British Best All-Rounder
Encyclopedia
The British Best All-Rounder (BBAR) competition, organised by Cycling Time Trials
, is an annual British
cycle-racing competition. It ranks riders by their average speeds in individual time trial
s, over 50 and 100 miles (160.9 km) and 12 hours for men, and over 25, 50 and 100 miles (160.9 km) for women. There are similar competitions for under-18s and teams of three. Qualifying races have to be ridden between April and September.
Certificates are awarded to men with 22 mph (35.5 km/h) or faster and women averaging 20 mph (32.25 km/h) or more. The junior speeds are 23 mi/h and 21 mph (37 and 33.9 km/h). Competitions modelled on the BBAR are organised within UK regions, and for over- 40s.
on 4 April 1930. It offered an annual trophy valued at £26 and a shield to be held for a year by the winning team.
Time-trialling had been the staple of British
cycling
since the National Cyclists' Union
(NCU) had banned massed racing on the road in 1888 as a reaction to police objections it feared would threaten all cyclists. The NCU wanted clubs to promote races only on tracks, or velodromes, but they were too distant and local groups began organising not the massed races that the NCU banned but individual competitions against the clock: time trials.
British cyclists came to see time-trialling as the purest form of competition, free as it was of the tactics of massed racing. But there was no reliable way of seeing who was the best all-rounder, over all distances and across a season, because difficulties with travel meant not all riders could take part. The BBAR overcame the problems by allowing riders to compete where they chose and then register their performances. According to time-trialling historian, Bernard Thompson: "It was probably the best thing that has ever happened to British time-trial sport, even to this day."
er, Frank Southall
, riding for the Norwood Paragon club. He averaged 21.141 mi/h and won again the following three years. After his fourth consecutive win, 7,000 cyclists watched at the Royal Albert Hall
in London
as Southall signed the Golden Book of Cycling
during the BBAR prize-giving concert.
.
British cycling was by then in a civil war, with the NCU's ban on massed racing having been thwarted by a new organisation, the British League of Racing Cyclists
(BLRC). Both the RTTC and Cycling had campaigned against the BLRC, still convinced massed racing threatened the sport as a whole. But the editor of Cycling, H. H. "Harry" England was so upset that the RTTC had taken over the BBAR that he changed sides and began reporting BLRC races.
enthusiast, Tom Barlow. Bernard Thompson related: "All Tom's calculations were done the hard way; there were no pocket calculators in his lifetime and it is doubtful that he would have changed his tried and trusted methods, his tables of average speeds combined with his outsized slide-rule... about three feet long." Barlow died aged 90 in 1982.
, who won 25 times from 1959 to 1983 inclusive. The only other women to have won the competition more than twice are June Pitchford, who won three times in a row from 1984, and Julia Shaw who has won four times in recent years.
Cycling Time Trials
Cycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council in 2002.-Time trialling:...
, is an annual British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cycle-racing competition. It ranks riders by their average speeds in individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
s, over 50 and 100 miles (160.9 km) and 12 hours for men, and over 25, 50 and 100 miles (160.9 km) for women. There are similar competitions for under-18s and teams of three. Qualifying races have to be ridden between April and September.
Certificates are awarded to men with 22 mph (35.5 km/h) or faster and women averaging 20 mph (32.25 km/h) or more. The junior speeds are 23 mi/h and 21 mph (37 and 33.9 km/h). Competitions modelled on the BBAR are organised within UK regions, and for over- 40s.
History
The BBAR was announced by the magazine CyclingCycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
on 4 April 1930. It offered an annual trophy valued at £26 and a shield to be held for a year by the winning team.
Time-trialling had been the staple of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
since the National Cyclists' Union
National Cyclists' Union
The National Cyclists' Union was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain...
(NCU) had banned massed racing on the road in 1888 as a reaction to police objections it feared would threaten all cyclists. The NCU wanted clubs to promote races only on tracks, or velodromes, but they were too distant and local groups began organising not the massed races that the NCU banned but individual competitions against the clock: time trials.
British cyclists came to see time-trialling as the purest form of competition, free as it was of the tactics of massed racing. But there was no reliable way of seeing who was the best all-rounder, over all distances and across a season, because difficulties with travel meant not all riders could take part. The BBAR overcame the problems by allowing riders to compete where they chose and then register their performances. According to time-trialling historian, Bernard Thompson: "It was probably the best thing that has ever happened to British time-trial sport, even to this day."
The first winner
The first winner was the South LondonSouth London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
er, Frank Southall
Frank Southall
William Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...
