The Rayner Foundation, a charity helping young British riders to realise their dreams of turning professional by racing abroad, is a one of the most cherished institutions in British cycle sport. Founded to honour the memory of the late Dave Rayner, a hugely gifted rider who lost his life in tragic circumstances 29 years ago, it has helped more than 80 British riders reach the sport’s top tier, including six from this year’s cohort. 

In this new episode of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, we report from the Foundation’s gala dinner at the New Dock Hall in Leeds, gaining insights from the charity’s prime movers, its star guests, and the teams and riders moving ahead with the support of the Foundation’s Gateway and Springboard schemes. 

Elsewhere, co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director, discuss the company’s extended sponsorship of the OnForm Elite Development Team and the new national calendar. Expert witnesses Mark Botteley, OnForm’s team manager, its rising star Amelia Staunton and her father Chris, and race organiser Chris Lawrence share their insights. 

The Brother UK Cycling Podcast has been nominated in the Best Fitness, Health and Wellbeing category at the Sports Podcast Awards. Follow the link below to vote. 

https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-fitness-health-wellbeing-podcast/

Moving to Italy without a word of Italian and later spending two weeks in an Italian hospital, the preliminary phase of a six-month recovery from a broken leg that saw him race only five times in 2023, are just some of the hurdles overcome by the 22-year-old from St Albans. Resilience, the common factor in the character of all Rayner riders, is a quality he possesses in abundance. 

In this detailed interview with co-host Timothy John, Stockwell describes his instant attraction to cycling as an 11-year-old discovering the velodrome in Welwyn while walking with his family. A founding education with Welwyn Wheelers and a national junior title followed before he joined British Cycling’s storied Olympic Academy in 2019.

The Covid pandemic reduced his tenure with the federation’s flagship development programme, however. After racing just twice in 2020 and enjoying only 35 race days in 2021, he joined the Italian development team CTF Friuli in 2022 in search of further opportunities. The club became the official feeder of Bahrain-Victorious during Stockwell’s two-year stint, and his results impressed the WorldTour team sufficiently to win a contract. 

Stockwell discusses a range of topics, including his membership of a golden generation of young British riders now racing in the sport’s top tier, a talent for cyclo-cross that saw him selected for two world championships, and the vital support of The Rayner Foundation, whose combination of financial and emotional support helped him make the transition from the Olympic Academy to CTF Friuli. 

In 2018, Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director and this podcast’s co-host, rode the entire route of the Tour of Britain with ultra endurance cyclist James Golding to raise around £20,000 for the Foundation. The Leeds-based charity, founded in memory of the hugely gifted Dave Rayner, has helped scores of young British riders to turn professional, including Tour de France stage winners David Millar and Adam Yates.

Koerdt, a 20-year-old from Leeds, will start a three-year contract with DSM-Firmenich-PostNL in January. There, he’ll join Rayner alumni Oscar Onley and Sean Flynn. The Dutch squad’s development team is home to Rayner riders Jacob Bush, Oliver Peace and Benjamin Peatfield. Max Poole, a former British junior champion and our guest in episode 49, is among the team’s most valued riders.

In this interview with co-host Timothy John, Koerdt describes the early days in his cycling career as a member of Yorkshire’s White Rose Youth League, his Rayner-supported move to France with CC Étupes, the alma mater of Tour de France stage winner Adam Yates, and a relentless but rewarding finish to the season as a stagiaire with DSM-Firmenich-PostNL that included a rare outing on home roads at the Tour of Britain.

From early showings in domestic races like the junior CiCLE Classic to competing in professional races in countries as far flung as Norway and Malaysia, Koerdt offers insights into the life a young rider learning his trade and determined to reach to the top. Broken bones, foreign languages, golden opportunities and the sweet taste of success are among his formative experiences. 

A winter in Girona followed by a move to his new team’s Keep Challenging Centre in The Netherlands will continue the international flavour of Koerdt’s burgeoning career. Enjoy this interview with the latest young British rider to reach the professional ranks in an era that has witnessed a generational shift in the peloton’s demographic.   

The World Championships in Zurich, an exhilarating edition of the Tour of Britain Men, and British Cycling’s progress report on recommendations made by the Elite Road Racing Task Force are also analysed in detail. 

Expert witnesses include Ras na mBan winner Mia Griffin, whose triumph on home roads followed her Olympic debut in Paris, and Irish U23 road champion Caoimhe O’Brien, who rolled out for her country against the world’s best female riders on a rain-soaked course in Zurich. 

Ian Watson, the co-manager of DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, and rising star Louis Sutton, whose hugely impressive debut at the Tour of Britain Men won him a combativity award and the plaudits of seasoned observers, also share insights.

From the pressure faced by young riders in an era of accelerated career development to the commercial and budgetary context shaping British Cycling’s implementation of the Task Force recommendations, Phil and Tim apply the expert insights of a business leader and an experienced journalist to the biggest stories in domestic and professional cycling. 

