Devon gears up for blockbuster 2026 cycling season

Devon is set for its busiest and most exciting road cycling season for many years in 2026.

The calendar is filling up fast, including a new regional men’s and women’s championships near Ivybridge in May and an expanded 12-round Evening Circuit Series based at Paignton’s Torbay Velopark.

The programme will open with the traditional curtain-raiser, the Primavera Pursuit RR, organised by the Mid-Devon CC at Hatherleigh on Sunday, March 15.

That will be followed three weeks later when the MDCC promotes the latest edition of it’s flagship Totnes-Vire Two-Day race (April 4/5).

Started in 1974, the event is one of the oldest stage races in the UK.

It will again be split between Torbay, with stages at the Velopark and the Oddicombe Hill Climb, and a tough road test near Okehampton.

No other major races are being held around the country on that weekend, so the field should be a strong one.

The new Ermington Classic, promoted by Plymouth Corinthian CC, is set for Sunday, May 31.

It will feature the South and South West Regional Championships for men and women.

The Newton Abbot-based Dartmoor Classic sportive isn’t a race, but it will still attract more than 2,000 riders to tackle three marathon routes for its 17th edition over the moor on Sunday, June 21.

The top-level Lloyds National Circuit Series returns to Dawlish Town centre for Round Five on Friday evening, July 17.

That’s followed two days later (Sunday, July 19) by the Lloyds National Road Series over a new extended course which will feature South Molton Indoor Market and a finish in the town.

Running right through the summer will be a beefed-up SW Evening Circuit Series, with ten Thursday night rounds at the Velopark and two at Exeter’s Westpoint Arena.

And those events will be punctuated by the usual programme of time-trials against the clock on traditional courses like the A38 at Ashburton and the Teign Valley.

Andrew Parker, British Cycling’s SW Events officer, said: “It’s one of the best programmes of racing in this region for a while, and there’ll certainly be something for everyone.”