, riding for the Norwood Paragon club. He averaged 21.141 mi/h and won again the following three years. After his fourth consecutive win, 7,000 cyclists watched at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as Southall signed the Golden Book of Cycling
Golden Book of Cycling
The Golden Book of Cycling was created in 1932 by Cycling, a British cycling magazine,to celebrate "the Sport and Pastime of Cycling by recording the outstanding rides, deeds and accomplishments of cyclists, officials and administrators." There exists only a single copy of this compendium of...
during the BBAR prize-giving concert.
Change of ownership
The BBAR competition was suspended during the war. It restarted in 1944, promoted not by Cycling but by the time-trial administrative body, the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC), today known as Cycling Time TrialsCycling Time Trials
Cycling Time Trials is the British bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council in 2002.-Time trialling:...
.
British cycling was by then in a civil war, with the NCU's ban on massed racing having been thwarted by a new organisation, the British League of Racing Cyclists
British League of Racing Cyclists
The British League of Racing Cyclists was an association formed in 1942 to promote road bicycle racing in Great Britain. It operated in competition with the National Cyclists' Union, a rivalry which lasted until the two merged in 1959 to form the British Cycling Federation.-Background:The National...
(BLRC). Both the RTTC and Cycling had campaigned against the BLRC, still convinced massed racing threatened the sport as a whole. But the editor of Cycling, H. H. "Harry" England was so upset that the RTTC had taken over the BBAR that he changed sides and began reporting BLRC races.
After the war
The 1944 BBAR recognised that few riders had been able to train as they had and averaged speeds over 25, 50 and 100 miles (160.9 km). Twelve-hour races would also have been hard to organise because, said Bernard Thompson: "Signposts had been taken down during the war and it is doubtful that a sufficient number of marshals and feeders could have been mustered in those austere times." This shortened BBAR was won by Albert Derbyshire with 23.549 mi/h. In 1945 the competition returned to its full distance.Tom Barlow
Calculations of riders' averages were made from 1945 to 1976 by a ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
enthusiast, Tom Barlow. Bernard Thompson related: "All Tom's calculations were done the hard way; there were no pocket calculators in his lifetime and it is doubtful that he would have changed his tried and trusted methods, his tables of average speeds combined with his outsized slide-rule... about three feet long." Barlow died aged 90 in 1982.
Winners
The men's competition has been won eleven times by Kevin Dawson, two more than Ian Cammish (nine). The women's competition was for many years dominated by Beryl BurtonBeryl Burton
Beryl Burton, MBE OBE was an English racing cyclist and one of Britain's greatest ever athletes.She dominated women’s cycle racing in the UK, winning more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles, and setting numerous national records...
, who won 25 times from 1959 to 1983 inclusive. The only other women to have won the competition more than twice are June Pitchford, who won three times in a row from 1984, and Julia Shaw who has won four times in recent years.
| Year | Winner (men) | Club | Average speed (mph) | Winner (women) | Club | Average speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Julian Jenkinson | UTAG Yamaha.com | 27.202 | Julia Shaw Julia Shaw Julia Shaw, is an English racing cyclist specialising in the individual time trial.She was won multiple British national championships, the British Best All-Rounder competition four times and, in 2010, won a bronze medal in the Women's road time trial event at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.-Early... |
UTAG Yamaha.com | 27.415 |
| 2009 | Nik Bowdler | Farnborough and Camberley CC | 27.206 | Julia Shaw | UTAG Yamaha.com | 27.451 |
| 2008 | Nik Bowdler | Farnborough and Camberley CC | 27.329 | Lynn Hamel | Thegreenroomgroup.com | 26.193 |
| 2007 | Kevin Dawson | Pinarello RT | 27.283 | Julia Shaw | GS Strada | 25.562 |
| 2006 | Kevin Dawson | Agisko-Dart RT | 27.454 | Julia Shaw | GS Strada | 26.005 |
| 2005 | Michael Hutchinson | API-Metrow | 27.203 | Ruth Eyles | Beacon RCC | 25.228 |
| 2004 | Kevin Dawson | Planet X | 27.541 | Carol Gandy | San Fairy Ann CC | 24.806 |
| 2003 | Kevin Dawson | Life Repair CRT | 28.26 | Ruth Dorrington | Pete Read Racing | 25.421 |
| 2002 | Kevin Dawson | Compensation Group RT | 27.793 | Karen Steele | Caygill Frames RT | 25.364 |
