Amateur Athletic Club (AAC) [1866 – 1880]
The AAC was formed in London by ‘gentleman amateurs’ in 1866 and was the governing body for amateur athletics. When bicycle track racing started around 1869, there was no governing body to control bicycle racing, so the AAC assumed that role. The definition of an amateur in the constitution of the AAC declared that mechanics, artisans and labourers were not amateurs and by default were professionals. This ridiculous banning of manual labourers resulted in the field of twenty riders in the 1871 national 4 miles bicycle championship of the AAC, being reduced to 3 because of objections to their amateur status of riders. The winner, after an almost walk over, was a public school man.
The Northern Athletics Association, which had a large membership, threatened to boycott the 1879 AAC championships because of its definition of an amateur. This caused the collapse of the AAC and highlighted a North/South divide in sport in their attitudes to professionals.
Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) [1880 – present]
The AAA was formed after the demise of the AAC. The AAA allowed amateurs to compete regardless of their occupation or class. The AAA was the governing body of athletics and recognised that the NCU, which had been established two years earlier, was the governing body for bicycle racing. The AAA was however to clash with the NCU over amateur and professional races being held at the same meeting.
National Cyclists’ Union (NCU) [1878 – 1959]
The NCU was formed in 1878, it was originally called the Bicycle Union and changed it’s name to the NCU in 1883, following the merger with the Tricycle Association. The Bicycle Union departed radically from the AAC’s definition of a professional and settled on a professional being a person who earned their living in the sport as a competitor of instructor [52]. Amateurs were not allowed to compete against professionals except with special permission. The NCU allowed amateur and professional races at the same meeting but did not allow amateurs to compete against professionals.
In the 1880’s there was a serious rift between the NCU and the AAA. The AAA did not allow amateurs to compete in any meeting at which there were professional races in the programs and banned any competitors who did so. This problem rumbled for many years until it was agreed that each organisation could control their own sport.
The NCU started to oppose bicycle racing on public roads in 1887 and despite opposition from a number of larger cycling clubs club, they banned racing on public roads in 1897. After this, track racing became the major form of bicycle racing in the UK.
British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) [1942 – 1959]
Massed start racing on public roads was still banned in 1941. Percy Stallard, a top racing cyclist, organised a 59 mile road race from Llangollen to Wolverhampton. The race was held on 7th June 1941 with 34 riders and police approval. All the riders were banned by the NCU and the RTTC and Stallard was banned for life. Cyclists appetite for road racing however had started to grow and the following year, interested parties came together to form the BLRC to organise road racing.
This caused a deep split in British club cycling as anyone riding a BLRC organised road race would be banned by the NCU and the RTTC. The BLRC went from strength to strength, organising races, national and international teams. The impossible situation with the NCU was only resolved in 1959 when the NCU and BLRC amalgamated.
British Cycling Federation (BCF) [1959 – present]
The rivalry between the NCU and BLRC ended in 1959 and they combined together to form the BCF as the governing body for most UK bicycle racing except time trials. Around 2001, the BCF changed it’s name to British Cycling, following the incorporation of mountain biking, BMX and cyclo-cross disciplines of the sport.
Cycling Time Trials (CTT) [1922 – present]
After the NCU banned bicycle races on public roads in 1890, riders began organising their own time trials in an effort to race without drawing attention to themselves. Riders wore black clothing from head to foot, didn’t wear numbers and had a bell fitted. In time trials, riders ride alone and unpaced against the clock. By 1897, the NCU had also banned time time trials.
Time trialling carried on unofficially and in 1922 Tom Bidlake formed the Road Racing Council to oversee time trialling, with membership restricted to a couple of dozen clubs. Time trialling flourished and in 1937 the Road Racing Council changed its name to the Road Time Trials Council and opened up membership to all clubs.
The RTTC controlled time trialling very closely as they were concerned to keep a low profile so that time trialling, on public roads, would not get banned. To this end, events started early on Sunday mornings, typically 5am and all race material was marked ‘private and confidential’. Fields were limited to 120 riders who started at minute intervals. Distances were 25, 50 and 100 miles and 12 and 24 hours, 10 mile time trials became popular later.
Time trialling became very popular in the UK and remains a peculiarly British branch of the sport, popular with club riders. In 2002 the RTTC set up a limited company to run their affairs, which was called Cycling Time Trials (CTT).