Cyclists fear safe time trial courses will be lost as governing body introduces ban on events in 20mph zones

Time trialling is facing a major change with the governing body of the sport in England and Wales, Cycling Time Trials (CTT), introducing a ban on events taking place on roads with 20mph speed limits, with existing courses in such areas going to have to be scrapped or modified to avoid the zones.

The news was communicated to CTT Districts in a letter seen by road.cc from the governing body's National Legal Adviser David Guy, in which he states CTT has "resolved that such courses cannot be used for time trials" and that Districts must "ignore any such suggestion" that speed limits do not apply to cyclists.

"CTT would not approve of cyclists overtaking other vehicles which are subject to a 20mph limit and pedestrians would not expect riders to be travelling at higher speeds," the letter continues.

"The Board is aware that some courses now have 20mph limit sections and there is a strong likelihood that more will in the future. The Board has resolved that such courses cannot be used for time trials. 

"Districts are therefore asked to review the courses which have events planned on them for 2024 (and for the remainder of 2023) and take appropriate action if that course now has a 20mph speed limit. Either the event must be cancelled, or the course modified to exclude that section or an alternative course used."

The announcement comes following the introduction of a default 20mph speed limit across Wales, however road.cc has also seen event organisers in England saying they have been affected too.

In the UK, cyclists do not share the same legal obligation as motorists to stick to speed limits, and cannot be charged with an offence of excess speed, however CTT's communication states that Districts "must ignore any such suggestion" from "some websites [that] state speed limits do not apply to cyclists", and implies that the safety and optics of overtaking traffic adhering to 20mph limits, and considerations for pedestrians who "would not expect riders to be travelling at higher speeds" must be considered.

> Do cyclists have to stick to the speed limit?

Since the letter was sent out there have been concerns heard about the implications for time trialling, some expressing fears about the loss of safe courses, others speaking in support of the decision.

"I can genuinely see this as being a real threat to the sport"

road.cc spoke to Jonty Gordon, the chairman of Clwb Beicio Egni Eryri and a director at 1816 Cycles who warned the rule could see "TTs end in Wales".

"The majority of courses cannot be used," he told us. "I know of some clubs whose regular 10-mile courses will all be unusable. Given the difficulty in finding routes that don't feature 20mph areas, there is a real risk that TTs will simply disappear in Wales.

"I do really think it is going to affect TTs as there are now so many 20mph routes, finding a safe and approachable one... not a 50mph road or dual carriageway, is going to be nigh-on impossible. I have been scouring Google Maps to try to find alternatives without any luck.

"We found that, like many other clubs, participation in TTs and other events took a bit of a nosedive after the initial boom post-COVID so we looked at newer TT courses which would attract more than the usual hardcore TT riders. Our plan was to run more road bike only TTs and for more women and youngster to take part. We ran 10-mile course from Caernarfon and had 20+ women entries for the whole series, where previously we had maybe a single female rider over the whole year.

"We fully planned to run this again as it was a really enjoyable route and had a positive impact on cycling in general; the inclusion of more participants meant those who may have shied away previously felt more inclined to give it a go (or try again) perhaps due to fitness etc. A section of maybe 100m through a small village called Bethel has been set to a 20mph zone. The whole village was previously a 30mph zone and the other mile or so remains as a 30. Because CTT has applied a blanket ban on any TT courses that go through a 20mph zone, this particular course can no longer be run.

"The wider impact of this ban is that we will have to find alternative locations to run TTs which will almost certainly be on busier and faster roads; participation in TTs will be much less and the promotion participation (particularly by women) will be hit hard. Ultimately, we have only one course that is currently compliant which is a 10-mile out and back on a 40/50mph route that is never particularly popular.

"Holyhead Cycling Club only have their 25-mile route left and I am sure that the vast majority of clubs in Wales will be in a similar situation. I can genuinely see this as being a real threat to the sport."

And while it was Wales' default 20mph speed limit which caused headlines when it was introduced in September, time trialists in England have also reported struggles.