| 2001 | Kevin Dawson | Pete Read Racing-Caygill Frames | 27.631 | Karen Steele | Pete Read Racing-Caygill Frames | 25.29 |
| 2000 | Michael Hutchinson | Bio RT | 27.558 | L Milne | GS Strada | 25.946 |
| 1999 | Kevin Dawson | Pete Read Racing | 27.15 | Jill Reames | Swaledale CC | 26.072 |
| 1998 | Kevin Dawson | Team Ambrosia | 27.33 | Maxine Johnson Maxine Johnson Maxine Johnson is an English racing cyclist. Johnson competed at both the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games. She was a member of the English squad who won the bronze medal in the team time trial event at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.... |
Letchworth Velo Club | 25.417 |
| 1997 | Kevin Dawson | GS Strada | 27.92 | Jill Reames | Swaledale CC | 27.025 |
| 1996 | Andy Wilkinson | Port Sunlight Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire... Wheelers |
28.236 | J Derham | Twickenham CC | 26.697 |
| 1995 | Gethin Butler | Norwood Paragon CC | 27.148 | A Plant | Swaledale CC | 25.169 |
| 1994 | Gethin Butler | Racing Team Italia | 26.874 | Yvonne McGregor Yvonne McGregor Yvonne McGregor MBE is an English former professional cyclist from Wibsey. She was made an MBE for services to cycling in the new year's honours list in January 2002.-Palmarès:1994... |
Swaledale CC | 26.094 |
| 1993 | Kevin Dawson | GS Strada | 27.062 | L Lamont | Antelope Racing Team | 25.684 |
| 1992 | Kevin Dawson | GS Strada | 26.777 | S Wright | Chelmer CC | 25.612 |
| 1991 | Glen Longland | Antelope Racing Team | 26.94 | A Jones | Liverpool Mercury RC | 25.766 |
| 1990 | Gary Dighton | Manchester Wheelers | 26.216 | E Ward | Scarborough Paragon CC | 25.268 |
| 1989 | Ian Cammish | Manchester Wheelers | 26.412 | S Wright | Chelmer CC | 25.259 |
| 1988 | Ian Cammish | Manchester Wheelers | 26.369 | M Allen | Barnsley RC | 25.298 |
| 1987 | Ian Cammish | Manchester Wheelers | 26.094 | M Allen | Barnsley RC | 25.687 |
| 1986 | Glen Longland | Antelope Racing Team | 26.771 | June Pitchford | Stourbridgc CC | 24.962 |
| 1985 | Ian Cammish | GS Strada | 26.234 | June Pitchford | Stourbridgc CC | 25.321 |
| 1984 | Ian Cammish | GS Strada | 26.013 | June Pitchford | Stourbridgc CC | 25.463 |
| 1983 | Ian Cammish | GS Strada | 27.355 | Beryl Burton Beryl Burton Beryl Burton, MBE OBE was an English racing cyclist and one of Britain's greatest ever athletes.She dominated women’s cycle racing in the UK, winning more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles, and setting numerous national records... |
Morley CC | 25.118 |
| 1982 | Ian Cammish | GS Strada | 26.000 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.206 |
| 1981 | Ian Cammish | GS Strada | 26.341 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.219 |
| 1980 | Ian Cammish | Edgware RC | 26.174 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.733 |
| 1979 | Phil Griffiths | GS Strada | 26.149 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.228 |
| 1978 | John Woodburn John Woodburn John Woodburn is a British road and time-trial cyclists and 2001 British Veteran on target time. He received his award from Eddy Merckx at the at the RTTC Champions Evening at Derby on 6 January 2001.... |
Sydenham Wheelers | 26.067 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.565 |
| 1977 | Paul Carbutt Paul Carbutt Paul Anthony Carbutt was an English professional racing cyclist. He died in May 2004.Carbutt has an exceptional range of achievements - from a silver medal in the short-distance national hill-climb championship in 1975 to breaking the near-1,000 miles of the Land's End to John o' Groats road... |
GS Strada | 25.566 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.069 |
| 1976 | Phil Griffiths | GS Strada | 25.97 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 26.665 |
| 1975 | Phil Griffiths | City of Stoke ACCS | 25.418 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 26.047 |
| 1974 | Phil Griffiths | City of Stoke ACCS | 25.093 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.302 |
| 1973 | Ray Lewis | Coventry CC | 25.022 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 26.267 |
| 1972 | Bob Porter | Hounslow & District Wheelers | 24.914 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 26.112 |
| 1971 | Phil Griffiths | Gloucester City CC | 25.109 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.463 |
| 1970 | John Watson | Clifton CC | 25.958 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.729 |
| 1969 | Antony Taylor | Oldbury & District CC | 25.67 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.849 |
| 1968 | Martyn Roach | Hounslow & District Wheelers | 25.428 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.942 |
