Joe GallopBritish Cycling has announced a newly-appointed elite road racing task force to develop a national calendar of events and grow the reach of the sport in the UK.
The task force will convene for a period of three months, in which time they will develop a series of recommendations for the organisation to implement in 2024 and beyond.
British Cycling said inflationary pressures in recent years have caused total event delivery costs to rise by as much as 10% year-on-year since 2019 – increasing the total cost of event delivery by around a third.
The members of the task force bring a range of experience from within the sport, covering current and former riders, event organisers, team management and media and marketing. The task force will be made up of:
- Ed Clancy (chair): Three-times Olympic gold medallist.
- Steve Fry: Co-owner of sports marketing agency, M2 Sports.
- Monica Greenwood: Rider for DAS – Handsling.
- John Herety: Former manager of JLT-Condor and Great Britain Cycling Team DS.
- Phil Jones: MD of Brother UK and long-time sponsor of domestic teams.
- Chris Lawrence: Organiser of races including Newark Town Centre Races and Dudley GP.
- Jess Morgan: UK marketing manager at Rapha.
- Jo Tindley: Rider for Pro-Noctis Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee.
British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton said, “Since joining the organisation in April I’ve spoken to a huge number of passionate and talented people in our community about the current challenges facing domestic road race organisers and teams. Our new task force is an example of how we want to bring people closer to the organisation and work collaboratively towards solutions against the challenging and complex environment that we operate in.
“The health of domestic elite road racing has a significant impact on the overall financial health of our organisation, and our ability to support more events and programmes across our range of disciplines in the future. While the past few years have been challenging, I’m optimistic about our ability to turn the tide and forge a sustainable roadmap for the future.”