Cambridge University Cycling Club

We cater for all University members, providing access to all cycling disciplines from beginners to elite athletes.

As well as competing in BUCS races, we regularly organise social and touring rides which allow beginners to improve their fitness and to discover the countryside around Cambridge and beyond.

News about training, races, and results will be posted here. Check out our calendar of upcoming events on 'Training & Events'.

Sign up to the club mailing list here.

CUPPERS 2024

By Matt Davison

Botty 10, 1pm, a Saturday in early March, what else could it be but cuppers? The weather had looked miserable all week, with rain and strong winds forecast, and the unlucky riders in the first half of the race had to endure a hailstorm. This, however, had mostly cleared by the second half of the race leaving only a bit of a crosswind.

With the keen racers safely away in Newport for BUCS track, so once everyone made it to the start line (In classic CUCC fashion about 1/3 of riders missed their starts…) cuppers was anyone’s race for the taking. This lead to some very strong performances across the board (full results here here). Lucas Beghein took the men’s TT bike category, sneaking under 23 minutes with a 22:58. Maddie Angwin carried on her winning streak from Ely Hardriders, winning the women’s race despite a missed start in 26:28. The road bike categories were won by Francis Schofield (also on a post-Ely winning spree) in 23:39, and Freya Taylor, on her TT debut, in 31:33.

Lucas Beghein on his way to victory, photo thanks to Nordin Catic

Inspired by the new CTT road bike category, the scoring system was adjusted for this year. The fastest rider in each category, road and TT bike, for open and female, was awarded 8 points, then 7 points were awarded for the next rider, decreasing by 1 until a minimum of 1 point was won by every rider that competed.

The overall win was taken by St John’s, with a team of Maddie Angwin, Naomi Jennings and Josh Kershaw. Trinity came in a close second and Kings third.

The Winning John’s Team, and a frankly embarrassing amount of rowing stash.

The day concluded with hot dogs and snacks in the Bottisham village hall, and a slow spin back into town. Thanks to Louis for organising a great event, and on to the rest of the race season! Photos from the day can be found here, with thanks to Nordin Catic.

All competitors and marshals

MTB Varsity 2024

By Sam Fitzgerald

On the 18th of February it was the mountain bikers of CUCC who found themselves in the unfamiliar position of waking up to race. This peculiar breed of cyclist appears out of the woodwork once a year for the legendary Mountain Bike Varsity. Whilst Cambridge Mountain biking has been a bastion of success in recent years, having won the last 5 men’s and women’s titles, all good things must come to an end. It was Oxford who appeared out of the mist to claim victory.

On this particular morning the heavens were unsteady, tormented as the rain flowed out of the sky, perhaps foreshadowing things to come. The MTBers set off for Frimley, Surrey. Some extra last-minute practice was provided for the drivers on the way down as they were forced to navigate unruly puddles and accidents alike. Upon arrival the focus quickly shifted to reconning the course. Every muddy patch, slick root and sharp corner memorised, the riders headed for the start line.

Oxford and Cambridge fight for position on the start line

Sprint. The riders were off. A 50-meter dash, before the course split into three before a sharp right hander before a drop. The technical course took its toll very quickly with Sam Fitzgerald (Cambridge) slamming on the brakes to take the hard right. Yet, Matthew Coulson, unable to react in time, was forced to grab a handful of front brake, launching himself through the air. This maneuver proved successful for Sam, however, parachuting him up the order into second place. Though it was Oxford’s Max Bolton who started with flying colours opening an early lead over the first climb of the day. As the race progressed Cambridge’s hopes of winning looked ever more strained. Yani Angelo Djelil, of Oxford powered past the podium, taking the lead going into the second lap. Meanwhile, fueled by adrenaline Matthew Coulson fought through the field into second place. Cambridge valiantly fought on, assembling all their ducks into a row from 4th to 8th into the last lap. Will Lowden led the Cambridge train to the line, closely followed by Sam Fitzgerald and Ilya Kaysin, but it was not enough to prevent an Oxford 1,2,3.  In the Women’s it was Oxford’s Elizabeth Hayman who sent it from start to finish. A fitting Victory after consecutive podiums. Behind, Oxford’s Freya Butler started strong, however, a silver lining for Cambridge, Charlotte Lampe left everything out on the course and had a late surge to take silver. Abigail Cox rounded out the Cambridge women’s team in 4th.

Charlotte Lampe storming up a late climb.

Overall, whilst the result may have disappointed all involved should be proud of their performance and spirit, in a race with some of the toughest conditions seen in years. Now sights are set on 2025, where you can be certain of more thrills, more spills, and much more great racing. Come on you Light Blues!

All smiles from both Oxford and Cambridge at the finish.

2023 Hill Climb Season

by Matt Rizzo-Naudi

With another hill climb season under the collective CUCC belt, it is time to reflect and remind ourselves that we do in fact enjoy riding our bikes despite the long cold days spent climbing hills for mid-pack finishes. With the nearby summits including Chapel Hill and Gog Magog, CUCC, unsurprisingly, had another brilliant season, mopping up many medals along the way.

