Manx Trophy
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | June |
| Region | Isle of Man |
| English name | Manx Trophy |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | Premier Calendar |
| Type | Single day race |
| History | |
| First edition | 1936 |
| Editions | c. 54 |
| First winner |
 Charles Holland |
| Most wins |
 Jean Baldessari Tom Simpson Seamus Elliot Paul Curran (2 times) |
| Most recent |
Ian Bibby |
The Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.
The race was a feature of the Isle of Man cycling festival, an annual event which ran from 1936 to 2003 and was started by journalist and cycling enthusiast Curwen Clague. The first festival included a massed-start road race (a rarity in mainland Britain at the time but allowed in the Isle of Man, a self-governing crown dependency) which featured the top riders of the day. Despite closed roads the race saw many crashes and only a few riders finished. The first winner was Charles Holland of Birmingham, later one of the first two Englishmen to ride the Tour de France.
The first event involved riders racing a single lap of the famous TT circuit of 37.75 miles. The course runs from Douglas to Ramsey then climbs for five miles to a high point on the mountain of Snaefell at 1,384 feet before descending to Douglas. The distance was later increased to two and then three laps (113 miles).
The Manx Trophy was reintroduced in April 2016 as a one-day race by Manx International Cycling Ltd, named the Manx International Cycling GP, forming part of the British Cycling Spring Cup over 3 laps of the TT Mountain Circuit, as the Island prepares a second bid to host the National Road Race Championships for 2018.
Winners (not a complete list)
- 1936 Charles Holland Great Britain
- 1937 Jack Fancourt Great Britain
- 1938 Pierre Chazaud France
- 1939 Bill Messer Great Britain
- 1940-1945 - no event -
- 1946 Jean Baldessari France
- 1947 Jean Baldessari France
- 1948 Alan W Barnes Great Britain
- 1956 Ercole Baldini
Italy - 1957-1958
- 1959 Seamus Elliott Ireland
- 1960 André Darrigade France
- 1961 Jo de Roo
Netherlands - 1962 Rudi Altig
Germany - 1963 Tom Simpson Great Britain
- 1964 Seamus Elliott Ireland
- 1965 Jacques Anquetil France
- 1966 Wim Schepers Netherlands
- 1967 Tom Simpson Great Britain
- 1968 Arthur Metcalfe Great Britain
- 1969 Jan Harings Netherlands
- 1970 Barry Hoban United Kingdom
- 1975 (Bill Nickson) (GBR)
- 1971 (Bernard Bourreau) (FRA)
- 1972-1977
- 1978 Steve Lawrence Great Britain
- 1979 Steve Joughin
Isle of Man (Manx Road Club) - 1980 John Herety Great Britain
- 1982 Joe Waugh United Kingdom
- 1983 Hans Reis
Switzerland - 1984 Mark Walsham Great Britain
- 1985 Paul Curran Great Britain
- 1986 Brian Fowler
New Zealand - 1987 Darryl Webster Great Britain
- 1988 Paul Curran Great Britain
- 1989 Wayne Randle Great Britain
- 1990 Tim Hall Great Britain (Liverpool Mercury CC)
- 1991 Christophe Mengin France
- 1992 David Hourigan Ireland
- 1993 Brian Smith Great Britain
- 1994 Simeon Hempsall Great Britain
- 1995 Robert Millar Great Britain (run as the British professional road race championship)
- 1996 David McCann Ireland
- 1997 Christophe Morel France
- 1998 John Tanner Great Britain
- 1999 David Millar Great Britain
- 2000 Julian Winn Great Britain
- 2001 Matthew Stephens Great Britain
- 2002 David McCann Ireland
- 2003 Mark Lovatt Great Britain
as Manx International Cycling GP (www.manxinternational.com)
- 2016 Ian Bibby Great Britain