Rising star Louis Sutton revealed his talent to a television audience of millions with a series of exciting performances at the recent Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men. The 22-year-old from St Albans played a pivotal role in the breakaways that shaped stages two and three, finding himself in wheel-to-wheel combat with Soudal Quick-Step’s superstars, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe. 

While Sutton’s career has developed rapidly, he is no overnight sensation. Close observers of the sport will note his Rayner Foundation-funded pathway through AVC Aix-en-Provence: a route to the top followed by the Cofidis duo of Harrison Wood and Oliver Knight. Like his compatriots, Sutton has found the Provençal lifestyle and a blend of French and Spanish racing highly conducive to his development. 

Now in his second year with the team, Sutton has continued to deliver results. After winning three times in Spain for AVC-Aix in his debut campaign, this year he added a GC victory at the Bidasoa Itzulia and a second stage win at the Volta a Castelló. He has proved himself a valuable team-mate too, playing a pivotal role for Clément Izquierdo, who next year will follow Wood and Knight to Cofidis. 

Additionally, Sutton has impressed in Team GB colours, finishing second on his Nations Cup debut at the Course de la Paix and providing invaluable service to team-mate Joe Blackmore in the latter’s historic victory at the Tour de l’Avenir, cycling’s most prestigious U23 race. Great Britain team manager Matt Brammeier was sufficiently impressed to grant Sutton’s request for a reserve slot for the Tour of Britain. The rest is history. 

In this warm and candid interview with co-host Timothy John, formerly the editor of RoadCyclingUK.com and Rouleur.cc, Sutton describes his rapid ascent through the sport. A weekend mountain biker with only a handful of junior road races to his credit, his acceptance of an offer to spend a year in Spain racing for the team now known as Brocar-Rali-Alé proved life-changing.

Sutton takes us inside Brammeier’s mix-and-match selection for the Tour of Britain, a squad of old hands, rising stars, mountain bikers and more, and reveals the additional willingness to ‘go deep’ that comes from racing against a double Olympic champion and a double world champion. From combativity awards to crashes and concussion, Sutton offers a detailed description of his first professional race: one very unlikely to be the last.

Now preparing for his final engagement of the season, an assignment with Great Britain’s U23 squad at the forthcoming world road race championships in Switzerland, Sutton can already reflect on a pivotal campaign. With his U23 career now nearly complete, his next goal is to join the professional ranks. Any of the heavyweight squads who competed against him at the Tour of Britain will surely require no further evidence of his abilities.

Marc Etches, a race organiser, commissaire and a member of the panel charged by British Cycling with implementing the recommendations of the Elite Road Racing Task Force, exemplifies the can-do attitude of a small coterie of volunteers who sacrifice time and effort to ensure elite domestic road racing continues.

In this detailed interview with co-host Timothy John, Marc discusses this year's edition of his Sheffield Grand Prix, the wider health of the National Circuit Series and his determination to ensure that the efforts of Task Force members, including Phil Jones MBE, Brother UK’s Managing Director, are not “swept under the carpet”.

Marc reveals the detailed planning behind the Sheffield Grand Prix, the distinct goals backers like McLaren and Cocker and Carr, a local estate agent, seek to fulfil in sponsoring the race, and its role in Sheffield City Council’s strategic ambition to rebrand an area famed for its industrial heritage as “The Outdoor City”. 

From parking permits to crossing points, commissaire reports to UCI protocols, medical support to crowd control, Marc describes the myriad details that lie behind the biggest event on the National Road Series calendar. 

With the Tour of Britain set to visit Sheffield in September, Marc describes his vision for a joined-up approach in which the councils who host Britain’s biggest bike race look further down the pyramid to national events. He describes the fundamental importance of volunteers to the success of his events and the rewards he is able to provide with support from local businesses like Browns restaurant. 

Enjoy this open and engaging interview with one of British cycle sport’s unsung heroes. A passionate cyclist and a committed supporter of his city and region, Marc embodies the volunteer spirit on which the domestic scene depends. 

In this new episode of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, Marc Etches, organiser of the Sheffield Grand Prix, arguably the jewel in the crown of the National Circuit Series, offers valuable insights into the winning patterns behind his successful event. From prioritising rider safety to securing sponsors, Marc takes us inside the race.

Drawing on his experience as a business leader, co-host Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director, provides an expert commentary on issues ranging from crisis management to commercial sustainability and from chains of command to the changing face of city centres shaped by forces as diverse as pedestrianisation and hybrid working.

Phil’s unique perspective is informed by his membership of British Cycling’s Elite Road Racing Task Force, which recommended a complete review of the National Circuit Series, including the establishment of a ‘winning patterns’ playbook and a standardised economic model. Phil offers insights from inside this independent and influential panel.

