The post-Brexit era was hard for cycling on British Isles. While there was a healthy competition in UK's domestic level with six continental teams and a long list of high-level amateur formations in 2019, there's nothing left in 2025. The last two surviving continental teams Saint Piran and Trinity Racing have both ceased to exist at the end of 2024 with the latter shifting back to mountain bikes and the former disappearing entirely after a decade of talent development.
Fast forward to 2026, there are at least hopes of Raptor Factory Racing, a team sponsored by bike manufacturer Raptor, to return as sole British formation on the Continental level. However as things stand, their survival would be a losing fight in the long run as things stand at the moment.
Fortunately, it seems like the winds of change have also reached the governing body British Cycling. Starting from 2026, with launch projected to 2027, we could see a completely revamped system of national competitions brought to live by British Cycling in collaboration with whoever still hadn't lost hope in British domestic cycling.
The framework is the result of 12 months of consultation with members, riders and communities and creates a format to help British Cycling deliver a "simpler, more fun and effective competition structure across all disciplines by 2029".
Five competitive levels
According to the plan presented this week, there will be five (more or less) competitive categories of racing, ranging from organized group rides to the highest performance level. These are the five levels:
- Discover: Where newcomers are introduced to competition and start their journey in the sport. Low cost and with relaxed rules, the focus will be on delivering a safe and welcoming environment. These will be coach led with learning and excitement at the core. Removing barriers to entry will make them accessible to more people and there will be no points, results or rankings.
- Engage: This is competition at grassroots level, typically club led with a local focus on fun competition where people can explore different aspects of the sport and improve their skills.
- Challenge: Regular competition for developing riders with opportunities for personal achievements and goals. These will be discipline specific, require a higher level of skill and introduce riders to ranking systems.
- Advance: Aimed at experienced competitors who want to progress up through the sport and compete at a higher level. More demanding competition where results and rankings matter to those involved.
- Elite: Pinnacle of domestic scene, aimed at the best riders in the country, and those wishing to reach that level. Events will be national and international standard, engaging spectators and media coverage.
The 2026 season will be still more of a beta-testing phase where details and technicalities of this system are to be fine-tuned with official launch of the project labelled "as soon as possible".
"This project comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of our sport as we undertake a bold and comprehensive transformation of our competition framework, so it reflects the needs of riders, coaches, volunteers and communities across the country," Amy Gardner, sport and participation director at British Cycling, said.
"It will play a vital role in delivering British Cycling’s strategic priorities to support and grow the sport, and the framework sets out our vision for a modern, inclusive and high-quality competition structure that will shape the future of competitive cycling in Britain."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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