Gear up for the Brompton World Championships

If the Olympics have whetted your appetite for competition, you can watch racing of an entirely different kind at the Brompton World Championships (BWC) at Blenheim later in the month. If you fancy riding, you can still enter the Brompton Marathon, although you’ll need to move fast because entries close on Sunday night.

Michael Hutchinson will be back to defend the BWC title he won last year. Hutchinson has competed for Great Britain in the Commonwealth Games for Great Britain and has numerous national time trial titles to his name. He also finished second to Roberto Heras (yes, that Roberto Heras; the one who won the Vuelta a few times) in the BWC in 2009. 

In the women’s event, Rachael Elliot will be looking to be the first to get a BWC hat-trick having won the 2011 and 2010 competitions. Anna Glowinski, presenter of ITV4’s Cycle Show, will also be a contender for the female title.

“The World Championship has always attracted a very competitive element, albeit a very well dressed one,” said event organiser Katharine Horsman. “We have had big names get involved in previous years but it looks like the 2012 competition could be the most hotly fought. We know a lot of people put in some pretty serious training for this and there is certainly scope for someone to come out of nowhere to take the prizes.”

If you want to get involved in the Brompton event, which takes place on 19 August, there are still some places available in the Brompton Marathon – a 26-mile sportive in the Cotswold countryside. You should be back in time to see the BWC race before enjoying complimentary afternoon tea in the Brompton tent.

Registration for the Marathon closes at midnight on Sunday, 5 August. Visit the racing section on the Brompton website to find out more. 

As well as the three major Brompton events (Marathon, World Championship and Sprint), there is lots of other Brompton entertainment taking place over the weekend at the Bike Blenheim Palace festival of cycling, including head to head roller racing on Bromptons (provided by South Coast Sprints), a Q&A session with Brompton inventor Andrew Ritchie on the Saturday afternoon, and other Brompton-based challenges including the much-loved fastest fold competition.