We are really pleased to introduce Hope Inglis as the first of The British Continental’s new journal contributors for 2026. In her opening entry, she makes the case for what road cycling might learn from its muddier cousins - and why a trip to Cannock Chase rekindled her love of racing.
We are really pleased to introduce London Academy’s Hope Inglis as the first of The British Continental’s new journal contributors for 2026. Hope races under-23 across road, cyclocross, and mountain bike this year while on a full-time placement at PwC as part of a Computer Science degree at the University of Birmingham, and while serving on British Cycling’s Road Commission, where she has pushed for better gender equity in domestic racing, including equal race durations in the National Circuit Series for men and women. She is not short of angles.
Her opening entry is a case for straying off the tarmac. Having taken up MTB XC last year, Inglis found it gave back something she hadn’t realised she was losing: a reason to care about road racing again. What road cycling might learn from the disciplines it tends to look past – and what a trip to Cannock Chase and a forthcoming start at Lincoln GP have to do with each other – is the argument she opens with.
I love road racing and I’m going to presume that, since you’re reading this, you do too! It’s a discipline where you get a longer race for your travel time, have a chat mid-race and attack in the sun. But there is still a lot it could learn from its muddier cousins.
Last year, I dipped my toe into MTB XC for the first time. On a borrowed bike (thanks to a kind friend) I made my debut at Cannock Chase National. Although out of my comfort zone on the drop-offs and rocks, it brought a fresh perspective to racing.
Turning my focus in a different direction helped rekindle my love of the sport
Counterintuitively, rather than drawing me away from road racing, I think starting mountain biking is part of the reason I’m still going. Last year, I felt I had finally built up some good form for the road season. But a combination of some bad luck and errors in races meant I had placed high expectations on myself that felt far away from being realised. The enjoyment of weekend trips to races seemed to be dwindling so turning my focus in a different direction helped rekindle my love of the sport.
Although the technical gains from being a multidiscipline rider are well documented, there are other more hidden but equally important takeaways. For me, starting a new discipline has given me more freedom to play around on my bike and has provided a much needed reminder of what racing should be about.
Image: Gina Ball
I always have been and always will be a competitive person. But sometimes that urge to do the best you can changes to (self-inflicted) pressure to get a good result, leaving you deflated when races don’t go your way. So the ability to step back and make an effort to do a race ‘just for fun’ can remind you of the value of smaller process goals and often ends up pushing you even further.
There’s a pure love of their sport and eagerness to share that with the people around them that road cyclists shouldn’t forget
An increasing focus on numbers and marginal gains on the road may be exciting for the aero nerds and sports scientists, but I think it’s just as important at the domestic level of the sport to recognise that a more relaxed enjoyment-focused approach can be just as competitive. There are fewer riders at the National XC series fighting for the next pro contract, but there’s a pure love of their sport and eagerness to share that with the people around them that road cyclists shouldn’t forget.
There’s something special about mountain biking and cyclocross where every category races on the same course over the same weekend. The smaller laps make for a better spectator event and it’s unusual not to combine racing with watching friends compete before and after. It’s also one of the only times I get to see my friend from my Go-Ride club compete in the youth races. It offers us a chance to compare notes on the course and shows younger riders a clear and exciting progression with the opportunity to race the same day as the likes of Evie Richards. Is this the atmosphere road needs to bring to its next event offering?
I went back to Cannock for the national again this year (this time with my own mountain bike having been added to my collection!) and although I’m still not very good at the drop-offs and rocks, there was satisfaction in the improvement I had made over the year. And the fact that I’ve still got a lot to improve on is exciting. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to translating my new skills (both mental and physical) to road and cyclocross.
Hope (left). Image: Rupert Hartley
If you’re currently solely a road rider, let this be my petition to you to stray off the tarmac and hop onto the trails. I acknowledge that although I love the thrill of riding around a muddy field in the middle of a British winter, others may not see the same appeal. So maybe a local bridleway in the summer could be the gateway drug into off road riding? It’s your chance to leave the power meter behind and channel your inner Puck Pieterse.
Don’t be mistaken that it’s only fun you’ll gain though. Those skills may literally save your skin when you’re next hurtling towards a bottleneck surrounded by 100 other riders. For the price of a few years’ suffering in muddy fields across the UK, you too can experience the rush of catching someone up not through effort but instead railing a smooth corner at your local crit. Similarly, although I’m unlikely to be finishing at the front this year at Lincoln, I’m looking forward to making the most of the legs I’ve got by sticking to the gutter of Michaelgate as much as possible.
While some use the crowds purely as a morale boost while tackling the 20% gradient, I see it more as a dare of how close I can get lining up next to the pavement’s threatening edge
The atmosphere is what makes the Rapha Lincoln GP unmissable, part of the reason that I’ve chosen to test myself in this race instead of heading to an inevitably soggy Tong for the next round of the MTB XC national series. (Although I will be back on the big tyres in June.) While some use the crowds purely as a morale boost while tackling the 20% gradient, I see it more as a dare of how close I can get lining up next to the pavement’s threatening edge. I’ve yet to run someone over, but it does normally make for some cool videos.
