Rider development and British Cycling Rider Route
Matlock CC has a proud history of starting youngsters on their development to elite and world class riders. these riders include Arthur Green, Cameron Orr, Rueben Orr, Tom Last, Annie Last, Will Gascoyne, Dan Davies, Matt Sumpton, Andrew Knowles, Phil Spencer, Sarah Lomas, Tim Gould, Julian Gould, Sam Thorne, Hazel Wakefield, John Ludlam and Frank Holmes. In 2017 the Club acheived the rare feat of having a rider who started as a youngster with the Club at every level of the BC Rider Development Route:
Amelie Wayte / Sarah Briggs - Apprentice
Elena Smith - Junior Academy
Cameron Orr - Senior Academy
Annie Last - Podium
The very start of the process for a youngster is to join a Go-Ride club like Matlock CC. The club will help get you up-and-riding and from there we can introduce you to the various forms of racing and how to get involved. You can look to ride at our coaching events, road race events / BSCA and track events and once 12 you can race our club time trials and we can get you riding with the club on our regular Youth rides. The aim at this age (up to 14) is to enjoy cycling and explore their abilities. If after enjoying racing with the club and gaining experience and skills through the club's coaching and racing activities the rider wants to go further and develop their cycle racing, British Cycling have a performance pathway for all cycling disciplines.
Once 14 and above Matlock CC coaches work with British Cycling to offer riders who meet the criteria, opportunities and support to develop in the pathway and then the coaches nominate riders into these stages below. Some clusters and RSRs have certain entry criteria to be met before nomination. Club riders who are interested in more information should approach the club coaches to discuss this in more detail - we nominate club riders for the Regional schools of racing (RSR) in Track, Road, MTB, Cyclocross. (RSR nomination criteria document is at the bottom of the page)
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If you are interested in finding out more about the Development Pathway, please speak to Club Coaches Martin Holmes or Andy Woolf
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The British Cycling Rider Route will see riders progress through the following stages:
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Foundation Stage
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Regional Schools of Racing (RSR)
The Regional Schools of Racing have historically been a part of British Cycling’s performance pathway and have proven successful in developing young riders’ skills both on and off the bike in a competitive environment.
Riders who perform well and show promise at their club and regional level can be nominated by their coach to attend a Regional School of Racing, and they are typically aged 14-16 years.
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Apprentice
This stage of the pathway is where British Cycling begins to invest more in talented cyclists aged 14-16 years within each region. Apprentices receive coaching support from a regional performance pathway coach, regular group training sessions, access to world class facilities, advice on managing workload and other benefits which aim to help prepare the rider for the transition into the junior ranks. This is where BC begin to invest more heavily in developing those riders that are showing the most promise. The GBCT supports around 100 apprentices nationally at this level, and those awarded this status should be aiming to graduate onto the Academy.
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Academy Stage
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Junior Academy
The Junior Academy (16-18) is focused on developing the country’s best junior riders, ensuring that they are ready for life as full-time athletes. This will include opportunities to race at international competitions in preparation for riding in major events at a senior level.
Senior Academy
The Senior Academy is the ultimate ‘finishing school’. The aim is simple: to fine-tune athletes and ensure they are ready to dominate the top-step of world and Olympic race podiums in the future
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Podium Stage
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The final step of the performance pathway, the Olympic Podium Programme is dedicated to supporting highly skilled elite cyclists as they aim to win medals in major competitions, such as European, world and Olympic championships.
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Full information on the British Cycling performance pathway structure can be found here
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/riderroute
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You can find out about the Para Cycling performance pathway here:
Arthur Green and Will Gascoyne
Sarah Briggs Amelie Wayte Libby Smith
Cameron Orr
Annie Last
Tim Gould