Maindy Flyers have been named Talent Development Club of the Year

Maindy Flyers have been named Talent Development Club of the Year, supported by Bikmo, and will collect their gong at the 2026 British Cycling Awards, presented by Lloyds in Manchester in mid-November.

The club has seen some of Britain’s best talents emerge from their ranks, including Geraint Thomas, Luke Rowe, Owain Doull, Elinor Barker and Zoe Bäckstedt, and has recently added an U14/U16 Academy to their offering to provide additional support for developing riders, including strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and rider education.

Club chair Mike Richards said: “It's absolutely amazing to be recognised. We've had a big year in 2026, but more than that, it recognises 30 years of quality coaching and dedication from so many volunteers.

“Head coach Richard Price and our coaches are there week in, week out, giving up their time for the kids. We've done some exciting things this year, but none of it would be possible without those people.

“The vision for the club is about developing outstanding young riders in the right way. I always talk about those three words, ‘the right way’, and what that means.

“Sometimes that means how we develop them in terms of performance. That's always about quality coaching, quality feedback and quality support.”

Their new Academy helps target those aims, with 12 athletes all receiving strength and conditioning support at Cardiff Metropolitan University, physiotherapy screening, bike-fit support, additional training opportunities and competition support.

The club have also developed a Foundations to Performance programme that provides seminars for parents to teach and encourage responsible parenting in sport, while the Llandow Revival Series has brought back opportunities to race locally.

“The six races between April and September were a huge success because there was racing for both youth riders and adults,” explained Richards.

“We had two circuits running - a karting circuit for under-12s, under-10s and under-8s, then over on the main circuit, we had our under-14s and under-16s, as well as the adults.

“We had four generations of riders racing at the same venue, which was incredible. Having 160 or 170 riders on a Wednesday night was mind-blowing for us.

“Of course, the final race was dedicated to Finlay Tarling (who died aged 19 during the Volta a Portugal in September). Having his whole family there, and his dad racing, was really poignant.”

Having made themselves a key part of the local community, as well as one of the leading locations for developing the best British and Welsh talent, Maindy Flyers are being recognised in particular for their innovation and creativity in supporting talented riders, as well as the opportunities they have provided.

And they have no plans to stop, with 2027 seeing the pathway extend to U19 through the Watts Occurring Racing Junior Team, in collaboration with the Watts Occurring podcast, which will see six junior riders will race across the UK and Europe.

“It's a chance for us to take what we're doing at Maindy a step further," added Richards. “Junior racing can be incredibly expensive, and longer term we'd like to get to a position where a family's finances aren't what determines whether a young rider gets that opportunity.”

The British Cycling Awards presented by Lloyds is celebrating those inspiring individuals who have brought the joy of cycling to communities across the country, through their performance on the global stage, to their tireless work at grassroots level. See how you can join the movement of cycling by visiting britishcycling.org.uk