Simon Richardson

Simon Richardson (born 21 June 1983) is a retired professional road racing cyclist from Bristol who last rode for . He moved into media work after retiring and currently works as a presenter for Global Cycling Network.

Racing career

He started as a cross-country mountain biker and won the 2005 under-23 British National Mountain Biking Championships before switching to road racing with Plowman Craven-Evans Cycles in 2007.

Richardson was the general classification winner of the 2009 FBD Insurance Rás, his only overall victory in a professional stage race. Also known as Rás Tailteann, the event comprised eight stages and was part of the UCI Europe Tour. Riding for , he took the lead after stage three and held it to the end of the race, taking the overall win by two minutes and forty-nine seconds.

His other professional win came at the same race in 2008, beating David O'Loughlin in the sprint to the line on stage five after the two riders broke clear of the field. He would finish the race in 19th place overall.

He had top-twenty overall finishes at the Tour of Britain in 2008 and 2010, and came 5th in the elite men's road race at the 2010 British National Road Race Championships. He also scored podium finishes in uncategorized races including Tour of the Reservoir, Sea Otter Classic and Lincoln Grand Prix.

Richardson announced his retirement from professional cycling at the end of 2012 after winning the Rouleur’s Combativity award on the final stage of the Tour Of Britain.

Post-retirement

Following his retirement, Richardson became a presenter and content creator at Global Cycling Network. He works alongside former IG-Sigma teammate Daniel Lloyd, Conor Dunne and other former professional cyclists at GCN.

In 2024, Richardson filmed a feature for GCN in which he competed in the Brompton World Championship. Competitors at the event ride Brompton folding bicycles and must wear some element of business attire - in Richardson's case a suit jacket - rather than traditional cycling gear. He finished second in his heat to qualify for the final, and was second in the championship race.

Major results

2004 1st Round of Belgian Cup 2nd National Under-23 CX Championships 2005

2006 1st Bikeline 2 Day 2008 1st Stage 5 FBD Insurance Rás 2nd Sea Otter Classic 3rd Lincoln Grand Prix 3rd Richmond Grand Prix 3rd Overall Girvan Stage Race 3rd Overall Tour of the Reservoir 2009

2010 1st Tour of the Reservoir 2024 2nd Brompton World Championship