Stephen Philip Cummings (born 19 March 1981) is an English former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2019 for the , , , , and squads, and rode for Great Britain at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

, the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

, and the

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

. During his professional road racing career, Cummings took seventeen victories, including Grand Tour stage wins at the

2012 Vuelta a España 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, Numeral (linguistics), numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest Positive number, positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in o ...

, the

2015 Tour de France The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées sta ...

and the

2016 Tour de France The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées s ...

. He won both the

British National Road Race Championships The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of United Kingdom, British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. History Between 1943 and 1958, two separate bodies – the British League of Racing Cyclist ...

and 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 ...

in 2017, and also won stages of the Tour of Beijing,

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'') is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is ...

and

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

races at

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

level. On the track, Cummings won gold medals in the team pursuit at both the

2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous c ...

and the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

, and a silver medal in the same event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Since retiring from racing, Cummings worked as a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen as the equivalent to a field manager in baseball, or a head coach in football. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows t ...

for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

. until November 2024. He joined as a Sport Director in December 2024.

Biography

Cummings was born in Clatterbridge on the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

in Northwest England and grew up in the nearby village of Pensby.

Early career

In 1999, riding for Birkenhead North End CC as a junior, aged 17, he won the Eddie Soens Memorial Road Race, a handicap race open to all categories. It remains the only time that a junior rider has won the race. He went on to take the junior

that year. Representing his country Cummings won the team pursuit at the

in Los Angeles and at the

in Melbourne with the British and English cycling teams respectively. He also took bronze in the individual pursuit at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. At the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens Cummings and the Great Britain team won the silver medal in the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

and achieved a time of 3:59.866 in the heats. He rode for in 2005 and 2006, recording second-place finishes at the 2005 British National Road Race Championships and the 2006

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a ...

, to

Russell Downing Russell Downing (born 23 August 1978) is an English former professional cyclist, who rode competitively between 1999 and 2019 for numerous teams, such as and . He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing, and both brothers compete ...

and

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the 2008 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Rac ...

respectively. In 2007 he switched to , making his first start at a Grand Tour by riding the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

– as a late replacement for defending race winner

Ivan Basso Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1999 and 2015 for seven different teams. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, was considered among the best mountain riders in ...

Barloworld (2008–2009)

With folding at the end of the 2007 season, Cummings moved to for the 2008 season – joining his compatriot

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, ( , ; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...

at the team. In his second start with the team, Cummings won stage 2 of February's

Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria The Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria, currently known as the Giro della Città Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria, is a road bicycle race held annually in Province of Reggio Calabria The province of Reggio Calabria () was a province in th ...

. He again rode the

, recording a fourth-place stage result on the final summit finish of the race at

Monte Pora Monte Pora is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy. It is located within the Bergamasque Prealps (a sub-range of Bergamo Alps). Winter sports A ski resort on the mountain offers a total 21 km of ''Piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run ...

, having been a part of the breakaway. In the second half of the season, he recorded second-place overall finishes at the

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish multi-day professional road cycling race. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostNord Danmark Rundt. The race is sometimes called the Tou ...

and 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 ...

, but did take his second win of the year at the

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020. In 1 ...

, in a three-rider sprint. The following year saw Cummings take a single victory in the third

Giro del Capo The Giro del Capo was a road cycling stage race held in the vicinity of Cape Town, South Africa. The 2009 edition was held in the form of four challenges. The last edition, held in 2010, was ranked as 2.2 by the UCI and was part of the UCI Afri ...

challenge, with other top-five finishes at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria (fifth), and the Coppa Bernocchi (fourth). Despite this, folded at the end of the season.

Team Sky (2010–2011)

Cummings was one of four former riders to join new British-based for the 2010 season, signing a two-year contract. His best result during the season was a fourth-place finish at the

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in south ...

in January. In 2011, he had arguably his most successful professional race to that point at February's

Volta ao Algarve Volta may refer to: Persons * Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italian physicist and inventor of the electric battery, count and eponym of the volt * Giovanni Volta (1928–2012), Italian Roman Catholic bishop * Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764–1 ...

