THE TOUR OF THE ABBERLEYS 3-DAY STAGE RACE

A flagship BMCR event

The race was started under the LVRC in 1998 by cyclist and well-known Midlands comedian Chris Singleton. The first edition of the race was called the Black Country Wheelers 3 Day, but for the second edition the name Tour of the Abberleys was adopted.

As it quickly became established as the longest, and one of the toughest, events on the LVRC calendar, Chris drew on additional support from LVRC Region 6, while Bush Healthcare and Fabricolour were early sponsors. In about 2002 sponsors Real Cost Cars and Reliant Windows provided the huge trophies which are still presented to the winners in each race.

For a year or two when the Milk Race had finished and the BCF was in crisis it was the longest stage race in the UK. Riders from the early days may remember a youngster by the name of Dan Martin wandering around the HQ and riding round the circuit while his dad raced. In 2002 a team from Holland entered and it briefly became an international race.

Ramin Minovi, whose memorial race is now incorporated as the third stage, took over the organisation in 2004 with Colin Willets and Colin Dooley, then Stuart Hall in 2008, before the current organiser Mike Amery took it on in 2011.

In 2006 a Prologue time trial was added to make it a 4-stage race, and in 2015 a King of the Mountains competition. All the road stages use hilly circuits, with the final stage often incorporating some of the toughest local climbs. Since 2018 the road stages have been supported by motorbike marshals. It now attracts Masters riders from all over the country, with entries heavily over-subscribed.

There are 3 competitions: the over-40s race, the over-50s race, and the over-60s race. It is normally run on the first bank holiday week-end in May.

2018 winners

TOUR OF THE ABBERLEYS – PAST WINNERS

Year	A/B Race	C+ Race	Over 60s
1998	Garnett Smith	Mick Ives	Jack Watson
1999	Nick Yarworth	Dave Hargreaves	Ray Minovi
2000	Neil Martin	Roger Iddles	Ray Minovi
2001	Neil Martin	Dave McCullen	Ray Minovi
2002	Neil Martin	Phil Cooke	Tony Woodcock
2003	Paul Stubbs	Eddie Adkins	Tony Woodcock
2004	Russell Harrington	Peter Halliwell	Jack Watson
2005	Phil Mason	Peter Greenwood	Roger Iddles
2006	Phil Mason	Joey Williams	Roger Iddles
2007	Simon Keeton	Phil Axe	Roger Iddles
2008	? Phil Mason	?	Dave Rutherford
2009	Andy Donaldson	Dave McMullen	Alan Kemp
2010	Peter Georgi	Alan Kemp	Alan Kemp
2011	Tim Carter	Paul Stubbs	Alan Kemp
2012	Jason Meyer	Cs: Roy Holmes D+: Andy Donaldson	Alan Kemp
2013	Wayne Coombs	Mark Westwood	Alan Kemp
2014	Shaun Tyson	Mark Westwood	Andrew Simpkins
2015	Jeremy Honor	Karl Moseley	Steve Jolley
2016	Craig Battersby	Rich Edwards	John French
2017	Craig Battersby	Rich Edwards	Jim Moffat
2018	Stephen Feeney	Andrew Dumbill	Rob O’Connor
2019	Dave Griffiths	Russell Harrington	Richard McKellar
2021	Richard Butler	Karl Smith	Rob O’Connor
2022	Ian Hope	Jeremy Honor	Iain Turnbull
2023	Dave Griffiths	Karl Smith	Charles Zanettacci

PAST KING OF THE MOUNTAINS WINNERS

Year	A/B Race	C/D Race	Over 60s
2015	Martin Smith	Graham Payne	–
2016	Martin Smith	Rich Edwards	Steve Jolley
2017	Craig Battersby	Sean Kilroy	Malcolm Whitehead
2018	John Russell	Andrew Dumbill	Andrew Donaldson
2019	Dave Griffiths	Russell Harrington	Richard McKellar
2021	Dave Griffiths	John Watson	Martin Tolley
2022	Nick Morgan/Richard Butler	Shaun Tyson	John Galway
2023	Nick Morgan	Ray Bell	Charles Zanettacci