"We've lost some great little club TT courses as a result," one said. "Last year, for instance, Didcot Phoenix ran the Ben Owen 10 (a midweek charity TT for local clubs and teams) on a small village loop near West Hanney. There were 90 riders and a few tandems, some of whom had never ridden a TT before but came along to be part of a team. A nice safe course for them that's now lost."

"I know of three courses that have been lost this year in Oxfordshire," another added, riders also saying courses in Cambridgeshire have been lost.

> Police stop cyclists riding at 39mph in 30mph zone despite speed limits not applying to bicycle riders

"All that's left are the fast dual carriageway and A-road courses for club TTs which are at best somewhat intimidating for anyone coming into the sport; seems crazy to me," one rider suggested.

Another comment spotted online said there "will be no courses left".

"Main roads too busy and have too high a traffic count, quiet back roads are riddled with 20mph sections, not all of which are necessary. Only way round it will be non-standard distances, or perhaps 'non-timed/neutralised' sections which would mean additional timekeepers."

"I have a course that is used for both A and B events which starts in a 20 zone, but within 50 yards you are into the 30mph zone so no real danger or much risk to riders or public. Also the current start position is a safe location. If we have to adjust start and finish position it going to be hard to find safe alternatives. So potentially another lost course and revenue to CTT. More worrying is that it will be used for a finishing circuit for the 2024 National 12," another agreed.

When contacted for comment by road.cc, CTT's Chair Andrea Parish said the governing body is "working internally to look into ways to mitigate the challenges imposed by the recent changes made to speed limits in Wales" and said "we will share an update on the matter as soon as we are able to".

The letter to Districts from Legal Adviser David Guy also suggests it has been discussed "whether it may be possible to make an exception for long events such as 12 and 24 hours where the distance subject to a 20mph limit is short and it is practical to enforce the limit without defeating the purpose of the event".

Guy also states it has been discussed as to "what extent CTT, with its very wide geographical spread, can realistically seek to influence particular traffic authorities to refuse to impose more 20mph limits, to remove them, to modify them to exclude times/or days of the week when time trials may be held."

> "Far more pleasant for walkers and cyclists": 20mph speed limit analysis hailed "astonishing", with drivers' journeys just 45 seconds longer

CTT's Board is to consider points raised and may discuss the topic if time can be made at its National Council AGM on December 3.

"Such a discussion may provide ideas to reduce the impact of these limits on time trialling," Guy suggests.

And while there has been much discussion about the potential impact of losing courses, some have expressed support for CTT's announcement, one comment from a time trialist online saying "it's a shame that a number of courses are likely to be lost but I can understand why CTT has had to impose a blanket ban."

"An organising body and/or organiser who permitted an event to take place where riders would exceed the speed limit would be opening themselves up to a liability in the event of an incident," they suggested.

Another added: "Cyclists are already sometimes an unpopular minority, already we have Daily Mail/GB News-mentality people saying we shouldn't be on the roads. Saying that speed limits don't apply to us, attempting to make some technical argument will plain be saying that we are above the law that everyone else has to obey — and that'll go down well, won't it?

"Anyone who's ever marshalled has probably also had some angry motorist stop to complain to them about riders. So if on top of this we try to declare that speed limits don't apply to us and organise races though 20 zones, where that 20 zone is supposed to be about safety for children, for pedestrians and cyclists, instead we turn up and race flat-out through it — how long would it be before time trialling and any other form of on-road cycle racing gets banned?"

However, there are also safety fears about events being pushed away from quieter roads and onto routes with higher speed limits. Last August, the East District of CTT suspended races on dual carriageways following the death of a rider during an event.

52-year-old Cheryl Tye was struck and killed by a van driver while competing in the East District 50-mile time trial championship on the A11 in Norfolk, between Croxton and Eccles, the same road where in 2010 a rider was airlifted to hospital with a suspected broken vertebrae following a collision 175 miles into a 12-hour event.

In 2021, a time trial participant was seriously injured after being hit from behind by a van driver, also on the A11 between Snetterton and Shropham. In the same month as Ms Tye's death, a van driver was arrested after a cyclist who represented Great Britain in triathlon was killed while taking part in a time trial on the A40 near Raglan in Monmouthshire.