. He won stage three in a mountain-top finish ahead of

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

, taking the overall lead of the race which he held until the final

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

; he finished the race in seventh place. In September, Cummings finished second to teammate

Alex Dowsett Alex Edward Albert Dowsett (born 3 October 1988) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record ...

at the

, before finishing second overall in the

. He was part of the Great Britain team that helped

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

win the road race at the

in Denmark, and then finished fourth overall in the first Tour of Beijing.

BMC Racing Team (2012–2014)

2012

In September 2011, Cummings signed a contract with the for the 2012 season. The following February, Cummings broke his

pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...

in an accident while competing in the

. In April, bad luck struck again when he fractured his left wrist in the

. He recuperated from those injuries and competed in 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 ...

, where he was a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their cycling team, team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équip ...

to his leader

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

and finished 95th overall. In the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

, he gained his first Grand Tour stage victory. On Stage 13, he broke away with six other riders after the first hour of racing. The break made it through on the mainly flat course and he attacked with about to race, creating a gap. He held on to his lead and won by four seconds over the two chasers,

Cameron Meyer Cameron Meyer (born 11 January 1988) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2009 to 2022. Career Born in Viveash, Western Australia, Meyer started cycling at the age of 13 in 2001 and first rep ...

of and 's

Juan Antonio Flecha Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (born 17 September 1977) is an Argentina, Argentine-born Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2000 and 2013. Flecha had a reputation of being a Classic cycle races, C ...

. He completed his season with a stage victory on the final day of the Tour of Beijing, getting the better of

Ryder Hesjedal Eric Ryder Hesjedal (; born December 9, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional racing cyclist who competed in mountain biking and road racing between 1998 and 2016. Hesjedal won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior, 2001 Under-23, and Elite world ...

in a sprint à deux in Pinggu.

2013–2014

Cummings did not take an individual win in 2013, with his only win coming as part of the squad that won the stage two

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

at the

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the firs ...

. At the start of the 2014 season, Cummings took second place at the

Dubai Tour The Dubai Tour was an annual professional road bicycle racing race stage, stage race held in Dubai, which began in 2014 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It merged with the Abu Dhabi Tour to become the UAE Tour from 2019. History The race was classif ...

behind teammate

Taylor Phinney Taylor Carpenter-Phinney (born June 27, 1990) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2019 for the , and teams. Phinney specialized in time trials on the road as well as the individual ...

, before winning the

stage and the general classification at the

Tour Méditerranéen Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

, recording his first stage race victory. He also represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, finishing in seventh place in the road time trial.

MTN–Qhubeka/Dimension Data (2015–2019)

2015

In October 2014, Cummings announced that he would be joining for the 2015 season. In his first race with the team, Cummings won the Trofeo Andratx-Mirador d'Es Colomer one-day race, held as part of the season-opening

Vuelta a Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca (, ) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or early February. The event is used as an early season preparato ...

; he attacked on the final climb of the race, and was able to fend off

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. During ...

in the closing metres for the win. He recorded top-ten overall finishes at the

and

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

stage races in the spring, finishing sixth in both events. In July, Cummings won stage 14 of the

, beating French riders

Thibaut Pinot Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2010 to 2023, spending his entire career with . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finis ...

and

Romain Bardet Romain Bardet (; born 9 November 1990) is a former French professional bicycle racing, racing cyclist who rode for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification cont ...

to the line at the Mende Aerodrome, after the trio had gone clear at the top of the Côte de la Croix Neuve – a second-category climb with remaining. It was the first

stage win for both Cummings and his South African team , with the result coming on

Mandela Day Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual list of minor secular observances#July, international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, Mandela's birthday. The day was officially declared by the ...

