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Big TV Coverage for Domestic Road Scene

Posted: 6th May 2011

British Cycling & Sky Sports Announce Comprehensive Coverage of Domestic Road Racing In the UK

Watch Scotth Thwaites' dramatic Lincoln GP win on Sky

Starting in May and continuing throughout the season, Sky Sports will show the National Series road racing series promoted by British Cycling, in a regular slot on Sky Sports each Tuesday evening.The events to be shown are:

Premier Calendar series

Britain's top road racers compete throughout the year in a series of races, providing a test that will see one rider crowned as the best all-round road cyclist in the country at the end of the season. Kicking off with a 3 day stage race in Doon Hame Scotland at the end of March and rounding off with the Richmond Grand Prix in Yorkshire in September, this is a season long competition made up of 7 rounds with the victory decided on points awarded for each rider's finishing position in each race of the series. Last Year, Olympic medallist Chris Newton of team Rapha Condor Sharp was crowned champion.

Coverage of the Premier Calendar continues with the Lincoln Grand Prix next Tuesday 17 May on Sky Sports 2 at 9.30pm.

Elite Circuit Series

City Centre bike races known as criteriums are one of the most popular and exciting forms of cycle sport for spectators and this type of racing comes into its own in the Elite Circuit Series. Each race is 60 minutes of fast and furious bunch chase bike racing, around multiple laps of a short urban circuit, each rider with one aim - to cross the line first. Points are awarded to the top 20 finishers in each of the 6 rounds of the series 0 starting begins in Otley on 22 June and concluding in Preston on 7 August.

The overall winner of the series is the rider with the most points at the end of the final round, last year that rider was Ian Wilkinson of the Endura team. Coverage of the Elite Circuit Series begins in June with the Otley Grand Prix.

National Circuit Race Championships

Whilst the Elite Circuit series rewards consistency across the season, the National Circuit Race Championships is all about performing on one day and the winner of this race gets the honour of wearing the National Champion's red white and blue stripes on his jersey for the next 12 months. This year's race returns to Beverley in Yorkshire where last year's National Champion was current Olympic Champion, Ed Clancy who rode that year for the Motorpoint team.

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."

Rik Dovey, Managing Director of Acquisitions for Sky Sports, said "We're pleased to be showing regular coverage of the National Series on Sky Sports throughout the season. Our commitment to cover domestic cycling compliments our wider partnership with British Cycling in the UK and our aim to encourage more people to get back on their bikes.

The full list of races to be covered on Sky in 2011 are:

Premier Calendar

Round 1, Saturday 23 April
Tour Doon Hame

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, Beverly

Round 6, 28 August
Twinings 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, Beverly - Fri 29 July