The Archer Grand Prix was part of the

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

Premier Calendar The British Cycling Premier Calendar Road Race Series is a season-long competition run by British Cycling. It comprises a series of road bicycle races for the country's top domestic road riders. Organisation and events In 2010 points were awar ...

History

The Archer Grand Prix was run annually for over fifty years, organised by Stuart Benstead of the

Archer Road Club The Archer Road Club is a cycling club in London, England. The club has produced national, world and Olympic champions. Formation and early history Archer Road Club was founded in 1926 as a breakaway from Bayswater Wheelers. The original member ...

(although Stuart Cook organised the last two events in 2006 and 2007). It was described by

as a "long running classic". The first edition was held in 1956 and won by British rider, Alfred Howling. 1968 saw the first non-British winner when

Jan Krekels Jan Jozef Alfons Franciscus Krekels (born 26 August 1947) is a retired cyclist from the Netherlands. He became Olympic champion in the 100 km team time trial in 1968 with Joop Zoetemelk, René Pijnen and Fedor den Hertog; at the same Games ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

won the race. The race has in the past, adopted the name of its main sponsor, including

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

Pernod Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or ''Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

and

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

. Consistently routed around the roads and lanes of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

, the most recent route was split into a large and small circuit. The large circuit took in

Whiteleaf Hill Whiteleaf Hill is an Local Nature Reserve near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It is owned by Buckinghamshire County Council and managed by the Chiltern Society. it is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it has f ...

and

Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, just to the north of High Wycombe. It is almost 8,000 acres (32 km2) in size, divided mainly between arable and ...

while the small finish circuit included the finish at Winchmoor Hill. The 2007 edition was won by

Simon Gaywood Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

riding for the Plowman Craven Associates team from Matt Talbot (Rapha Condor) and Andy Roche (Pinarello). The 53rd version of the race was scheduled to run in Spring 2008 but had to be cancelled because of policing issues. The future of the race then became uncertain; it was scheduled to be held again on 19 April 2009, but sponsorship problems led to a second cancellation.

Winners

References

{{reflist Cycle races in England Recurring sporting events established in 1956 Men's road bicycle races 1956 establishments in England UCI Europe Tour races Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2007 2007 disestablishments in England Defunct cycling races in the United Kingdom