Phil Griffiths |
Mark
Cavendish, Chris Boardman, Nicole Cooke, Julia Shaw,
Beryl Burton, Phil Griffiths, Tom Simpson, Reg Harris,
Eileen Sheridan – all great figures in the long history
of British cycling. Men and women, amateurs and
professionals, road-racers, time-triallists and trackies:
but what do they all have in common? The answer is that
they have all been winners of the Bidlake Prize, they –
and so many others – are all enrolled in the Bidlake
Hall of Fame. |
Reg Harris at home |
Since 1934 the
Bidlake Prize has been awarded each year for outstanding
achievements in cycling, and it has been given to
national champions and record-breakers, world and
Olympic champions, and to many dedicated men and women
who have served the sport in other ways than by racing.
The origins of the Bidlake Prize are described elsewhere
on this website, but the central fact is that the story
of the Bidlake cuts a swathe through the history of
British cycling and highlights its greatest figures and
greatest achievements. |
The End-to-End
record, the BBAR Championship, the landmark records in
time-trialling history, the gold medals brought home
from World and Olympic Championships – they are all part
of the tremendous appeal of the Bidlake story. The
cycling world in which the Bidlake was born eighty years
ago has now been utterly transformed by science,
financial investment and media glory, and this
transformation is the other dimension of this
fascinating story. This site offers a complete analysis
of who won the Bidlake when and why – as well as
sidelights on who didn’t win it – and it shows how the
Bidlake story holds up a mirror to many of the greatest
events in British cycling history. |
Hutchinson & Yates |
Julia Shaw |
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