The Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | June |
| Region | Isle of Man |
| English name | Manx Trophy |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | Premier Calendar |
| Type | Single day race |
| History | |
| First edition | 1936 |
| Editions | c. 54 |
| First winner |  Charles Holland (GBR) |
| Most wins |  Jean Baldessari (FRA) Seamus Elliott (IRL) Tom Simpson (GBR) Paul Curran (GBR)(2 times) |
| Most recent | Matthew Holmes (GBR) |
The race was a feature of the Isle of Man cycling festival, an annual event which ran from 1936 to 2003 and was started by journalist and cycling enthusiast Curwen Clague. The first festival included a massed-start road race (a rarity in mainland Britain at the time but allowed in the Isle of Man, a self-governing crown dependency) which featured the top riders of the day. Despite closed roads the race saw many crashes and only a few riders finished. The first winner was Charles Holland of Birmingham, later one of the first two Englishmen to ride the Tour de France.
The first event involved riders racing a single lap of the famous TT circuit of 37.75 miles (60.75 km). The course runs from Douglas to Ramsey then climbs for 5 mi (8 km) to a high point on the mountain of Snaefell at 1,384 ft (422 m) before descending to Douglas. The distance was later increased to two and then three laps (113 mi or 182 km).
The Manx Trophy was reintroduced in April 2016 as a one-day race by Manx International Cycling Ltd, named the Manx International Cycling GP, forming part of the British Cycling Spring Cup over 3 laps of the TT Mountain Circuit, and in 2017 hosted the National Road Race Championships where Steve Cummings won both the National Time Trial and Road Race events. In 2019 the event was relaunched as a 3 day stage race forming part of the HSBC UK|British Cycling National Mens Road Race Series.
Winners (not a complete list) edit
Manx Trophy/Isle of Man International Road Race edit
Manx International Cycling GP edit
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Great Britain
|
Ian Bibby | NFTO |
| 2017 | Great Britain
|
Steve Cummings[nb 2] | Team Dimension Data |
| 2019 | Great Britain
|
Matthew Holmes[nb 3] | Madison Genesis |
References edit
- ^ Atkinson, Neil (21 December 2015). "Tributes to Mirfield Olympic cyclist Desmond Robinson who has died aged 87". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 April 2017.[permanent dead link]
Notes edit
- ^ The race was run as the British professional road race championship.
- ^ The race was run as the HSBC UK British Cycling National Road Championships.
- ^ The race was run as the Cycle360 Manx International Stage Race.