Callum Thornley (born 5 August 2003) is a Scottish cyclist, who currently rides for

UCI Continental team +Men Teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who a ...

Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe Rookies Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe Rookies is a UCI Continental road bicycle racing team based in Germany founded in 2025. It serves as a development team for the UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is ...

Early life

Thornley is from

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. He started mountain-biking at the age of eight and competed at

Glentress Glentress Forest is located near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, about 30 miles south of Edinburgh. Part of the Tweed Valley Forest Park along with Traquair Forest in Innerleithen, it is the home of a mountain biking centre which is one of t ...

as a youngster in races organised by Peebles Cycling Club. He raced on the road for the first time as a 16 year-old, but has been interested in road cycling since a family holiday to France as a child enabled him to watch the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

live in the mountains. He's often referred to in close circles as ‘Big Cal’.

Career

He was a stage winner and second overall at the Youth Tour of Errigal in Ireland in 2019. That year, he also competed in the Scottish National Madison Championships, and won the silver medal in the boys'

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alongside Alexander Gibb. Thornley finished second in the under-23 time-trial at the

British National Time Trial Championships The British National Time Trial Championships for cycling are held annually. The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic white cycling jersey featuring blue and red stripes, which can be worn by the rider at other time trial events in ...

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

in June 2022. That year, he was riding for Wheelbase CabTech Castelli, before signing for Trinity Racing for 2023. In 2023, he was selected by the British team to compete in the under-23 time trial at the

2023 UCI Road World Championships The 2023 UCI Road World Championships were the 96th edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. There were held between 5 and 13 August 2023 in Scotland, as part of the 2023 UCI Cycling Wor ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He finished in fourteenth place. In April 2024, Thornley finished tenth at the

Paris–Roubaix Espoirs Paris–Roubaix Espoirs is a one-day road cycling race held annually in France. In 2005 the race was integrated into the UCI Europe Tour as a category 1.2U race. Held since 1967, it is the under-23 version of the Monument classic Paris–Roubaix ...

. He raced in the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, finishing fifth in the stage one time-trial and second on stage seven. He finished ninth in the Points Classification and 11th in the Mountains Classification, and 56th overall. In August, he rode in the Ronde van de Achterhoek, finishing ninth. He was selected to ride the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

in September, the first stage of which took place on home roads in the Scottish Borders. Thornley comfortably won the Mountains Classification after strong rides on stages one and two. On 17 September 2024 it was announced that Thornley would represent Great Britain in the under-23 men's road race at the

2024 UCI Road World Championships The 2024 UCI Road World Championships was the 97th edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It was held between 22 and 29 September 2024 in Zürich, Switzerland, alongside the 2024 UCI ...

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. In June 2025, he won the men's U23 race at the

Major results

;2022 : 2nd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Under-23 Road Championships ;2024 : 1st Mountains classification,

: 9th Ronde van de Achterhoek : 10th

;2025 (1 pro win) : National Under-23 Road Championships ::1st

::2nd Road race :

Sibiu Cycling Tour The Sibiu Cycling Tour (Cycling Tour of Sibiu until 2015) is a 2.1 category professional bicycle road race held in Sibiu, Romania. Its first edition took place in July 2011, as part of the UCI Europe Tour. The race is organised with the support o ...

::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 4 (

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) : 3rd Overall

Istrian Spring Tour The Istrian Spring Tour, formerly known as the Istrian Spring Trophy (), is a multi-day road bicycle race held annually in the Croatian part of the Istria peninsula. The race was first organized in 1961 as a small competition reserved to local cy ...

: 4th

Poreč Trophy Poreč Trophy (through history held under names Trofej Plava Laguna, G. P. Istria, Trophy Riviera and G.P. Umag) is a road bicycle race held annually near the town of Poreč, in the Istrian peninsula. It is organized as a 1.2 event on the UCI E ...

: 10th Overall

Giro Next Gen Giro Next Gen, also known as Baby Giro, Girobio, Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 or Giro Ciclistico d'Italia, is an Italian road bicycle racing amateur stage race created in 1970. The race is considered to be the most important race on Italy's U23 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornley, Callum 2003 births Living people Scottish male cyclists British male cyclists Sportspeople from Peebles 21st-century Scottish sportsmen