About Us
Cyclosport is run and managed by cycling fanatics. We love to see the sport grow, be professional, safe and fun. To maximize the quality of experience; we like to bring riders, organisers and sponsors together from all over the world.
We aim to give our rapidly growing community immediate and full access to all that is happening in the cyclosportive scene globally - whether rider or organiser.
Cyclosport reports on cyclosportive events, allows users to fairly rate them and has the most comprehensive events calendar available.
Background
Cyclosport was founded in 2003 when we were looking for a way to train and prepare for the Etape du Tour. Information on events was scarce and per chance we stumbled upon the Fred Whitton Memorial, which had its first edition in 1999 making it one of the the first sportives in the UK. (The first edition had less than 200 riders and now 10 years on is one of the top sportives with 1,000 riders).
Realising that there were some great events, but many were largely unknown, we set up Cyclosport with the aim of providing an online meeting place for riders, sponsors and organisers.
The site's usage has grown dramatically since 2003 and has become the leading global web site for cycling events for amateurs. Cyclosport.org is managed by HotChillee, the global marketing and events company.
About the Editor:
Adam Tranter 
(@adamtranter) After a relatively mediocre and short-lived attempt at cycling racing, Cyclosport's Adam Tranter rapidly discovered a passion for journalism and the media. He found focus in maintaining his passion for his sport and sharing it with others, as well as building on cycling's increased mainstream interest into viable businesses.
He is Director of cycling media services company Fusion Media, as well as working as a freelance journalist for magazines such as Cycling Weekly and T3 magazine. He also contributes on cycling to BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC News.
Sportives provide a new and exciting target for him, and there's no better way to spread the word about the attraction of sportives than to run the world's leading cyclosportive-specific website.
In his spare time, Adam likes to visit new places on his bike. He's also developed a rather worrying interest in trains. His favourite colour is orange.
About the Events Coordinator:
Henry Peacock
Henry (@HenryPeacock) is a true cycling obsessive and has loved every second; even the hours spent groveling on the side of a Welsh Mountain at the rear of a peloton. He had a relatively short love affair with racing in 2011 gaining good results along the way, did some seriously long cyclosportives and has had just about every occupation you can think of, from child-minder to marquee rigger.
A Degree in Engineering has given Henry the insight into materials and the way things are manufactured (especially bicycles). His enthusiasm for anything cycling event related gives him the ability to drive Cyclosport to find the best events and news stories around and share them.
Being from a farming background Henry can fix, fettle and drive just about anything and everything. He now lives in South West London with his long-suffering girlfriend and two cats.
About the writers:
Mark Tearle
(@_BLIXA_) A dilettante, a dabbler and fabulist of inexact facts - but an expert, a genius and an original with it!
Father of The Two and addict of the Other, all lodging with the bi-polar cat.
Owner of a small house with a small garden and some bike bits that make up a bike or two.
By day a formicidae for the National Health Service and at all times a strong advocate of cycling for health, for fitness, for the environment and for the love of it.
Caven O'Hara
Caven (@caveno) started out working in computing but has left IT behind to combine his love of sport with his career. A degree in Sport Journalism obtained later in life has led to many great chances to witness sport and cycling up close. Having spent most of his adult life following sport, predominantly from the comfort of my armchair Caven discovered the joy of cycling.
Working with Evans Cycles allows Caven to spend more time not only on his bike but talking about them 24/7 – what’s not to enjoy? Many great trips have combined terrific cycling – on and off road – with some great craics in the company of mates. He started off-road but has found himself drawn to the dark stuff, not only the Guinness, but also the tarmac. The huge explosion in the number of sportives provides even more reasons to get out and ride.
Away from cycling Caven enjoys spending time with his family, photography and of course other sports!
Jennifer Trotman
Jennifer (@thecyclingmayor) likes to ride her bicycle. She likes to ride her bike. She likes to ride her bicycle. See where this is going? Yes; she likes to ride it where she likes.
Which, ever since catching the cycling bug a few years ago, tends to be at as many sportives as she can get away with. Given a choice she’d cheerfully do nothing else but ride her bike.
However… In the meantime she edits a local events’ guide, works for Bike Shepherd, and is a Town Councillor. She was even Mayor in 2009 – which is why she’s been blogging as The Cycling Mayor for 3 years now, covering all her training and the many events she’s done since then – 27 and counting.
Her greatest achievement so far was the 2011 Etape du Tour Acte 1 – and she’s now got the bug for single day closed road foreign events!
Future plans include the 2012 Maratona dles Dolomites, and the Etape du Tour again in 2013.
Jonathan Cook
Jon (@CookyBear) has been riding a bike for as long as he can remember, six or so years ago the allure of carbon fibre and skinny tyres finally proved too much and now several bikes adorn his home.
By day he’s a software engineer focusing on sport; when he’s not busy with binary, he’s either spending his hard earned cash on new bicycle parts or searching out the country’s steepest hills.
In addition to his obsession with lycra Jon also has had a long love affair with the great outdoors; this was reaffirmed with a year in Alaska chasing bears which sparked writing about his travels and cycling exploits in his spare time.
