Seven more Rayner riders sign up with World Tour teams for 2023

 

WITH the new season well underway  a host of British hopefuls funded by the Dave Rayner Foundation prepare to set off to try their luck racing with Continental teams. 

They do so hoping to emulate the seven former Rayner riders who this year have signed up with World Tour teams.

The Foundation enjoyed a most successful season in 2022, with two female and five male riders now confirmed as professional bike riders riding for elite teams.

Here they are:

MILLIE COUZENS. She joins the Fenix Deceuninck a Women's World Tour Team.

JOSIE NELSON. Now has a permanent contract with Coop Hitec Products, a Norwegian UCI Women's Team.

LEO HAYTER.  After 2 years of Rayner support he joined Hagens Berman Axeon team, but is to join Team Ineos Grenadiers at the end of the season.

SAM WATSON (below). He’s signed up by Team Groupama FDJ.

Picture credit: Groupama FDJ

SEAN FLYNN , signed by Dutch World Tour Team DSM.

HARRISON WOOD, one of our longest standing Rayner Supported riders has served two teams over four years and now has a full contract with French Team Cofidis.

OSCAR ONLEY (below).  From being a supported rider with DSM Development Team his spectacular results has resulted in him being given a full contract with them this year.

 

Picture credit: DSM

 

How the charity is overcoming travel restriction caused by BREXHIT

The Foundation has supported 100s of young riders over the years. And continues to do so, despite the problems caused by Brexhit ending freedom movement as a consequence of Britain quitting the EU. This has turned travel abroad into a bureaucratic nightmare which has proved difficult for the Rayner Foundation. Nevertheless, they have found ways to keep the wheels turning.

This season 24 riders will join European teams for the 2023 season as part of the charity’s Springboard scheme.  These awards provide a financial grant to individual athletes to assist with their costs whilst living abroad. Quite a number have successfully to earn a a salary from their success. 

 

The biggest problem was that Brexhit rules allow only  90-day stays at a time, which doesn’t allow a rider to settle into a racing program. 

Jocelin Ryan, Rider Liaison,   explains that since 2022 they nbow run a “two fold” operation, the Gateway Project for riders on short trips and the Under-23 riders, the lucky ones for whom longer stays can be arranged.

 “Due to Brexit many riders still cannot spend the whole season abroad, “ she said.

But she explained that short trips can be arranged relatively easily.

 

This enables younger riders to put a foot in the water, so to speak, identify candidates who will be able to live abroad for longer later.

France and Spain are helpful in arranging visas for young people.
They are calling them volunteer visas, the riders have to undertake some community endeavour, such as teaching English in a local school for a few hours a week.

That’s how it is going right now, we obviously hope for more flexibility in the future.

 

Last season 200 individuals including Junior Men Teams, Junior Women Teams, and Senior Women Development Teams.  were afforded opportunities to race in Europe in 10 different teams travelling on 33 separate trips!

 

Keith Lambert, a former British professional road race champion and a

 founder member and Trustee of the Rayner Foundation, says. “ The experience of racing in Europe is seen as a necessity in the development of ever-younger riders. This project will assist more British riders who can hopefully progress to become future professionals”.

However, Joscelin Ryan is disappointed the foundation had been unable to find individual female riders at the appropriate level to support. She said:

 

“It is baffling that this is happening at a time when Women's Professional Cycling has never been so healthy, with many opportunities available to women riders. The Rayner Foundation is therefore finding other ways to support young female riders. Our Gateway scheme will operate again this year to support women's teams and junior riders to race in mainland Europe in conjunction with their UK team. We hope that by providing this support, they can gain the experience necessary to make a career in the sport.”

Rayner Foundation Riders - 2023

 

