blue in National B races, a steady presence at the sharp end of the National Road Series, and a nurturing home for riders balancing racing ambition with real-world life. But as team manager Jason Gault tells The British Continental, the time has come to stop pedalling uphill.
“It’s just become hard work on a number of levels,” Gault says. “The joy has begun to seep out of it, and when that’s the main reason you do it, you have to ask yourself if it’s still worth it.”
Primera–TeamJobs grew from local roots. Shop owner Bill Temple, the driving force behind Bournemouth’s Primera Sports, had long sponsored a small club squad before Gault took the reins and helped turn it into a serious racing outfit. Over the next decade, the team evolved into a fixture of the national scene — part development pathway, part family.
“I speak to riders every year who join teams and they’re just another number,” Gault explains. “They don’t spend a lot of time with their teammates. That was the one thing we always tried to do differently. We’d have team rides, we would do a lot together and build the fabric.”
For Gault, that ethos helped Primera–TeamJobs become a rare constant in an increasingly volatile landscape. Riders came and went — some progressing to bigger teams, others staying loyal — but the team’s culture remained its hallmark.
Still, even love has limits. Running a top-flight amateur team in Britain has never been easy, but Gault says the past few seasons had tested the resolve. What was once a hobby fuelled by enthusiasm had become a second job laden with admin, costs, and uncertainty, especially in today’s challenging economic climate.
“You need tens of thousands a year to do that,” he says. “On top of the kit, on top of, you know, trying to convince a bike sponsor… it’s not easy. But we just feel the reward versus the effort equation has just tipped for us. It’s just too much worry. Can we afford it? Is it worth it?”
That worry took its toll. “For the time me, Bill and the other people put in, we just thought, you know what, we just don’t think it’s worth it anymore. And we want to kind of bow out in a good way.”
Gault speaks with clear affection for the sport — but also frustration at how much it has changed.
“Even twelve years ago, when I first got involved, started racing the elite races and crits and everything else, it was a buzz,” he says. “There was so much going on. There were more races than you could shake a stick at… and in that time period it’s just a fraction of what it used to be and it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. So I think from a rider’s point of view, and as a manager, trying to get excited about a year ahead, it’s, ‘is that race going to actually run next year?’”
The decline of regular local racing has, he believes, eroded the sport’s foundations.
“We had a number of very local races which, although they weren’t big races on the calendar, they created a buzz locally,” he says. “Thruxton was on every week throughout the summer, Goodwood, Mountbatten… they then drove a buzz, a local buzz to get more people on bikes. Now most of those races have just died a death.”
He sees it as part of a wider malaise.
“The scene, I do feel, is in distress at the moment and it’s a shame really. You’re seeing a lot of cycle firms, teams closing. It’s just been a story of good teams shutting shop, not that many great teams coming in. There’s just a negative feel.”
While he stops short of blame, Gault believes British Cycling could do more to support those still keeping the domestic scene alive.
“I do think BC need to do something,” he says. “Organisers have got a really tough job at the moment. Councils are not helping them. They’ve got more and more hoops to jump through to actually organise a race in the first place.”
The introduction of upfront entry fees, he argues, has only deepened the malaise. Riders reluctant to part with £30 or £40 weeks in advance hold off entering; organisers panic at the low numbers; races get cancelled; and the next time around, trust erodes further.
“Where BC changed the charging system to an upfront payment, I can understand why — put your money where your mouth is, kind of thing — I do get it. But unfortunately, the way that has unfolded, in my opinion, is riders are not putting entries in because they’re going, ‘I don’t want to spend my thirty to forty, fifty quid or whatever now, I’ll wait.’ You end up in this vicious circle.”
He also recalls a moment this year that left him disheartened.
“We had an internal misunderstanding over some race entries and I had two riders who were supposed to ride the Nationals. We missed the cut-off by half a day. I spoke to probably three people [at British Cycling] and they just didn’t cut us any flexibility at all. I understand there needs to be a system, but when we’re an elite team that we put together to support the national race scene and everything we do… just cut us that tiny bit of slack we needed. To see those two lads miss the Nationals was quite distressing for me and for them.”
For Gault, it’s not about finger-pointing — it’s about culture. “Sometimes you just need someone at BC to say, we get it, we’ll help you out,” he says. “Instead, it feels like you’re talking to a wall.”
Gault insists there’s no bitterness – only realism. The team has enjoyed its time, he says, and made its mark. But with sponsors pulling back and the energy required to keep things afloat increasing, it feels like the right moment to draw the curtain.
“We’ve always been happy to put the hours in,” Gault admits. “But the landscape’s changed. The joy that used to fuel it has just faded. You get to a point where you ask: what are we doing all this for?”
He does, however, look back on the team with pride.
“We’ve had a good run with it,” he says. “We’ve enjoyed what we’ve done. We’re very glad to have been a part of the scene.”
He measures the team’s legacy not in results but in relationships.
“It’s been a real pleasure to bring riders in and almost, to some degree, be a stepping stone for them — creating that discipline, that culture, helping them develop not just as riders but as people,” he says. “Some of the younger riders, particularly seventeen-, eighteen-year-olds who joined the team and wouldn’t say boo to a goose… seeing them just develop as people, build their confidence — I think that’s the legacy we’ve given to a lot of people.”
The confirmation of the team’s loss, following so closely on the heels of SRCT’s closure, leaves the domestic road scene a little thinner and a little quieter — and serves as another reminder of how fragile the ecosystem of British racing has become.
Read our domestic team guide here.
Featured image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
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