| 1967 | Mike McNamara | Rockingham CC | 24.593 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.696 |
| 1966 | Arthur Metcalfe Arthur Metcalfe Arthur Metcalfe was a British racing cyclist who twice rode the Tour de France and, as an amateur remains the only rider to win the British road race championship and the British Best All-Rounder time trial competition in the same year.-Origins:Born in Leeds, Yorkshire on 27 September 1938,... |
Leeds St Christophers CCC | 24.797 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 24.812 |
| 1965 | Keith Stacey | Seamons CC | 24.309 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 25.439 |
| 1964 | Peter Hill | Askern CC | 24.645 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 24.716 |
| 1963 | Peter Hill | Askern CC | 24.041 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 24.138 |
| 1962 | Frank Colden | Camberley Wheelers | 24.652 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 24.036 |
| 1961 | Brian Kirby | Army CU | 24.04 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 23.656 |
| 1960 | Brian Wiltcher | Zeus RC | 24.526 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 23.714 |
| 1959 | Brian Wiltcher | Zeus RC | 24.045 | Beryl Burton | Morley CC | 23.724 |
| 1958 | Owen Blower | Leicestershire RC | 24.363 | M Robinson | Manx Viking Wheelers | 23.193 |
| 1957 | Ray Booty Ray Booty Raymond 'Ray' Charles Booty, sometimes nicknamed The Boot, is a former English road bicycle racer. In 1956 he was the first man to beat four hours for the individual time trial - a feat that was reported around the world and compared to beating four minutes for running a mile two years... |
Army CU | 24.126 | I Miles | Scala Wheelers | 22.849 |
| 1956 | Ray Booty | Ericsson Wheelers CC | 24.126 | I Miles | Scala Wheelers | 22.761 |
| 1955 | Ray Booty | Ericsson Wheelers CC | 23.956 | F Dawson | Teesside RC | 22.632 |
| 1954 | Vic Gibbons | Brentwood RC | 23.811 | F Dawson | Teesside RC | 22.399 |
| 1953 | Vic Gibbons | Brentwood RC | 23.578 | J Harris | Apollo CC | 22.436 |
| 1952 | Ken Joy | Medway Wheelers | 23.83 | C Brown | South Shields Victoria CC | 22.289 |
| 1951 | Ken Joy | Medway Wheelers | 23.414 | E Horton | Coventry CC | 22.38 |
| 1950 | Ken Joy | Medway Wheelers | 23.33 | Eileen Sheridan Eileen Sheridan (cyclist) Eileen Sheridan, née Shaw was an English cyclist specialising in time trialling and road record breaking. She broke all the records of the Women's Road Records Association during the late 1930s and into the second world war. They included Land's End to John o' Groats, set by Marguerite Wilson... |
Coventry CC | 22.134 |
| 1949 | Ken Joy | Medway Wheelers | 22.808 | Eilleen Sheridan | Coventry CC | 21.827 |
| 1948 | Pete Beardsmore | Medway Wheelers | 22.584 | S Rimmington | Meersbrook CC | 21.756 |
| Year | Winner (men) | Club | Average speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Albert Derbyshire | Calleva RC | 22.744 |
| 1946 | Albert Derbyshire | Calleva RC | 22.843 |
| 1945 | Jock Allison | Musselburgh RC | 22.479 |
| 1944 | Albert Derbyshire | Calleva RC | 23.549 |
| 1939 | |||
| 1938 | H. 'Shake' Earnshaw Harry Earnshaw Harold Earnshaw, Harry Shake Earnshaw, was an English racing cyclist from Yorkshire. In 1938 he was acclaimed as the British Best All-Rounder when his three best event performances were aggregated into 399 miles at 22.627 mph.... |
Monkton CC | 22.627 |
| 1937 | Cyril Heppleston Cyril Heppleston Cyril Heppleston, was an English cyclist from Bradford who broke the 100-mile, 200-mile, and 12-hour competition records in 1937, and was the only man to beat 250 miles in twelve hours in open competition... |
Yorkshire RC | 22.348 |
| 1936 | Charles Holland Charles Holland (cyclist) Charles Holland was a British road bicycle racer. He was one of the first two Britons to ride the Tour de France.-The early years:... |
Midland C&AC | |
| 1935 | Stanley W. Miles Stanley Miles Stanley Walter Miles, Stan Miles, was an English amateur cyclist who won the British Best All-Rounder competition in 1935 whilst also leading his club, 'Century Road' C.C., to the title of 'Best All-rounder' team in Great Britain.... |
Century RC | 21.809 |
| 1934 | Ernest J. Capell Ernest J. Capell Ernest James Capell, Ernest J. Capell, Tubby Capell was an English amateur cyclist who in 1934 won the British Best All-Rounder competition, by dominating all of the qualifying events - 50 mile, 100 mile and 12 hours.... |
Allondon RC | 21.622 |
| 1933 | Frank Southall Frank Southall William Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles... |
Norwood Paragon CC | |
| 1932 | Frank Southall | Norwood Paragon CC | |
| 1931 | Frank Southall | Norwood Paragon CC | |
| 1930 | Frank Southall | Norwood Paragon CC | 21.141 |