United Kingdom Armed Forces Cycling

Fantastic racing at the 2025 BFBS Inter Service Enduro Championships. Thanks to the UKAF Cycling sponsors and Helyx. Thanks also to our supporters and .

Great racing from and to make it a super close day of racing. Congratulations to for taking the win and well done to both the Inter Service 2025 Champions from .

Great to see so many service cyclists of all abilities out on some of the best trails in the world with the most stunning scenery.

BFBS Inter Service Downhill Championships complete for 2025. Thanks for organising and to and for a fantastic day of competition.

Thanks to our sponsors and Helyx. Thanks to and for providing prizes.

Congratulations to the RAF on taking the individual female and open championships and on narrowly taking the team championship from the Army by a single point with the Navy close behind.

Onto the Enduro...

The UKAF Cycling Open Team got together first the first time in 2025 to race at the Sherpa Performance Stage Race in Colchester. Maj Tom Reynolds, Capt Ian McCaul, Sgt Rich Summerbell, Cpl Euan Campbell and Cpl Danny Hedley pulled on their NoPinz UKAF skin suits for the first time.

The first day of racing saw the riders tackle two, 60 minute crit races albeit in opposite directions of the purpose built cycle circuit.

Stage 1 was a mix of results. A crash at the half way point saw two UKAF riders hit the concrete. Both remounted their bikes but with a large gap to close and, after confirming they could stop riding to get treatment on their wounds and continue in stage 2, they pulled themselves from the race. The stage finished on a positive note with Danny putting in a well timed attack to get in the winning break and sprinting to fourth over the line.

Stage 2 was largely uneventful after a break of 5 riders broke away from the bunch quite early. Euan put in a large dig to bridge over the 20second gap but the effort to stay in the break combined with the effort to bridge took its toll and he sat up to recover in the chasing bunch. The break stayed away the entire race with the bunch contesting the remaining spaces, all UKAF riders opting to roll in safely.

Day 2 began with an iTT for Stage 3. The 8km course was generally flat with a 1km drag to the line meaning pacing to finish fast was important. With the efforts from the previous day, and an eye on Stage 4, the riders put in strong efforts to stay in contention for the General Classification (GC).

Stage 4 consisted of a 127km road race on the same roads of the iTT with the added bonus of some winding country lanes. It was in these lanes that a crash took down Danny early in the race and, despite completing a further 2 laps, he had the withdraw from the pain to his hand. Another break of 6 riders opened up a substantial gap and, with attacks coming from the peloton behind, the bunch slowly started to whittle down in numbers as riders couldn’t hold the pace. 35 riders started the stage and only 22 finished. Euan Campbell put in a strong effort to finish in the reduced bunch even finding

The UKAF Women’s Road Cycling team took on their first stage race this weekend at the National B Ronde Van Wymeswold, near Nottingham. The race was run over 2 days with 3 stages. The 4x rider team consisted of Capt Pippa Inderwick, Sgt Laura Furness, AS1(T) Laura Sheppard and AB (RN) Jess Morrish.

Saturday involved a 45-mile , 8-lap Road Race with sprint points and bonus seconds available, followed by a 5-mile individual Time Trial. AB (RN) Jess Morrish was the highest placed rider in stage 1 with 5th, with Capt Pippa Inderwick and AS1(T) Laura Sheppard just behind. Sgt Laura Furness limped home further down the field with a damaged bike after an earlier incident. The stage 2 TT was a new experience to some and the team emptied the tank with an all-out effort to maintain overall time.

Sunday saw the riders take on a 54-mile, 6-lap Road Race with a 2km monster climb to tackle each time round. The cross winds and tired legs made this even more challenging. The team worked together to support our GC hopes, reacting to moves and splits. With sprint points and time bonuses available every other lap, the attacks were constant and the field broke up with the main bunch reducing to around 30 riders. Going up against UK Pro riders, the UKAF team rose to the occasion and did themselves and their Services proud! Jess Morrish finishing 12th and Pippa Inderwick 32nd. BZ Team! 👏 Shout out to Laura Furness battling through to claim the Lantern Rouge!

Full results are here - https://stats.thebritishcontinental.co.uk/races/giant-tugby-ronde-van-wymeswold-2025-ybc-general-classification-1

Last weekend saw the first race of the season for the UKAF Cycling Women’s team. Selected riders from the Navy, Army and RAF tackled the National A Lincoln Grand Prix, a 64 mile, 8-lap race that took riders up the iconic Michaelgate cobbled climb. The 5x rider team consisted of Lt (RN) Nat Grainger, Capt Pippa Inderwick, Sgt Laura Furness, AS1(T) Laura Sheppard and AB (RN) Jess Morrish.

