Ian Stannard

Ian Dexter Stannard (born 25 May 1987) is a British former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020 for the, and teams, before retiring after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam, having previously held the same role for UCI Continental team.

Born in Chelmsford, Stannard initially focused on the road and track, winning a gold medal in the time trial at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, and a gold in the Under-23 Team Pursuit at the 2006 European Track Championships, alongside future Sky teammate Geraint Thomas.

Stannard made his professional road debut in August 2007 joining as a trainee.

He rode for in 2008 and came third overall in the Tour of Britain riding for the Great Britain team.

In 2009 he joined the new team, and was selected to ride the Giro d'Italia, aged just 21.

Stannard joined the new British Pro Tour team for the start of the 2010 season, and focused more on the Classics and one day races.

He took a third place in freezing conditions in Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.

Stannard almost took victory in Gent–Wevelgem, after breaking away on the final climb, the Monteberg.

He was part of a move with Peter Sagan, Maciej Bodnar (both from ) and Sylvain Chavanel with 34 km to cover until the finish.

The quartet kept clear of the chasing peloton until Stannard broke free of the break and crossed the flamme rouge alone.

He was passed by the field with some 500 m to go, as Tom Boonen sprinted to victory.

He obtained his first professional win at the Tour of Austria, winning stage 5 of the race, where he got the better of a group of five escapees in the sprint.

Stannard was part of the Great Britain team that helped Mark Cavendish win the road race at the UCI Road World Championships, with a vital pull in the closing stages to keep Cavendish towards the front of the peloton.

One of the hardest working domestiques in the peloton, Stannard rode a total of 14713 km during 93 race days in 2011.

In 2012, Stannard won the London Nocturne by lapping the field.

He also won the British National Road Race Championships, winning ahead of Sky teammate Alex Dowsett.

Stannard was selected to race on the British Olympic Road Race Team for 2012, alongside David Millar, Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish.

The team aimed to lead Cavendish to a sprint victory on The Mall.

Despite the best efforts of Stannard, Team GB were unable to pull back a large breakaway group on the run in to London, with the gold medal going to Alexander Vinokourov.

Stannard again represented Britain at the UCI World Road Race Championships and was active in a breakaway with Andrew Talansky on the penultimate lap, eventually finishing in the main group.

Stannard put in an impressive performance in freezing conditions at Milan–San Remo, initially riding on the front of the race in support of Geraint Thomas, then attacking with Sylvain Chavanel after Thomas crashed.

Stannard led over the Poggio, only to be caught on the descent by a chase group of five riders.

Stannard made a final move in the final two kilometres but was chased down by Peter Sagan, and he finished sixth in the sprint.

Stannard was selected to ride the Tour de France for the first time in 2013, and played a key role as a domestique for Chris Froome, who went on to win the race overall.

Stannard began 2014 in good form, finishing fourth overall in the Tour of Qatar in February.

Stannard won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – the opening race of the Flanders Classics – after he out-sprinted his breakaway companion Greg Van Avermaet.

In the process, Stannard became the first British rider to win the race.

In Gent–Wevelgem, Stannard crashed heavily into a roadside ditch and was taken to hospital.

He was diagnosed with fractured vertebrae, ruling him out of the rest of the classics season.

Stannard made his comeback to the road, riding for the English team in the men's road race event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

A clearly uncomfortable Stannard withdrew early on in the race, which took place in treacherous rainy conditions – only 12 riders finished out of 140 starters – and which was eventually won by his Team Sky teammate Geraint Thomas.

Stannard attempted another comeback, riding for Team Sky in the RideLondon–Surrey Classic.

Stannard was noted for his hard work in successfully placing teammate Ben Swift in the eventually victorious breakaway group.

Stannard was selected to ride the Tour of Britain, but broke his wrist in a crash on the first stage, putting an end to an injury plagued season.

On 28 February, Stannard won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, defending his 2014 title.

He defeated Niki Terpstra in a two-man sprint, after spending the final 40 km in a four-man group with a triumvirate of Terpstra, Tom Boonen and Stijn Vandenbergh.

He also fended off attacks by Boonen and Terpstra in the closing stages of the race.

Stannard recovered from his injuries for the start of the 2015 season, again placing fourth in the Tour of Qatar.

Stannard finished 160th at the Giro.