DOMESTIC BLISS?
Editor of VeloUK website and longtime observer of the British racing scene, Larry Hickmott, talks about the return of the Tour of Britain and the health of UK cycle sport
After a year without the Tour of Britain and the cancellation of all top-level racing in Britain, a lot of people have asked me whether it’s good to get back to these races. I’ve actually enjoyed the last year; for the past 21 years I’ve reported from the British Cycling Premier Calendar, Tour of Britain and the Tour Series, but the pandemic has allowed me to see the sport from a different side. I’ve been to club time trials, circuit and track races – races I’ve never had time to watch. When you’ve been doing a job for as long as I have, you spend a lot of time at races talking to the people you know well. At these smaller races I’ve been making new friends.
I started VeloUK in 2011, but my passion for cycling started well before that, and quite by accident. I first raced in 1973, in Australia, where I’m from. I got back into it in the 1990s in the UK, as I was approaching veteran status, but I was never going to make an impression on the bike. At this point Cycling Weekly, the racing magazine, switched to more of a focus on sportives, so I created a cycling website called Echelon Velo in 1999. In 2001 I joined British Cycling in its communications department, where I spent a decade reporting from races during a burgeoning time for the organisation. By 2011 it was changing, so I left to set up VeloUK.
I’ve seen the British scene rise to incredible highs from a very low base. What is its health now, in 2021? It’s a tough one to judge, because of the pandemic and how the sport goes in cycles in terms of the sponsorship it attracts. It’s clear the sport here is at a lower level than 10 years ago. Back then a rider on a UCI Continental team could earn £50,000 a year, but riders are struggling today. The organisers are struggling too, because of the pandemic.
But there are still a lot of great races. Beyond the big ones, like the Tour de Yorkshire, you have others, such as the Lincoln Grand Prix, over 60 years old, and a much newer one, the CiCLE Classic, which is an on- and off-road race with a great atmosphere and loved by the riders. Races like the Tour of Britain go to the public – it’s a constant stream of people for 100 miles, day after day across the country. It’s understood as a concept by the public and local authorities, like other big events, such as the Commonwealth Games or a football World Cup. But races like Lincoln, they’re races for the fans. You can’t watch it on television, you have to go there, but when you do, you can really make a day of it, as it’s in a historic city centre with lots of things to see and do.
Who should you be looking out for in the Tour of Britain? We haven’t had a lot of racing in the last two years to really know who is at the top of their game domestically and able to make waves at such an international race. Freddie Scheske (Ribble Weldtite) was on his way up in 2019 and is an exciting rider. Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb SunGod) is still getting top 10s in Europe so should be on it in the Tour of Britain, while Matt Bostock (Canyon dhb SunGod) hopefully will progress in the bunch sprints and make his mark here. Ben Turner (Trinity Racing) is another rider on the up as is his team-mate Ben Healy.
And then there’s Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who needs little introduction. I first saw him race in Otley. He was riding in a category 2/3/4 race, which are quite hard races, and he won as an under-16 by 10 bike lengths. I immediately saw what a talented boy he is. It’s hard to tell if he can have a similar impact on British cycling to the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, but I think he can. Those two riders had slow-burn careers, particularly early on, but Pidcock has come into the seniors and is already competing with, and beating, the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, who are already cycling legends. Tom, providing he keeps his feet on the ground and everything goes well for him and he has a bit of luck (you do need that), for me, he is the most talented rider we have ever seen in this country.