The race got off to a blisteringly fast start under clear blue skies in temperatures that would hit the mid 20’s. The opening lap was over 2-mins quicker than last years, demonstrating the level of riders taking part. The 130 strong rider line up navigating their way through the centre of Lincoln and the surrounding roads.

The UKAF team worked well from the start, setting up the two lead riders to contest the finishing laps. Being such a fast, attritional race, half the field didn’t finish. Both Capt Inderwick and AB (RN) Morrish fought their way to the end in 48th and 59th place respectively. An exceptional result for the team in their first outing together this year, in a National A race against the best professional riders in the country. BZ team! 🙌

🚴🚴‍♀️ 2024 Inter Services Team Time Trial Championships 🚴‍♀️🚴

This past weekend saw another first for some time - the Inter Services Team Time Trial Championships. Held at Thruxton as part of their wider event, this proved to be a great venue through which to enable the race. However, there can only be one winner and your 2024 IS TTT Champions are:

Female: ACU 26:31 🏆🥇
Open: ACU 23:33 🏆🥇

This event was run by who despite being on his way out of active service, still delivered a great event. A huge thank you to him and all of us wish him every success in the future.

🚵🏻 🚵‍♀️ 2024 Inter Services Gravel Championships 🚵‍♀️ 🚵🏻

Last week saw the very first Inter Services Gravel Championships. Despite the unpredictable weather, a great event for everyone who attended.

Your 2024 Inter Service Champions are:

Female: Sarah Toms RAFCA 🥇🏆
Open: Nick Munro RAFCA 🥇🏆
Team: ACU 🏆

🚵🏻 🚵‍♀️ 2024 BFBS Inter Services MTB DH and EDR Championships 🚵‍♀️ 🚵🏻

Last week saw the 2024 IS Gravity Champs held at the world famous . We were very fortunate to be able to use the venue as the last few years have not been kind with the onset of tree disease that effectively shut the site down. Thankfully, the future is now looking great again, and we remain ever so thankful to them for their continued support of the UKAF Inter Services.

First up was the DH Champs and despite the conditions, an epic battle ensued. However, there can only be one champion, per category, and your 2024 IS MTB DH Champions are:

🥇🏆 Female: Emily Smith (ACU)
🥇🏆 Open: John Riddell (ACU)
🥇🏆 Team: RAFCA

The DH champs were closely followed by the IS EDR Champs, and again another great battle over the course of the day. However, there can only be one champion, per category, and your 2024 IS MTB EDR Champions are:

🥇🏆 Female: Emily Smith (ACU)
🥇🏆 Open: Tom Nisbet (ACU)
🥇🏆 Team: RAFCA

A huge thank you to the team who were facing all sorts of last minutes dramas, but pulling out all of the stops to ensure the event managed to take place. And, another final thank to

🚵🏻 🚵‍♀️ 2024 BFBS Inter Services MTB XC Championships 🚵‍♀️ 🚵🏻

Last Wednesday the 2024 Inter Services MTB XC Championships were held in Plymouth, hosted by . The racing was incredibly tight with the Team Championship result being determined by the 7th place rider, something that has not been seen for some years. However, there can only be one Champion and your 2024 Inter Services Champions are:

Female: Sara Toms RAFCA 🏆🥇
Open: Thomas Stegeman 🏆🥇
Team: Army 🏆🥇

🚵🏻🚴‍♀️ Inter Services TTT Championships 🚵‍♀️🚴

2024 sees the introduction of Gravel into JSP660 and with that the inaugural Inter Services Championships. The race will take place on 9 Oct 2024 and full details can be found in the Admin Ins that is with your Service Secs. A copy is also available on our DC page.

🚴‍♀️🚴 2024 Helyx Inter Services TTT Championships 🚴🚴‍♀️

For 2024 Royal Navy Cycling have decided to host the optional IS TTT Champs. A knock on effect will also see a UKAF TTT Team selected for 2025.

The AO is live and can also be found on our DC page.

🚵‍♀️🚵🏻 2024 BFBS Inter Services MTB Championships 🚵‍♀️🚵🏻

As the summer break comes to an end it is time to focus on the next IS Championship events - MTB XC, MTB DH and MTB EDR.

Final AOs for both events are now live and are also on our DC page. There are ongoing discussions over the scoring format for the DH and EDR champs, but will be all agreed before we start racing.