• Ben Askey will follow his brother Lewis and other British riders who went to France to join Groupama FDJ Conti
• Adam Bent will join Eiser Hirumet in Spain
• Max Cushway, first-year u23, will join WB Fybolia in France
• Alfie George will spend a second season with Vendee U in France
• Alex Haines will spend a fourth season with GSC Blagnac Velosport 31 in France
• Tyler Hannay will move from France to MastroMarco Sensi Nibali in Italy 
• Oliver Knight will spend his fourth u23 season with AVC Aix in France
• Bjoern Koerdt, first-year u23, will join CC Etupes in France
• Owen Lightfoot will go to Spain to join Previley Maglia Conforma
• Logan Maclean will join AG2R Citroen U23 in France
• Adam Mitchell joins Team U Charente Maritime in France
• Oscar Nilsson Julien will join AVC Aix in France
• Charlie Paige goes to France for his second season with Bourg en Bresse Cyclisme. 
• Benjamin Peatfield will spend another season with Vendee U in France
• Isaac Peatfield will continue with VCU Schwenheim in France
• Tom Portsmouth will move up to Bingoal Pauwels Conti in Belgium
• Max Rushby remains in Belgium but switches team to Geofco Doltcini 
• Oliver Stockwell returns to CT Friuli in Italy 
• Louis Sutton changes location and team from Spain to AVC Aix France
• Lucas Towers remains in Spain but changes team to Caja Rural U23
• Callum Twelves, first-year U23, joins the Fernando Barcelo Team in Spain
• Zac Walker, first-year U23 and National Junior Road Champion joins Tudor Pro Cycling Devo in Switzerland
• Dylan Westley returns to Equipo Finisher (previous name Equipo Lizarte) in Spain
• Jamie Whitcher joins Basso Team Flanders in Belgium

 

THE RAYNER FOUNDATION is a registered Charity since 2019. 

Previously known as the Dave Rayner Fund since 1994.

The fund was formed back in 1995 following the untimely death Dave Rayner, the young British professional.

 

www.theraynerfoundation.org

On Twitter @RaynerFnd

On Instagram @raynerfoundation

https://www.facebook.com/TheDaveRaynerFund

Info@Rayner.Fund

 

 

 

 

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Government slash cycling funding...again

It was only ever a matter of time before the Active Travel Policy was shafted. The news that £200m has been slashed from the government’s Active Travel Policy should hardly come as a surprise, given the government record for cutting back on cycling initiatives. 

 It is hardly worth me commenting on. Except to say its further evidence to support my belief that no British government will ever provide decent funding to support a network of town and city and urban cycling routes necessary to reduce congestion and pollution. And I’ve reported on this shit fest for 50 years. 

Royce Road cycling and walking crossing, Manchester. Will the cut in cycling budget put an end to such innovative schemes?

 According to Cycling UK, the national cycling organisation, the active travel funding has been reduced from £3.8bn to £3bn in England. This means, say Cycling UK, that “there is no way the English Government can meet its own target that 50% of journeys in towns and cities should be walked or cycled by 2030.” 

 Here's a time line of a few ideas which have come and gone. In 1996 the Conservatives launched the National Cycling Strategy to great acclaim - except there was no funding for it. Until some years later when under a Labour government, £5m - a pittance - was provided and Cycling England was born, to encourage Cycling Development Towns. 

The funding was increased a number of times, but still  ranked as peanuts in the great scheme of things.

Nevertheless,  with what little money they had towns willing to take part in this venture were helped to develop a cycling scheme which most suited them, perhaps a short cycling lane to a school, or cycle parking. It proved a huge success in generating cycling showing that if cycling was provided for it would put bums on bikes. In all something like 27 towns took part. 

Then along came a Conservative government wanting to save money and they killed Cycling England - together with a load of other Quangos set up to deliver various policies. In 2013 we had the acclaimed "Get Britain Cycling" report, welcomed by prime minister David Cameron who spoke glowingly of it. Would he now provide funding for it? Oh, no, he said. Get Britain Cycling should be left to the Local Authorities to implement, he said. Even though we all knew the LA's in most cases lacked the political will, the money and the expertise of get the job done. 

 And now fate has seen to it that the Active Travel Policy has been seriously injured by the Conservatives pleading they had no choice but to reduce costs. The government blames the cost of living crisis, the Ukraine war and short-lived former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s bombshell economic plan which plunged the UK into financial nightmare. This of course suits their purpose. 

It must have come as a great relief to those pulling government strings for the excellent Active Travel policy to be seriously injured in this way. It follows a pattern where they first bow to pressure to provide vocal support for cycling policy, then when put under further pressure they provide funding but too little to properly do the job and then, as is so often the case, cut the funding due to...oh, any number of excuses.

 They probably only put up the Active Travel Policy in the first place – together with all their other so-called carbon-reducing initiatives – because of pressure to do so. But what concerns them most are policies which may lose them votes from the fickle mindless majority. So cutting funding for Active Travel conveniently means they avoid what they have always feared the most, a voting backlash from the motoring public stirred up by the tabloid press, fearing loss of road space to cyclists. It was ever thus.