Classic British Races

Classics are not just for the Continent — Great Britain has a rich history of events that have earned that moniker. Some still exist, some have morphed into something else while others didn’t survive. But each one was a classic for its own special reasons and left a mark on bike racing in the UK.

- Chris Sidwells

Dubbed sport’s most successful sponsorship deal, the Milk Race has shaped cycling in this country more than any other event. Everyone over a certain age has heard of the Milk Race and it’s down to its enduring nature that some of the older generation still refer to the current Tour of Britain as such.

The inaugural Milk Race was run over two weeks and at the time replaced the original Tour of Britain. That itself started as something else, growing from the four-day Southern Grand Prix, the first-ever stage race in Britain that took place in Kent, in August 1944.

The original Tour of Britain’s sponsor, the Daily Express, ended its involvement having grown tired of five years of bickering between the officials who ran cycling in the UK. The race, however, was saved, if inadvertently, by a semi-pro rider from Derby called Dave Orford.

Orford, who is as passionate about cycling today as he was then, asked the Milk Marketing Board, the sales body of English and Welsh dairy farmers, to pay for its slogan ‘Drink More Milk’ to be put on every semi-pro racer’s jersey. The Board’s marketing man was impressed by Orford’s pitch, but said he wanted to sponsor a bike race, not its riders. So Orford, quick as a flash, suggested the struggling Tour of Britain, and the Milk Race was born. That was in 1958 — the relationship lasted an incredible 35 years as the Milk Race became the generic term for our national tour.

The race became the highlight of the cycling season. It was a celebration of our countryside, and a true test of the riders as it crossed the toughest terrain in the country. Climbs like Bwlch y Groes reduced the best to walking in this premicro-gear era, and legends were forged.