2016

In his first start of the 2016 season, Cummings won the fourth stage of March's

; having been part of the breakaway, Cummings attacked with approximately remaining of the stage to

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

, and soloed to a 13-second winning margin over his closest competitors. The following month, he won the third stage of the

, outfoxing the peloton with a move with to go, and held on to win by several metres in

Lesaka Lesaka is a town and municipality in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain. It is situated in the merindad of Iruña, in the region of Bortziriak (Five Villas) and to 75 km of the capital of the community, Iruña/Pampl ...

. In his final warm-up race prior to the

, Cummings won the final stage of the

, having attacked with remaining on the fourth of the day's six categorised climbs, and ended up winning the stage by almost four minutes. After six stages of July's Tour de France, Cummings had lost almost 45 minutes to the race leader

Greg Van Avermaet Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general cla ...

, and was in 191st place out of the 198 competitors. On the seventh stage, Cummings took another breakaway win, having dropped his breakaway companions just before the intermediate sprint at Sarrancolin; he would go on to win the stage at Lac de Payolle by 64 seconds, over

Daryl Impey Daryl Impey (born 6 December 1984) is a South African former professional road bicycle racer, road cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2008 to 2023. Impey is an all-rounder; he generally comes to the fore on tough uphill sprints. Impey ...

and

Daniel Navarro Daniel Navarro García (born 18 July 1983) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2023. Career Navarro was born in Salamanca. Having been one of Alberto Contador's domestiques for most ...

. In the same month, he was named to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

's cycling team for the Olympic Games in Rio – replacing

Peter Kennaugh Peter Robert Kennaugh Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 15 June 1989) is a Isle of Man, Manx former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for and . In 2012 he won the gold medal as part of the Great Brit ...

for the road race. Cummings had previously been left out of the team when it was announced at the beginning of the month, and had lobbied to the British media for coach Rod Ellingworth to quit – due to his involvement with , with four riders from the team forming part of the five-man British squad. 2016 Tour of Britain leader best British rider after stage 7 Steve Cummings

2016 Tour of Britain leader best British rider after stage 7 Steve Cummings

He then rode his home race, the

, as part of alongside

. On the second stage in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, Cummings was part of a group that broke clear on the

Kirkstone Pass Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is at an altitude of . It is the District's highest pass traversed by road; the A592 between Ambleside in Rothay Valley and Patterdale in Ullswat ...

to chase down the breakaway; a small lead group was formed on the run-in to

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

, and only

Julien Vermote Julien Vermote (born 26 July 1989) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . During his professional career, Vermote has taken three wins – the overall victory at the 2012 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen along with stage ...

was able to follow the attacks put in by Cummings. Cummings led up the final climb in Kendal, but Vermote pulled clear as the gradient eased and took the stage win and the leader's jersey, while Cummings gained approximately a minute on his main general classification rivals. Cummings took over the race lead following the sixth stage, a summit finish at

Haytor Haytor, also known as Haytor Rocks, Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor, is a granite tor on the eastern edge of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Location The tor is at grid reference , near the village of Haytor Vale in the parish of I ...

, as Vermote lost around 90 seconds to him. Despite

Rohan Dennis Rohan Craig Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian former cyclist, who competed professionally in the track cycling, track and road bicycle racing, road disciplines of the sport for five different teams. Having been a member of the Australi ...

taking time off him in both of the stages held in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

on the penultimate day, Cummings maintained his race lead and ultimately won the race for the first time – the first home win since

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

– by 26 seconds from Dennis. Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', journalist

William Fotheringham William Fotheringham (born 1965) is a sports writer specialising in cycling and rugby. As a newspaper journalist, he writes for ''The Guardian''. Fotheringham was a features editor for ''Cycling Weekly'', the features editor of ''Cycle Sport'' an ...

considered this win for Cummings as the most important stage race victory of his career up to that date.

2017–2019

During the 2017 Tour of the Basque Country, Cummings crashed heavily and required surgery for fractures to his left

clavicle The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavic ...

and

scapula The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side ...

