Sky Sports and British Cycling have announced a packed television schedule of professional cycling this summer, starting this month.
The Premier Calendar and Elite Circuit series, as well as July's National Circuit Race Championships, will be broadcast on Sky Sports 2. Highlights are scheduled for every Tuesday evening; the next broadcast will be on 17 May at 9.30pm when there'll be coverage of round two of the Premier Calendar from Lincoln.
The Premier Calendar features Britain’s top road racers competing across seven rounds. Riders accumulate points through their individual positions in each round. The series was won in 2010 by Chris Newton of Rapha Condor Sharp.
The Elite Circuit Series consists of six city centre criteriums beginning on 22 June with the Otley Grand Prix. The races consist of multiple laps around a short course, and points are awarded to the top 20 finishers. Ian Wilkinson of Endura took the overall win last season.
The National Circuit Race Championships take place on 29 July in Beverley, East Yorkshire and were won last year by Ed Clancy of the Motorpoint team. This year’s race will take place in Beverley town centre, and will last for 70 minutes plus five laps of the designated route.
Jonny Clay, cycle sport and membership director at British Cycling, said: “It’s great to be working with Sky Sports on the broadcast of our national series racing for the first time. For fans of the sport, knowing that they’ll be able to see cycling throughout the summer on a Tuesday night is a real positive. We’ll be working to build the audience over the course of this year and show that British bike racing can stand on its own two feet as sporting entertainment.”
The full calendar is as follows:
Premier Calendar Series
Round 2 - Sunday 8 May: Lincoln Grand Prix
Round 3 - 5 June: Ryedale Grand Prix, North Yorkshire
Round 4 - 19 June: Tour of the Reservoir, Northumberland
Round 5 - 31 July: East Yorkshire Classic, Beverley
Round 6 - 28 August: Twinnings Pro-Am Tour, Salisbury
Round 7 - 4 September: Richmond Grand Prix
Elite Circuit Series
Round 1 - 22 June: Otley Grand Prix
Round 2 - 29 June: Stafford Grand Prix
Round 3 - 8 July: Abergavenny Grand Prix
Round 4 - 13 July: Colne Grand Prix
Round 5 - 20 July: Blackburn Grand Prix
Round 6 - 7 August: Preston Grand Prix
National Circuit Race Championships
Friday 29 July: National Circuit Race Championships, Beverley
For more information, visit the British Cycling website.
