A stage-race victory, a national title, and a WorldTour graduate marked Handsling Alba’s standout season. Yet beneath the success, Bob Lyons delivers a stark assessment of the UK’s racing landscape, arguing that without meaningful reform, Britain risks losing the riders it works so hard to develop.
After a year derailed by a hit-and-run crash, the collapse of her team and a winter spent battling self-doubt, Kate Richardson has emerged with a National Circuit Race title, a stage race win in Czechia and a renewed belief that the WorldTour – and even the Olympics – are within reach.
Britain’s five women’s Continental squads could be locked out of their own national stage race from 2026, a “slap-in-the-face” consequence of new UCI rules that reserve WorldTour start-lists for WorldTeams and ProTeams only.
From breakout performances and missed opportunities to questions over race-day coverage, we pick out seven key takeaways from a dramatic weekend in Ceredigion.