First step towards the resurgence of British cycling? London Nocturne criterium set to return in 2026

After eight years of absence, the London Nocturne criterium will return to the British racing calendar in 2026. Formerly known as the Smithfield Nocturne, the race has a prestigious history, with past winners including Hannah Barnes and Geraint Thomas, who recently became INEOS' new Director of Racing.

The event's organiser, James Pope, confirmed that the event will be reintroduced as the City of London Nocturne and will take place over two days on 12-13 June 2026. It will appear on the UCI calendar as well, although it will not award any UCI points, same as the Tour de France Saitama and Singapore Criteriums.

Pope, who also managed the event during its previous run from 2007 to 2018, said the initiative to revive the race originated from the city of London. “They had good memories of the Nocturne, and were very keen to bring a marquee cycling event back to the city,” he said in an interview to Cycling Weekly.

For its return, Pope plans a redesigned circuit and a broader schedule to make it more attractive than before. “This new event, I wanted to be bigger and better, so I proposed two things to the City of London. I said, ‘Can we have a new race circuit, higher profile, that goes through Bank junction?’ So that’s what we’ve been working on, with a really iconic, city-skyline backdrop. You’ve got St Paul’s Cathedral at one end of the course, and the Bank of England and Royal Exchange at the other end. The other key development is to go to two days, so Friday and Saturday.”

Pope said he hopes to attract a mix of domestic and international riders. “I want the field to be an international field, albeit predominantly domestic riders,” he said. “We’ll have to cover travel expenses, maybe pay a few people appearance fees, but we’re not going to have a massive budget to do that. I’m hoping to get a handful of international WorldTour riders on the men’s and women’s side.”

He added that the selection of riders will only become clear once teams have finalised their 2026 calendars. Pope also intends to televise the elite races through a “traditional broadcaster,” arguing that greater visibility could help energise the UK racing scene. “I think there is an opportunity to bring in a new level of televised, major-city racing. My aim is that it just gives another boost to the UK racing scene and plays a part in this kind of renaissance.”

Pope described the current structure of British racing and the role he hopes the Nocturne could play. “If you look at it as a pyramid, in that middle-bottom, there is a thriving race scene, then you’ve got the Tours of Britain at the top, and I’m hoping to try and create something in between the two that helps elevate the whole scene.”

Speaking of the first edition, which took place in 2007, he recalled: “We really didn’t know what to expect. Rapha and Condor came up with the idea to do a race, approached me and Fran [Millar, Pope’s business partner at the time], and said, ‘Hey, do you think you can organise it?’ And we just went for it. I think about 4,000-5,000 people showed up, we won an award, and it grew from there.”

The event stopped in 2018 after its organising company, Face Partnership, went into administration. “There was nothing wrong with the Nocturne, per se. It was more just collateral damage from what went wrong with the parent business. As an event itself, it was profitable, it was a great event.”

Pope's ambition is for the City of London Nocturne to help other British cities to host similar criteriums in the future. “If we can make the London event a success, then potentially we can look to try and replicate it in one or two other major cities in the UK. That’s my goal. I’m going to take it one step at a time.”