2025 Guest Riders
British cycling has produced many remarkable riders, and the guests at this year’s Simpson Retro reflect that proud history. They come from different generations and backgrounds, but all share a record of success and a lasting impact on the sport.
Below, you can find out more about the riders joining us this year. If you see them, be sure to say hello!
Sid Barras (born 1948) is revered as one of Britain’s winningest road racers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nicknamed “Super Sid” for his prolific finishing kick, he amassed an astounding tally of around 380 race victories over an 18-year professional career.
Barras was a three-time British national champion, notably claiming the elite road race title in 1979, and he also dominated the circuit race championship that year. Internationally, he proved his class by winning a stage of the 1973 Tour of Switzerland and a stage at the Tour of Majorca.
Even after his prime, Barras kept competing and added a national over-50 road title in 2008. In 2009, he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame. After retiring as a rider, he stayed involved as a team manager and mentor, further contributing to the sport.
Sid Barras’s career is celebrated for its longevity and consistency, and he remains a respected figure who helped elevate British professional cycling. He also passed on the cycling genes, with his son Tom becoming a professional rider.
Maurice Burton (born 1955) blazed a trail in British cycling as the nation’s first Black cycling champion. He burst onto the scene by winning the national junior sprint title in 1973 and the senior scratch race title in 1974. A dynamic track and road racer, Burton represented England at the 1974 Commonwealth Games and soon turned professional.
Frustrated by limited opportunities at home, he moved to Belgium in 1977 to race on the competitive European circuit. Over an 18-year career he amassed numerous victories and rode in 56 professional Six-Day track events, often pitting his sprinting prowess against the world’s best. Burton’s racing days ended in 1984 after a serious crash, but he remained a beloved figure in the sport.
In 1987 he took over De Ver Cycles, a London bike shop he has run ever since. Maurice Burton’s pioneering achievements, breaking barriers on the track and mentoring the next generation through his shop, ensure his legacy as a celebrated British cycling figure.
Denise Burton-Cole (née Burton, born 1956) carved out her own place in cycling history as a champion on both road and track. Following in the tyre tracks of her legendary mother Beryl Burton, Denise won the British national individual pursuit title in 1975 and 1976, and earned a bronze medal
in the same event at the 1975 World Championships.
She also proved her prowess on the road: in 1976 Burton-Cole outsprinted her mother to win the UK national road race championship. That dramatic victory made her a triple national champion and showed that cycling excellence ran in the family. Denise continued to excel, adding time trial
titles and even racing the women’s Tour de France in 1986.
In 1982 she and Beryl set a British 10-mile tandem record together, a testament to their unique bond. With her array of national titles, international medals, and a famous cycling lineage, Denise Burton-Cole’s career is celebrated as an inspiring blend of family legacy and individual triumph.
Dean Downing (born 1975) made his mark as a sprint specialist and a mainstay of Britain’s domestic pro scene in the 2000s. Known for his sharp finishing speed, he clinched the British National Circuit Race Championship in 2008 and that same year earned a podium in the national road
race championship with a bronze medal.
Downing accumulated dozens of victories in criteriums and road races across the UK and also found success abroad. He won a stage of Germany’s Sachsen Tour in 2008 and a stage of the An Post Rás in Ireland in 2011. On the track, he teamed up with his younger brother Russell to win the
British Madison title in 2003, earning them a place at the World Championships.
Dean spent much of his career with top British teams and became a respected road captain for squads like Rapha Condor. After retiring in 2014, he moved into coaching and management, bringing his experience to the next generation as a directeur sportif. Affable yet fiercely competitive, Downing is celebrated for his consistency, leadership, and contributions to British cycling on and off the bike.
Russell “Russ” Downing (born 1978) rose from local criteriums to the sport’s highest level, becoming a British champion and an international stage winner. He captured the British National Road Race Championship in 2005, capping years of domestic success. Downing dominated premier UK events, including a record-equalling four victories at the Lincoln Grand Prix, and in 2009 he won the Tour of Ireland, a triumph that earned him a contract with the newly formed Team Sky.
As a WorldTour rider, he showcased his talent on the global stage. In 2010 Downing sprinted to a headline-grabbing win on a Criterium International stage in Corsica, outsprinting a field that included Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. He went on to support teammates in races like the Tour Down Under and continued to notch victories in major British races throughout the 2010s.
Known for his gritty determination and explosive sprint, Russ Downing achieved the rare feat of transitioning from UK domestic star to WorldTour victor. His career is celebrated as an inspiring journey of persistence, from British circuit races to triumphs against cycling’s elite.