Britain’s leading televised cycle race series, the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series, returns this weekend as the action gets underway on Bank Holiday Monday 2 May in Guisborough.

Twenty-six of Britain’s leading men’s and women’s teams will be in action across the course of two one-hour races around the North Yorkshire town at the start of three weeks of competition.

Megan Barker, medalist at last year’s Track World Championships, leads her CAMS – Basso team as they seek to make it a hat-trick of titles in the women’s series. Only one women’s team – Podium Ambition (2014-2016) – have previously won three-consecutive Tour Series titles.

They will face stern opposition from Pro Noctis – Rotor –  Redchilli Bikes p/b Heidi Kjeldsen, who lost out at the final round last summer.  Reigning British circuit race champion Jo Tindley leads their bid for glory in what looks a very open series.

Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling head the men’s field following their overall success in 2021 and will be buoyed by their victory in the CiCLE Classic one-day race courtesy of Finn Crockett last weekend. A successful defence of their crown would see them become the third-consecutive men’s team (after JLT Condor and Wiv SunGod) to win back-to-back titles.

Adding to the intrigue in 2022 is that Ribble Weldtite’s strong line-up includes Great Ayton brothers Charlie and Harry Tanfield, who’ll enjoy home support at round one and have both previously ridden for arguably their biggest series rivals, Wiv SunGod.

However, Matt Gibson, one of the stars of their title-winning team last year, has moved in the other direction for 2022. Gibson memorably claimed the individual victory in Guisborugh last year and nearly lapped the whole field during an unforgettable solo performance. Wiv SunGod boast several former Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series race winners and the backroom expertise that saw them win the series overall in 2018 and 2019.

Eleven other men’s teams line-up alongside them, with the Wales Racing Academy perhaps best poised for an upset. Their 10-man squad, from which they are allowed to field five riders at each round, features several members of the Welsh team pursuit squad who are targeting this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

Sixteen different nationalities of riders are among the squads named for the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series, with foreign UCI teams from Ireland (Torelli – Cayman Islands – Scimitar) and New Zealand (Global 6 Cycling) broadening the series’ horizons even further.

Adding to the variety will be the debut of British Superbike champion Scott Redding. More familiar to racing the world’s toughest circuits on motorcycles, the 29-year-old brings his SRCT Muc-off team to the series. Redding will combine his WorldSBK duties with the BMW Motorrad team with battling it out in lycra in the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series, and is set to make his debut in round one.

Video: Highlights of last year’s Guisborough round, won by Great Britain U23 Track Team and Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling
Round one – Guisborough – details

To celebrate the Bank Holiday in style Guisborough have an array of entertainment and activities across the town centre throughout the afternoon. British Cycling and Cleveland Wheelers will deliver cycling skills pursuits, while the funky sounds of Backchat Brass and Fat Cat Brass bands further add to the race day atmosphere.

Racing begins with the women’s race at 4pm, followed by the men’s event at 6pm, both held over the same 1.4-kilometre circuit based around the picturesque Westgate in the town centre.

Fans who can’t make it to one of the seven events will be able to follow the action live for the first time with every round of the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series streamed live on the Tour’s YouTube channel – youtube.com/thetourcycling – with no geo-restrictions. Highlights of both the men’s and women’s races will once again be aired on ITV4 the evening after every event.

About the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series

This year’s series comprises seven rounds across May. Guisborough will host the series opener once again on Bank Holiday Monday (2 May), with Sunderland also returning for the second year running on Tuesday 10 May.

Scotland will host two rounds – Galashiels (Wednesday 4 May) and Stranraer (Thursday 12 May), before Britain’s best teams and riders head to the seaside for the series’ first-ever visit to Clacton on Thursday 19 May.

The series will visit London for the first time since 2018 when Barking hosts what promises to be one of the quickest rounds in history on Saturday 21 May before a Grand Final in the North West on Tuesday 24 May.

Launched in 2009, the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series remains unique in professional cycling owing to its team-based format. Last year’s series saw the Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling and CAMS – Basso teams crowned as the men’s and women’s champions respectively.

Hospitality is now available for all rounds of the Sportsbreaks.com Tour Series, including the Sportsbreaks.com Grand Final from £40 per person via Official Hospitality Partners Sportsbreaks.com, by heading to sportsbreaks.com/cycling.