First up was OUCC Hill Climb on 21st October with an early start at the Sports Centre. CUCC cleaned up the medal table, taking the men’s and women’s overall wins with Will Lowden and Phoebe Barker, as well as the men’s and women’s varsities with Will, Joe A-C and Ben Proctor, and Phoebe, Sannah Zaman and Maddie Angwin – we could not have asked for a better start to the season. We would like to say a big thanks to Oxford for hosting us and organising the entire event! The highlight for me was the post-hill climb social ride with multiple riders, committee members no less, being told off for launching attacks. All I can say is that I was just following the wheels. 

CUCC at OUCC Hill Climb, Saturday 21st October 2023
CUCC’s Gen Sec Ben Proctor, going full send up Chalet Hill. OUCC Hill Climb 2023

Next up was our very own hill climb up the savage Gog Magog – there’s a reason they built a hospital right next to it. Go too hard at the start and you’ve probably finished before the lactate sets in. Just as we ordered, the heavy rain began right as we started sign-on. In the back of Alex’s Land Rover, we quickly found out the packing fraction of CUCCers – it was indeed not large enough with many people left outside, feeling very cold. Or so they looked from inside. Despite the ridiculously cramped conditions, sign-on was completed, and attention turned to the great pain faces on show, as riders battled their way up the hill. Maddie Angwin deployed her presidential watts to win the women’s competition, with Joe A-C putting on another classic performance, winning the men’s. Special mention must go to Louis for doing an amazing job organising the whole event! We really appreciate it.

The weather didn’t stop CUCC! CUCC Hill Climb, 29th October 2023

A few CUCC members decided to trade Gog Magog for the dizzy heights of the Lake District and The Struggle on 29th October for the National Hill Climb Championships. The likes of Andrew Feather and Ed Laverack were quaking in their Sidis at the thought of being pitted against CUCC’s finest hill climbers and their machines. The CUCC team, comprised of Will Lowden, Francis Schofield and Jacob Lewis, had an incredible performance – all well within the top 50 % of riders. Special mention must go to Will, only 20 seconds off a top-10 result with a severely over-geared set up. Needless to say it left him with a cadence which made my knees hurt just watching. Cameron Walker, a CUCC member racing under the Elevate Race Team, had a superb performance only a few seconds behind Francis who managed to sneak into the top 50. If anyone has seen the photos or videos from the event, it is easy to see why hill climbs are so popular here – I had goosebumps just watching! 

Tim B cheering on Jacob Lewis. National Hill Climb Champs, 29th October 2023

BUCS Hill Climb, the finale of the hill climb season, started with another early morning and a trek to somewhere off the A1. There was indeed a hill, and we rode up it. For early November, the weather was, fortunately, abysmal. Phoebe continued her clean sweep of hill climb victories this year, taking the overall women’s win. Although she was again closely followed by Sannah in 2nd place, allowing CUCC to comfortably win the women’s overall competition. In an outstanding repeat of the OUCC Hill Climb, Will, Ben and Joe all put in top-15 performances to win bronze in the men’s team competition. Their backs need a well-earned rest from all the carrying they have been doing so far this season. Special mention must go to CUCC alumnus, Craig Rogers, now racing for Newcastle, who led the event for most of the day, only to be pipped for the win by Oxford’s ‘Andrew Feather’, Matthew Coulson. After multiple attempts to manoeuvre the van and remember how to use a clutch, the CUCC Van® was back off to Cambridge with another huge medal haul. A fantastic day full of laughs, cold hands and rain, I would nearly choose to do it again.

BUCS Hill Climb, 4th November 2023

It would seem the club-subsidised university events were not enough for some, with members spending hard-earned student loans on more open hill climb events around the country. Streatley Hill near Reading was graced with the Fenland Watts on 17th September (yes, this isn’t in chronological order 🤡) – multiple members came out of summer hibernation to perform some max efforts: Matt Davison, Tom Hale, Maddie and recent alumnus Zoe Burrell ensured CUCC gave ample warning to the other universities to get their act together before the season proper. Another mention to Cam Walker for bagging a top-10 for his team! Numerous other events were entered strengthening the CUCC hill climb name, with strong showings by CUCC members and alumni including: Tim B and Jacob at The Urban Hill Climb in mid-September and Cam Walker who took multiple top-10s in the Chilterns. 

And with that, the club’s racing for the calendar year is at an end. A huge thanks must go to all those who helped organise transport, entries and the events themselves: Louis Stuart, Tom Wade and Phoebe Barker – the smooth running of these events was all thanks to them. Lastly, thanks and well done to all those who rode any of the hill climbs – I certainly had a great time and I hope you all did too. Being able to take such large teams to these events really makes me realise how much the club can come together to support each other – the fact that we are competing on such a high-level nationally is a testament to this. I hope everyone has a restful holiday and is as excited as I am for the year to come!

For a summary of results, see the ‘Results Archive’ on our website under the ‘Racing’ tab.

If you’d like to get involved with any of the racing in the club, or simply have any questions, please email one (or all!) of your race captains: Matt (mlar2), Tom (tjh93), Jo (jgm42) and Phoebe (prab2)