All cyclists must adhere to 20mph speed limits during time trials in Britain – as governing body cites safety concerns and risk of causing “public outrage”

All cyclists taking part in time trials in Britain will be forced to slow down and adhere to the speed limit while racing through 20mph zones, the national governing body for time trialling in England, Scotland, and Wales has announced.

In new guidance published on Tuesday evening, which described 20mph speed limits and time trials as generally “incompatible”, Cycling Time Trials (CTT) also stipulated that any course with a lengthy 20mph section should not be used if a viable alternative is available, due to concerns over safety for participants and other road users, along with the risk of causing “public outrage” which, CTT says, could put the future of time trialling in Britain in jeopardy.

However, CTT’s latest guidance – which seeks to clarify the body’s stance on the widespread implementation of 20mph speed limits throughout the UK – also suggests that time trial courses which feature 20mph zones can still go ahead if a variety of conditions are met.

These exceptions will apply to courses with very short 20mph sections where riders are unlikely to exceed the speed limit in any case (such as during hill climbs or approaching a roundabout), during road closures, and if the demise of a course due to a prolonged 20mph section would lead to “a serious loss to time trialling in that area”.

In that final case, time triallists will be under strict instructions to ride at no more than 20mph during those sections, a rule CTT describes as an “overriding principle” which aims to prevent riders from gaining an “unfair advantage” by ‘breaking’ the speed limit, thereby nullifying time trialling’s long-standing reputation as the ‘race of truth’.

“20 mph limits and time trials are incompatible”

This latest announcement from CTT comes three months after the governing body first mooted the potential loss, or at least necessary modification, of some time trial courses following the introduction of a default 20mph speed limit across Wales, which raised concerns from members in both Wales and England that the road safety measures could usher in the demise of Britain’s historic time trialling scene.

> Do cyclists have to stick to the speed limit?

In the UK, cyclists do not share the same legal obligation as motorists to stick to speed limits, and cannot be charged with an offence of excess speed. However, in a letter sent to its districts in November, CTT urged its members to “ignore any such suggestion” from “some websites [that] state speed limits do not apply to cyclists”.

In this week’s guidance, clarifying the body’s rules on the approval of courses and the “restrictions upon riders who take part in them”, CTT doubled down on its commitment to ensuring riders participating in its events adhere to speed limits and other rules of the road.

“All courses which will be used in 2024 must always have an up-to-date risk assessment,” the guidance for districts, organisers, and riders says. “If there is a 20mph limit now on any part of an approved course or the proposal for a course is a new one, the District must treat safety as it first priority and make an decision after weighing all the relevant issues.

“Generally, 20 mph limits and time trials are incompatible. Most riders travel between 20 and 30mph. Riding at that speed is capable of causing public outrage and danger to riders and other road users who will not be expecting vehicles to be approaching so fast.

“Such conduct could cause the government to review the existing permission for time trials to take place on public roads, expose riders and organisers and CTT officials to the possibility of civil and criminal proceedings, and invalidate the insurance CTT holds for participants in time trials.”

> Cyclists fear safe time trial courses will be lost as governing body introduces ban on events in 20mph zones

CTT also noted that its rules “have always required riders to ride safely and obey all traffic signs together with the Highway Code and that failure to do so is a disciplinary offence” – an offence, it says, which will now encompass riders racing at over 20mph in the new reduced zones.

“There will therefore be an overriding principle that all riders in time trials must adhere to posted speed limits as well as all other rules of the road,” it says.

“In any event, in order to achieve fair competition, where a course with a section which is subject to a 20mph limit is used, riders must not exceed that speed. Otherwise, the event will no longer be a ‘race of truth’ because a rider who exceeds the limit will gain an unfair advantage over one who does not.”

> “If you have a bike, you can ride a time trial!” Road bike participation in time trials up 42 per cent, after TT governing body introduced new category last year

While clamping down on the individual speeds of its time trialists – a measure that has raised concerns over how it will be implemented – the governing body also asserted that “any course which incorporates a section with a 20mph limit should not be used if a suitable alternative is available”.

It continued: “This will require the District and organiser to consider whether changes can be made to a course to avoid the 20mph section. If not, the District should consider whether any other suitable course is available, taking into account the nature of the event and the area from which riders are expected to come.

“The history of the event and any scenic qualities will not play a role in this decision unless they are relevant to the safety of riders and other road users. A particular aspect of 20mph zones is that they will usually (and more often will in future) be accompanied by traffic calming measures.  These can present serious hazards for cyclist and other road users and in themselves may mean that a course is not safe.”

However, CTT noted that if a district is satisfied that no suitable alternative is available, it may allow an event to go ahead on a course with a 20mph section if the following exceptions apply:

It is a Hill Climb, so long as both the organiser and the District are satisfied there is no reasonable expectation riders will exceed 20mph, whether up or down the hill.

The 20mph limit is on a section of road for which a Traffic Management Order (restricting access by motor vehicles) will be in force at the time of the event.

There are very short (up to 100 metre) sections of 20 mph limits where the geography makes it unlikely riders will exceed that speed in any event. Such sections will usually be at the start of an event or include a feature such as a corner or roundabout where riders will naturally slow anyway. At such a feature, two sections of up to 100 metres (one before and one after) may be permitted.

Meanwhile, longer 20mph stretches (in this case, over 100m) could possibly still be used as long as “active measures” are in place to ensure riders don’t stray above the speed limit.

These active measures include warnings on risk assessments, start sheets, and on “prominently displayed” notices at the start for club events, along with the use of additional marshals at speed restrictions signs and traffic calming measures “with, if possible, signs displaying the number 20”.

Longer 20mph sections will also be permitted if the district committee is convinced that “no reasonable alternative exists and the cancellation of the event would lead to a serious loss to time trialling in that area”, and that its distance will not lead to potential non-compliance by those taking part.

> Why the 20mph zone time trial ban could be the “tip of the iceberg” for British racing 

Cycling Time Trials’ latest guidance will arguably do little to quell the concerns of members and club riders, who believe the restrictions surrounding 20mph speed limits could lead to the loss of a substantial portion of Britain’s TT courses and, with the domestic scene struggling in general in recent years, facilitate the demise of one of the country’s most venerable cycling pastimes.

“The majority of courses cannot be used,” Jonty Gordon, the chairman of Clwb Beicio Egni Eryri and a director at 1816 Cycles told us in November.

“I know of some clubs whose regular 10-mile courses will all be unusable. Given the difficulty in finding routes that don’t feature 20mph areas, there is a real risk that TTs will simply disappear in Wales.

“I do really think it is going to affect TTs as there are now so many 20mph routes, finding a safe and approachable one, not a 50mph road or dual carriageway, is going to be nigh-on impossible.”

Speaking to the road.cc Podcast, Jonty also explained that the new rules could have serious legal implications, potentially turn away young people and women from the sport over safety concerns, and that they may prove just the “tip of the iceberg” – especially when it comes to political and societal attitudes – when it comes to the future of bike racing, and the political and societal attitudes towards it, on open British roads.