22 September 2019
As the season enters its twilight hours, road cycling turns its attention to the UCI World Championships. As a British brand, we're deeply proud and excited that the event arrives on our shores later this month.
Yorkshire is home to this year’s World Championships, held from 22 to 29 September, building on the legacy left by the Tour de France Grand Départ in 2014. Five years ago, Yorkshire gave cycling one of its most memorable welcomes in recent memory at the world’s biggest race. Out of the success of those two days in July was born the Tour de Yorkshire, a short stage race that has grown year after year into a thrilling and highly competitive event, drawing some of the biggest names in cycling to Britain’s roads.
The historic northern county is known for its rich heritage, awe-inspiring geography and cities dating back to the Industrial Revolution. It has also produced some of the UK’s best cyclists, including Otley born and bred, Lizzie Deignan, who celebrated World Championship victory in Richmond, Virginia in 2015, and who lines up as a hot favourite for road race honours; Ed Clancy, road racer and three-time Olympic champion on the track; Barry Hoban, who held the record for most Tour de France stage wins by a British rider until Mark Cavendish came along; Beryl Burton, the revered racing cyclist of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and cousins Connor and Ben Swift, the latter taking the national champion’s bands off the former’s shoulders earlier this summer.
Other British cyclists who’ll be fighting for the rainbow bands across all disciplines include current national time trial champion, Alice Barnes, and her sister Hannah who could launch fireworks in the road race. It seems like when it comes to excellent cycling genes, talent really does run in the family.
British time trial superstar, Alex Dowsett, will be looking for a good result after a solid season against the clock, including national time trial glory for the sixth time in his career. Tour de Yorkshire 2019 overall winner, Chris Lawless, is also worthy of our attention in the road race, but he’ll have competition within his own team with Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart and the Yates twins also expected to start the race.
Eager to get amongst it, we will be at the Fan Zone, positioned on The Stray near the finish line in Harrogate. It’s the perfect place for cycling fans and enthusiasts to soak up all the action at the World Championships. Come down and enjoy a coffee our beer with us. Or you can just come chat about the British team’s chances of scoring a rainbow jersey!
All eyes will be on Yorkshire and we can’t wait to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere. We really hope to see you there!