Brother UK Cycling Podcast

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, in...

Oliver Stockwell is Britain’s newest WorldTour rider and the latest young talent to graduate to the professional ranks with support from The Rayner Foundation. Like all Rayner riders, Stockwell chose to pursue his dream by racing overseas. His courage and resilience have been rewarded with a two-year contract from Team Bahrain-Victorious. Moving to Italy without a word of Italian and later spendin...

Bjoern Koerdt is the latest rider supported by The Rayner Foundation to graduate to the UCI WorldTour. The charity, which funds young British riders to pursue their dreams of a professional career by racing abroad, is one of the most cherished in British cycle sport. In 2018, Phil Jones MBE, Brother UK’s Managing Director and this podcast's co-host, rode the entire length of the Tour of Britain wi...

DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s overall victory in the National Road Series and the team’s domination of the Ras na mBan are just two topics discussed by co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director, in this packed episode. 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...

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 Su...

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 editi...

The National Circuit Series is a key component of the British domestic road scene. Its impact extends beyond racing, however. As road racing’s most immediate and accessible format, crits bring bike racing into town and city centres, serving a range of purposes for councils, communities, sponsors, local businesses and more.  In this new episode of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, Marc Etches, organi...

Tiffany Keep (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) will realise a dream when she rolls out for the women’s road race at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 4, 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 deg...

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...

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 stage...

The Lincoln Grand Prix is the most prestigious race in British cycle sport. Its cobbled Michaelgate climb has become a symbol for the domestic road scene. This year’s race will be the 68th edition in 69 years. High-quality fields in the men’s and women’s races promise an exhilarating day of racing on Sunday May 12.  Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK, host this detail...

The 2024 Women’s CiCLE Classic, Rod Ellingworth’s appointment as Race Director of the Tours of Britain and Cold Dark North’s Proper Northern Road Race Series are just some of the topics covered in this new episode, presented by co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK.  Phil shares insights from inside the race convoy of the Women’s CiCLE Classic: a gruelling, mixe...

Race organiser Chris Lawrence is the man behind the Newark Town Centre Races and Dudley Grand Prix, both National Circuit Series events. As a member of British Cycling’s Elite Road Racing Task Force, his insights into the mechanics of race organisation proved invaluable to a panel chaired by triple Olympic champion Ed Clancy OBE and which included Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director. A lack...

Co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK, are joined by special guest Ed Clancy OBE, a triple Olympic champion, to discuss the recommendations of the Elite Road Racing Task Force and British Cycling’s new vision for major cycling events, including the tours of Britain for men and women.  No one is more qualified than Ed and Phil to discuss the Task Force’s sixteen...

Josie Nelson might be the archetypal Rayner Foundation rider: resourceful, resilient and now a fully-fledged professional with WorldTour heavyweights Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNL. With the support of the Foundation and her family, the 21-year-old from Lichfield has progressed from British Cycling’s mountain bike academy to road racing’s top tier in only a handful of years.  The youngest of four sibli...

Max Poole is among the most exciting new talents in the UCI WorldTour, even in a golden era for young riders. The 20-year-old has already ridden his first Grand Tour, winning the opening stage time-trial with his Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNL colleagues at last year’s Vuelta a España, before lighting up three stages with daring rides in the breakaway.  From learning his trade with Giles Pidcock’s Fens...

Becky Storrie’s rise from the Brother UK-OnForm development team to the professional ranks with Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNL provides positive proof for the health of British women’s road racing and the continuing value of Brother UK’s sponsorships.  Five years ago, Becky was a psychology student at Stirling University and an amateur triathlete with no knowledge of professional cycling. Her meteoric...

Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNL) is the two-time and reigning British women’s road race champion and the leading rider in a young and talented generation of female cyclists from the UK. Still only 23, Pfeiffer is about to begin her sixth season as a professional. Some of the biggest prizes in the sport are now within her grasp.  In the relaxed and informal setting of Calpe’s Hotel Diama...

Lizzie Deignan is among Britain’s most successful cyclists. A world champion on track and road, an Olympic silver medalist and winner of the most prestigious races in professional cycling, she has consistently been among the peloton’s strongest riders in a period of exponential growth and transformational change in women’s cycling. In a wide-ranging interview, Lizzie describes pivotal moments in h...

Co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones, the Managing Director of Brother UK, attended the 2023 Rayner Foundation dinner and charity auction. The pair shared a table with former world champion Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) and her husband Phil, a Grand Tour stage winner, and key members of the Foundation’s organising committee.  Despite enjoying the awards ceremony, charity auction and key note speeches...

Lukas Nerurkar is one of a handful of young British riders who will graduate to the UCI WorldTour in 2024. The Brighton teenager is the son of the British Olympian Richard Nerurkar and spent the first seven years of his life in Ethiopia. Mount Entoto hosted his formative cycling experiences. In June, Lukas won a stage of the Baby Giro, a prestigious U23 race featuring some of the mountain passes u...

From wise heads to rising stars, this episode of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast includes reflections from inside British Cycling’s domestic road racing Task Force and insights from Lukas Nerurkar, the 19-year-old from Brighton who next year will race in the UCI WorldTour with EF Education-EasyPost.  In a packed episode, co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones MBE, the Managing Director of Brother UK,...

Sustainability is a critical issue in every walk of life, from business to professional cycling. Major corporations and sports federations alike are committed to addressing issues such as waste and energy usage and implementing new protocols to measure and manage carbon footprint and environmental impact. In this episode, Ben Barrett, the UCI's Sustainability Consultant, discusses in detail the re...

This packed preview of the 2023 Brother UK-sponsored Tour of Britain takes you to the heart of Britain’s biggest bike race, as well as considering its economic and environmental context. Co-hosts Timothy John and Phil Jones MBE, the Managing Director of Brother UK, hear from a host of expert witnesses. Connor Swift  (INEOS Grenadiers) will start his sixth Tour of Britain on Sunday September 3. A ‘...

Who knows more about the Ryedale Grand Prix than 2022 winner Abi Smith (EF Education - Tibco - SVB)? Having grown up just two kilometres from historic Ampleforth Abbey, the race HQ and its start and finish location, it’s fair to say that Abi has local knowledge in abundance.  Not that she needs it. With victories in the three biggest domestic races and experience as a professional in some of the m...