The Brompton World Championship is a promotional cycling event for Brompton Bicycle Ltd that has been held in various formats and venues since 2008.[1] [2]
The event consists primarily of a criterium race in which all competitors rode Brompton folding bicycles. The race typically features a Le Mans start with the competitors running to their folded bikes and unfolding them before they set off around the track. Riders are required to dress in business wear instead of standard bicycle clothing.
The first Brompton World Championship, the inspiration of Koos Kroon, Brompton's Spanish distributor, was held on April 8, 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. The second BWC on March 17, 2007, was also in Barcelona. The race relocated to England in 2008 and was held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
In 2013 the BWC was merged with the Orbital Festival and moved to the Goodwood Motor Circuit in Chichester, West Sussex. In 2014 the Orbital Festival was cancelled at late notice but the BWC went ahead at the same venue.
In 2015 the event moved to central London and became part of the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival, taking place annually until 2019.
The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When RideLondon returned in 2022 the BWC was absent.
The Brompton World Championship race resumed with the first event since the pandemic held in Singapore in October 2022 as part of the Tour De France Prudential Singapore Criterium.[3]
In 2013 and 2014 the Brompton World Championship took place in the Goodwood Motor Circuit, as part of the wider Orbital Festival cycling exposition. It features three main events, with separate prizes for the category winners in each event and then the grand prize for the overall victor of the Treble.
800 entrants were expected in 2014. The Championship consists of a Le Mans style sprint start to the folded bikes before completing 4 laps – over 15 km – of the circuit.
Prizes are awarded to the three fastest male and female competitors, as well as the male and female Junior (between 12 and 18 years of age) and Veteran (over 50 years of age) winners. Teams of between 3 and 5 members are permitted and are placed according to the aggregated time of the team's top three finishers. There is also a prize awarded to the ‘Best Dressed’ male and female competitors.
Brompton Sprint
Only open to the 200 participants who have registered for the Brompton Treble, the Brompton Sprint consists of a 500m sprint organised in heats of 12 entrants before the final. There is no dress code and prizes are awarded to the fastest male, female, junior and veteran competitors.
Brompton Marathon
The Marathon consists of a 26 km untimed ride through the Sussex countryside, open to 300 participants (compulsory for the Brompton Treble entrants), with food and drink and sightseeing options organised en route. There is no dress code.
Brompton Treble
The 200 participants who compete in all three events are eligible for the Brompton Treble; the male and female competitors with the fastest times from the Sprint and the World Championship, together with successful completion of the Marathon, will be the Brompton Treble Champions.
Since 2010 many countries around the globe have held their own Brompton National Championships featuring comparative events, with the winners invited to participate in the World Championships every summer.[5]
The list of countries that have held National Championships::
Results of the Brompton World Championship races
| Year | Male | Female | Venue | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Marti Milla | Carolina Paris | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| 2007 | Arnau Rota | Carolina Paris | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| 2008 | Alastair Kay | Debbie Lister | Blenheim Palace, United Kingdom | ||
| 2009 | Roberto Heras | Julia Shaw | Blenheim Palace, United Kingdom | [6] | |
| 2010 | Philip Liam Curran | Rachael Elliott | Blenheim Palace, United Kingdom | [7] | |
| 2011 | Michael Hutchinson | Rachael Elliott | Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit, United Kingdom | [8] | |
| 2012 | Michael Hutchinson | Julia Shaw | Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit, United Kingdom | ||
| 2013 | Michael Hutchinson | Isabel Hastie | Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit, United Kingdom | ||
| 2014 | Orbital Festival, Goodwood Circuit, United Kingdom | ||||
| 2015 | RideLondon cycling festival, London, United Kingdom | ||||
| 2016 | RideLondon cycling festival, London, United Kingdom | [9] | |||
| 2017 | RideLondon cycling festival, London, United Kingdom | ||||
| 2018 | RideLondon cycling festival, London, United Kingdom | ||||
| 2019 | RideLondon cycling festival, London, United Kingdom | ||||
| 2020 | No race due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | No race due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2022 | Singapore | ||||
| 2023 | Turin, Italy | ||||
| 2024 | Coal Drops Yard, London, United Kingdom | ||||