Having said I don’t like to focus on watts, I would like to see an analysis on how many you save by riding over the much smoother stones on the edge of the road instead of those famed tough cobbles down the centre. Something to think about while you’re climbing in zone 6 perhaps.
So I’ll see you at Lincoln, but I’ll also hopefully see you out and about off the road too. That reminds me, I definitely need to work on my bunny hopping this summer.
We are really pleased to introduce London Academy’s Hope Inglis as the first of The British Continental’s new journal contributors for 2026. Hope races under-23 across road, cyclocross, and mountain bike this year while on a full-time placement at PwC as part of a Computer Science degree at the University of Birmingham, and while serving on British Cycling’s Road Commission, where she has pushed for better gender equity in domestic racing, including equal race durations in the National Circuit Series for men and women. She is not short of angles.
Her opening entry is a case for straying off the tarmac. Having taken up MTB XC last year, Inglis found it gave back something she hadn’t realised she was losing: a reason to care about road racing again. What road cycling might learn from the disciplines it tends to look past – and what a trip to Cannock Chase and a forthcoming start at Lincoln GP have to do with each other – is the argument she opens with.
I love road racing and I’m going to presume that, since you’re reading this, you do too! It’s a discipline where you get a longer race for your travel time, have a chat mid-race and attack in the sun. But there is still a lot it could learn from its muddier cousins.
Last year, I dipped my toe into MTB XC for the first time. On a borrowed bike (thanks to a kind friend) I made my debut at Cannock Chase National. Although out of my comfort zone on the drop-offs and rocks, it brought a fresh perspective to racing.
Counterintuitively, rather than drawing me away from road racing, I think starting mountain biking is part of the reason I’m still going. Last year, I felt I had finally built up some good form for the road season. But a combination of some bad luck and errors in races meant I had placed high expectations on myself that felt far away from being realised. The enjoyment of weekend trips to races seemed to be dwindling so turning my focus in a different direction helped rekindle my love of the sport.
Although the technical gains from being a multidiscipline rider are well documented, there are other more hidden but equally important takeaways. For me, starting a new discipline has given me more freedom to play around on my bike and has provided a much needed reminder of what racing should be about.
I always have been and always will be a competitive person. But sometimes that urge to do the best you can changes to (self-inflicted) pressure to get a good result, leaving you deflated when races don’t go your way. So the ability to step back and make an effort to do a race ‘just for fun’ can remind you of the value of smaller process goals and often ends up pushing you even further.
An increasing focus on numbers and marginal gains on the road may be exciting for the aero nerds and sports scientists, but I think it’s just as important at the domestic level of the sport to recognise that a more relaxed enjoyment-focused approach can be just as competitive. There are fewer riders at the National XC series fighting for the next pro contract, but there’s a pure love of their sport and eagerness to share that with the people around them that road cyclists shouldn’t forget.
There’s something special about mountain biking and cyclocross where every category races on the same course over the same weekend. The smaller laps make for a better spectator event and it’s unusual not to combine racing with watching friends compete before and after. It’s also one of the only times I get to see my friend from my Go-Ride club compete in the youth races. It offers us a chance to compare notes on the course and shows younger riders a clear and exciting progression with the opportunity to race the same day as the likes of Evie Richards. Is this the atmosphere road needs to bring to its next event offering?
I went back to Cannock for the national again this year (this time with my own mountain bike having been added to my collection!) and although I’m still not very good at the drop-offs and rocks, there was satisfaction in the improvement I had made over the year. And the fact that I’ve still got a lot to improve on is exciting. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to translating my new skills (both mental and physical) to road and cyclocross.
If you’re currently solely a road rider, let this be my petition to you to stray off the tarmac and hop onto the trails. I acknowledge that although I love the thrill of riding around a muddy field in the middle of a British winter, others may not see the same appeal. So maybe a local bridleway in the summer could be the gateway drug into off road riding? It’s your chance to leave the power meter behind and channel your inner Puck Pieterse.
Don’t be mistaken that it’s only fun you’ll gain though. Those skills may literally save your skin when you’re next hurtling towards a bottleneck surrounded by 100 other riders. For the price of a few years’ suffering in muddy fields across the UK, you too can experience the rush of catching someone up not through effort but instead railing a smooth corner at your local crit. Similarly, although I’m unlikely to be finishing at the front this year at Lincoln, I’m looking forward to making the most of the legs I’ve got by sticking to the gutter of Michaelgate as much as possible.
The atmosphere is what makes the Rapha Lincoln GP unmissable, part of the reason that I’ve chosen to test myself in this race instead of heading to an inevitably soggy Tong for the next round of the MTB XC national series. (Although I will be back on the big tyres in June.) While some use the crowds purely as a morale boost while tackling the 20% gradient, I see it more as a dare of how close I can get lining up next to the pavement’s threatening edge. I’ve yet to run someone over, but it does normally make for some cool videos.
Having said I don’t like to focus on watts, I would like to see an analysis on how many you save by riding over the much smoother stones on the edge of the road instead of those famed tough cobbles down the centre. Something to think about while you’re climbing in zone 6 perhaps.
So I’ll see you at Lincoln, but I’ll also hopefully see you out and about off the road too. That reminds me, I definitely need to work on my bunny hopping this summer.
Featured image: Rupert Hartley
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