In a packed episode, co-host Timothy John introduces further topics and interviews. From the recent Olympic Games to the forthcoming Tour of Britain, Tim and Phil discuss the biggest events in cycle sport, with insights from DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s newly-minted Olympians, Tiffany Keep and Alice Sharpe, on their once in a lifetime experiences at Paris 2024.

In this engaging interview, Tiffany describes her lifelong passion for cycling, her formative experiences as a mountain biker in Stellenbosch and her determination to develop her road racing skills in Europe from the moment she finished her degree studies. 

Brother UK has been at Tiffany’s side for the last two seasons, as co-title sponsor of Hutchinson-Brother UK last year and now as one of three companies supporting DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, a UCI Continental women’s team that has provided Tiffany with racing opportunities in territories as distinct as East Cleveland and Portugal, Ilkley and Luxembourg. 

In this engaging interview with co-host Timothy John, Tiffany describes the value of DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s diverse programme and the progress she’s made as a rider since joining the squad. She pays tribute to the UK’s thriving domestic scene and reveals how riding alongside world-class rivals in events like the Tour of Britain Women and the Volta a Portugal Feminina has helped her to overcome “imposter syndrome”. 

Sporting events do not come bigger than the Olympics, and Tiffany relives the joyful moment in which she received the email confirming her participation. She shares her thoughts on the 158km course, describes her final pre-race preparations in Tours, just south of Paris, and expresses her determination to give her best for her country, riding in the service of Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio.

From South Africa’s gruelling Cape Epic mountain bike stage race to the Ride London Classique, Tiffany’s varied and challenging route to the top will reach its climax, if not its culmination, in Paris. Discover her post-Games ambitions, her supportive relationships with friends, family and teammates, and learn how experience gained on the streets of Glasgow at last year’s world championships might pay dividends in the City of Light when gold medals, rather than rainbow jerseys are at stake.

Frankie Hall (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) is enjoying the best season of her cycling career. A comparative latecomer to the sport, she has overcome significant hurdles, including crashes, injuries, road accidents and the ongoing challenge of balancing work and sport to compete against the very best in road, track and circuit races. 

In this wide-ranging interview, Hall describes how her passion for hockey, her first sporting love, was derailed by an eating disorder. Training with the Great Britain team at Loughborough University, however, ultimately led to an academic career there and membership of the university cycling club. The rest is history. 

Tenth place in the elite women’s road race at the 2024 National Road Championships in Saltburn represented a significant step towards fulfilling her potential. Hall offers detailed insights into her physical and mental preparation and the tactical awareness that placed her at the sharp end as the race approached its climax. 

In February, Hall won two medals at the 2024 National Track Championships in Manchester: an achievement made more impressive by the financial constraints that limited her preparation. She talks frankly about the prohibitive costs of indoor racing and the wider financial pressures faced by an elite athlete seeking to turn professional. 

Her effervescent style in circuit races had earned her a reputation as a specialist in the discipline, but in this interview, Hall argues that these short, sharp, technical events simply accounted for the bulk of her early opportunities (with welcome irony, she won the opening round of the 2024 National Circuit Series in Otley two days after recording this interview). 

Enjoy this revealing conversation with co-host Timothy John, in which Hall offers an inspiring insight into the drive and dedication demanded of an amateur athlete to compete against professional riders. From postponing PhD studies to balancing hospitality work with an international race programme, Hall offers an honest account of her sacrifices in pursuit of sporting success.

Andy Hawes is the Route Director of the Tours of Britain. In just ten weeks, he has designed and driven the four stages of the 2024 Tour of Britain Women, working alongside Race Director Rod Ellingworth, local authorities and an experienced team of administrators and safety experts.

In this in-depth interview with co-host Timothy John, Andy provides a sporting perspective on each of the four stages, explains the importance of long-standing relationships with councils and offers insights into the logistical complexity of closing major roads, including those around Manchester, to allow the safe passage of the race. 

He reveals his uncompromising stance on rider safety and a business-as-usual approach that has seen him drive the entire route on three occasions, despite the tight timescale. His companions on the route recces have included Sergeant Duncan Street of the Central Escort Group. 

Andy describes his positive working relationship with Ellingworth, for whom the Tour of Britain Women will be the latest chapter in a decorated career that includes founding British Cycling’s Olympic Academy road programme and leading the UCI WorldTour team INEOS Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky. 

Touching on the transfer of the race’s ownership to British Cycling Events, Andy describes his determination to uphold the reputation it enjoyed under previous owners Sweetspot; a motivation increased by the federation’s new partnership with Lloyds Bank.

Enjoy this open and engaging conversation with a key member of the team tasked with saving Britain’s leading professional bike races. From detailed descriptions of the route’s defining features to insights into working relationships, safety considerations, ambitions to expand the race and more, this is an interview not to be missed.