After cycling most of the UK’s most popular one day sportives and several of Europe’s closed road events. Jon has found a growing interest and challenge in multiday events. Events for 2012 include Liege-Bastogne-Liege, The Tour of Lighthouses and the Alpes Open Tour.
Emma Osenton
Emma (@waterrat77) Decorator by day and rider for as many hours a week as she can get away with Emma is a bit of a hill climbing fanatic. Living in the South Pennines and racing for the Kinesis-Morvelo project. Emma also gets involved with organising cycling events for others. With a background in endurance sport including many long distance triathlons and ultra running as well as sportive and Audax.
Emma began writing for Cyclosport last year and is looking forward to many adventures with them this year, generally dragging her long suffering partner along for the ride.
James Berresford
James (@pudoz) is a relative newcomer to the cycling scene but like most born again converts is about as evangelical as they come. Riding 24 sportives, 10,000km and 115,000 vertical metres in his first Cyclosport season; he eats, sleeps and drinks cycling but only as part of a protein rich, carbohydrate controlled diet. Its all about the Watts per Kilo you see. Raised on good, clean, northern soil but currently residing in South London which can be inconvenient because as a climb enthusiast he'd really like to be spending as much time pushing up a hill or mountainside as possible. A day job in mobile phone research and design also occasionally gets in the way of those all important kms.
Sean Lacey
(@cyclingsean) Having spent the last twenty-odd years doing next to nothing outside of work, the weight had piled on, Sean was seriously unfit and alarmingly knocking on the door of the big four-zero. An alarm sounded somewhere and he made up his mind - it was time to get busy. Big diet changes and regular running shifted the weight and got him fit but it just wasn't motivating enough, so he looked to his teenage long lost love, the bike.
Four months in and he was picked up by Cycling Plus to be part of their new reader team, and with a great coach, back up from a pro related medical team and more rides than he could shake a stick at he was firing on all cylinders and back in the game. That's come to an end, and he needs a new challenge.
Living in Shropshire gives him an ideal playground, fitting riding in with a wife and three kids (all girls!). He spends far too much time playing video games when he's not riding and he loves his food, although it's generally a lot healthier these days.
Cars are another passion, with Sean running a TVR Griffith and writing regularly for the national car club magazine.
Liz Powell
Liz (@cammo7) is a late joiner to cycling, having retired from hockey where she achieved a high standard, at one stage playing in one of the country’s highest leagues.
Having started cycling regularly in 2009, Liz's competitive side got the better of her and she has spent the last two seasons time competing in time trials with Mike Vaughan Cycles Team. Liz is currently competing in the Midlands TT Women's Series (having finished 5th last year, winning best improved) and the Midlands District TT series.
Liz is married to Mark who also writes for Cyclosport.org and is currently employed in public sector service recovery.
Liz is looking to use sportives as a method of training and gaining some endurance fitness to support her time trial training, and is looking forward to sharing her experiences with visitors to cyclosport.org.
Mark Powell
Mark (@fatboynomore1) has always had a passion for riding bikes but it wasn't until reaching his late 30's that he was able to commit to more serious riding and used the sport to find long lost fitness and health (reducing his weight from 16 to 12 stone in 6 months)
Marks most memorable (and only significant) competitive ride was the 2010 National Hill Climb Championship in which he came 114th.
In support of the adage "those who can't do, teach!" Mark is studying for the Association of British Cycling Coaches, coaching qualification and hopes to provide coaching support to all levels of bike riders looking to improve.
By day, Mark works in public sector customer service and is married to Liz ( who also writes for cyclosport and is regularly subjected to student coach practice!)
Tony Pushman
Tony took up cycling just before his 50th birthday and is a member of VeloSport Jersey. After 32 years working as a Chartered Accountant, Tony decided on a change and enrolled on a bicycle mechanic’s course with ATG in Aylesbury and in 2010 qualified as a Cytech 2 mechanic. Shortly after this, he was invited by Nigel Mansell and his team to join them as rider/mechanic in Nigel’s challenge to cycle around the UK to raise both money for, and the profile of, UK Youth, the charity of which Nigel is President - riding alongside not only the Mansell family but also one Magnus Backstedt.
Tony has relentlessly studied the performance enhancing attributes of Guinness and Rioja, taken alone or together and in varying quantities. Having concluded that there is no noticeable enhancement in performance of any description (in fact at times the opposite), he has now moved the focus of his researches to Pinotage and Windhoek lager. This study may also last for some years before any conclusion may be reached.
Tony has re-located to Cape Town with his wife Hazel and has commenced riding the local sportive events. He hopes to cover the sportive scene in the Western Cape for Cyclosport from a veteran’s viewpoint – that being some distance from the front of the bunch.
Howard Johnson: 29th December 1962 - 14th August 2012
Unfortunately, Howard Johnson, Cyclosport's first event writer, passed away on Tuesday 14th August 2012. Howie, as he was known to most, was a caring and larger than life character who always brought a smile to our faces at the numerous cyclosportives he attended.
After writing in his spare time for Team Cycling Plus and then Cyclosport, he rapidly became a well-known and well-liked figure at the heart of the cycling community.
Howie will be sorely missed and always remembered by all of us, by our colleagues in the cycling industry and by the cycling community.
