# Team Halfords Bikehut

Team Halfords Bikehut was a 2008 UCI elite women's cycling team based in the United Kingdom. The team was formed in January 2008 with Dave Brailsford, performance director of British Cycling, the general manager. It had been a pro/national team mooted as the first full British professional women's team but there were two men in the team (Rob Hayles and Tom Southam). The team was in 2009 not an UCI Women's Teams anymore and consisted of a mix of mountain bikers and road racers (mainly men): Rob Hayles, Ed Clancy, Ian Wilkinson, Andy Tennant, Mark McNally, Rob Partridge, Seb Batchelor, David Fletcher, Annie Last, Sharon Laws, Ian Bibby. The team disbanded ahead of the 2010 season, with a number of riders moving to the Scottish-based Endura Racing team.
The team helped train some of the UK's medal-winning cyclists such as Nicole Cooke, who said: "Setting up Team Halfords was crucial to my success,".

## Team roster

Ages as of 1 January 2008.
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Nicole Cooke (GBR) | Nicole Cooke (GBR) | (1983-04-13)13 April 1983 (aged 24) |
| Catherine Hare Willianson (GBR) | Catherine Hare Willianson (GBR) | (1982-03-13)13 March 1982 (aged 25) |
| Jessica Allen (GBR) | Jessica Allen (GBR) | (1989-01-12)12 January 1989 (aged 18) |
| Katie Curtis (GBR) | Katie Curtis (GBR) | (1988-11-01)1 November 1988 (aged 19) |
| Tanja Slater (GBR) | Tanja Slater (GBR) | (1978-05-09)9 May 1978 (aged 29) |
| Wendy Houvenaghel (GBR) | Wendy Houvenaghel (GBR) | (1974-11-27)27 November 1974 (aged 33) |
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Emma Trott (GBR) | Emma Trott (GBR) | (1989-12-24)24 December 1989 (aged 18) |
| Lizzie Armitstead (GBR) | Lizzie Armitstead (GBR) | (1988-12-18)18 December 1988 (aged 19) |
| Joanna Rowsell (GBR) | Joanna Rowsell (GBR) | (1988-12-05)5 December 1988 (aged 19) |
| Helen Gaskell (GBR) | Helen Gaskell (GBR) | (1983-01-16)16 January 1983 (aged 24) |
| Sharon Laws (GBR) | Sharon Laws (GBR) | (1974-07-07)7 July 1974 (aged 33) |
| Katie Colclough (GBR) | Katie Colclough (GBR) | (1990-01-20)20 January 1990 (aged 17) |
* ↑ Junior rider.
* Male riders: Tom Southam, Rob Hayles

## Season victories

Single day and stage races 2008 :
| Date | Nation | Race | Cat. | Winner |
| 17 May | France | Stage 1 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin | 2.2 | Nicole Cooke |
| 9 September | France | Stage 1 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche | 2.2 | Nicole Cooke |
National, Continental, World and Olympic champions 2008 :
| Date | Discipline | Jersey | Winner |
| 28 March | Track Cycling World Champion – Team pursuit | | Joanna Rowsell Wendy Houvenaghel (with Rebecca Romero) |
| 28 June | British National Road Race Championships | | Nicole Cooke |
| 10 August | Olympic Champion – Women's road race | – | Nicole Cooke |
| 7 September | British National Time Trial Championships | | Nicole Cooke |
| September | European Track Champion – Under-23 team pursuit | | Lizzie Armitstead Katie Colclough Joanna Rowsell |
| 7 September | European Track Champion – Under-23 scratch | | Lizzie Armitstead |
| 27 September | World Champion – Women's road race | | Nicole Cooke |

## Results in major races

Results at the 2008 UCI Women's Road World Cup races :
| # | Date | Race | Country | Best rider | Place |
| #1 | 24 February | Geelong World Cup | Australia | - | - |
| #2 | 24 March | Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio | Italy | Nicole Cooke | 20th |
| #3 | 6 April | Tour of Flanders for Women | Belgium | Nicole Cooke | 16th |
| #4 | 12 April | Ronde van Drenthe | Netherlands | - | - |
| #5 | 23 April | La Flèche Wallonne Féminine | Belgium | Nicole Cooke | 8th |
| #6 | 4 May | Tour de Berne | Switzerland | - | - |
| #7 | 31 May | Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal | Canada | - | - |
| #8 | 30 July | Open de Suède Vårgårda | Sweden | - | - |
| #9 | 1 August | Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT | Sweden | - | - |
| #10 | 24 August | GP de Plouay – Bretagne | France | - | - |
| #11 | 16 September | Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt | Germany | - | - |
Results in other major single day races :
| Date | Race | Rider | Place |
| 28 March | Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit | Joanna Rowsell Wendy Houvenaghel (with Rebecca Romero) | |
| 29 March | Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race | Lizzie Armitstead | 19th |
| 30 March | Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch | Lizzie Armitstead | 7th |
| 10 August | Summer Olympics – Women's road race | Nicole Cooke (GBR) | |
| 3 September | European Track Championships – Women's omnium | Ellen van Dijk | |
| September | European Track Championships – Women's under-23 team pursuit | Lizzie Armitstead Katie Colclough Joanna Rowsell | |
| 6 September | European Track Championships – Women's under-23 individual pursuit | Joanna Rowsell | |
| 7 September | European Track Championships – Women's under-23 scratch | Lizzie Armitstead Ex aequo with Ellen van Dijk | |
| 6 September | European Track Championships – Women's under-23 points race | Lizzie Armitstead | |
| 24 September | Road World Championships – Women's road race | Nicole Cooke (GBR) | |
* ↑ Riders are in these championships part of the national team

## UCI World Ranking

The team finished 10th in the UCI ranking for teams.
Individual UCI World Ranking :
| Rank | Rider | Points |
| 4 | Nicole Cooke | 536 |
| 143 | Sharon Laws | 28 |
| 185 | Joanna Rowsell | 16 |
| 210 | Jessica Allen | 12 |
| 241 | Catherine Hare | 10 |