, as well as his

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

. After a long period of recovery he won both the

and the

on the Isle of Man, becoming only the second rider to win both titles in the same year after

David Millar David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish retired professional road racing cyclist. He rode for Cofidis from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin–Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the Tour de France, five of the Vuelta a España a ...

achieved the same feat in 2007. These performances earned him a new contract with . He took one further victory, winning the opening stage of September's

Giro della Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

, having been overlooked for the British team for the road race at

in Norway. It would turn out to be the final victory for Cummings in his professional career. Cummings endured a difficult 2018 season, recording no top-10 finishes, and suffering health issues with an injury to the head of his left fibula at the

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

, and breathing problems at the

. In 2019, Cummings finished in third place at the British National Time Trial Championships in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, and also finished in tenth place overall at the

Arctic Race of Norway The Arctic Race of Norway is an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in northern Norway. The first edition was in 2013, from 8 August to 11 August, and lasted for four days. The organising partners are Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Arct ...

, but injury and illnesses continued to effect Cummings. Later in the year at the

– and having featured in the final selection on the fourth stage – on home roads in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

, Cummings was involved in a crash some from the finish of the fifth stage. He was later diagnosed with four fractured

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

e in his back, ending his season.

Retirement, directeur sportif

In November 2019, Cummings announced his retirement from professional cycling. In February 2021 Cummings announced that he was returning to Team Sky, since renamed as , joining the team's management as a development

and coach. In December 2023, he was appointed as the team's director of racing from the 2024 season onwards. In November 2024 Cummings announced he had left his role as Director of Racing at Ineos Grenadiers. Shortly after it was confirmed that he would join Jayco AlUla as a Sport Director.

Major results

Road

Source: ;1999 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Junior Championships : 1st Eddie Soens Memorial Race ;2001 : 10th Lincoln Grand Prix ;2003 : 10th Overall

Tour de Berlin The Tour de Berlin was a road bicycle race held annually between 1953 and 2016 in Germany. From 2007 to its demise, the race was organised as a 2.2U event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing com ...

;2005 : 2nd Road race, National Championships : 6th

Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts The Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in the commune of Villers-Cotterêts, France from 1998 until 2008. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, and was als ...

;2006 : 2nd

: 4th Road race,

;2008 (2 pro wins) : 1st

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Overall

;2009 : 1st Stage 3

: 4th

: 5th

: 7th

;2010 : 4th

;2011 (1) : 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 Championships : 2nd Overall

: 4th Overall Tour of Beijing : 7th Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 9th Overall

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...

: 9th Overall

;2012 (2) : 1st Stage 13

: 1st Stage 5 Tour of Beijing ;2013 : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

;2014 (2) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 4 (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication *Tank phone, Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional typ ...

) : 2nd Overall

: 4th Overall

Tour du Poitou-Charentes Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

: 7th

: 8th Overall

;2015 (2) : 1st Trofeo Andratx-Mirador d'Es Colomer : 1st Stage 14

: 6th Overall

;2016 (5) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 1st Stage 7

: 1st Stage 4

: 1st Stage 3

: 1st Stage 7 Criterium du Dauphiné ;2017 (3) : National Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

: 1st Stage 1

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

Stage 12

;2019 : 3rd

, National Championships : 10th Overall

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Track

;2001 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Team pursuit,

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

;2004 : 2nd Silver medal olympic

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

;2005 : 1st Rainbow Jersey Track

Team pursuit,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 1st

Team pursuit,

;2006 :

::1st

::3rd

Individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

: 1st

Team pursuit,

: 2nd

Team pursuit,

;2007 : UCI World Cup Classics ::1st Team pursuit, Sydney ::1st Team pursuit, Beijing

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Steve 1981 births Living people English male cyclists British male cyclists Cyclists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in cycling British Tour de France stage winners British Vuelta a España stage winners Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bebington Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) British cycling road race champions English track cyclists British track cyclists Directeur sportifs Sportspeople from Wirral Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cycling Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling