Club News: Halesowen Academy 10th Anniversary Teams

IN its 10th anniversary year in 2025 Halesowen Academy is proud to present a 15-rider line-up including a 5-rider junior squad and a strong under-23 team with a new backer in materials company Nicofe, who join several local companies led by Mapei UK.

Club News: Halesowen Academy 10th Anniversary Teams

The team is looking to build on three stellar seasons, in which several riders have moved on to compete at a high level in Europe, with Charlie Genner’s move to a major amateur team in Pamplona this year coming after Joe Brookes’s transfer to AVC Aix and Tomos Pattinson’s move via Tofauti to Visma-Leaseabike.

“We continue to help riders move on to a higher level, which is our main purpose,” said William Fotheringham, who has managed the academy since its foundation in 2015. “We began 10 years ago with just four riders, and about 50 have gone through our system since then with a healthy proportion moving on to bigger and better things. We have had some fantastic support from our sponsors, most have been with us for several years now, while ProVision have been supplying our clothing since the beginning which is a fantastic commitment from them.”

A revamped junior squad sees four new arrivals, with last year’s standout talent Ryan Oldfield joined by local rider Joe Egan, Yorkshire juniors Ben Arey and Mikey Ratcliffe and East Midlands rider Sam Parker.

Piers Mahn and Luke Harris spearhead the under-23 challenge, with Mahn – who is still relatively new to racing – managing to win the overall at the Newry 3-day in Northern Ireland in 2024, while Harris successfully made the transition to senior racing after taking the national junior gravel title in 2024. They are joined by elite mountainbike racer Harry Howlett who has ridden strongly in national series races and is looking to make the transition to the road this year.

HACC Academy-Mapei for 2025
– Ben Arey
– Dan Ascroft
– Malakhi Bailey
– Joe Egan
– Luke Harris
– Isaak Herbert
– Kaleb Herbert
– Harry Howlett
– Rose Lewis
– Piers Mahn
– Luke Mannings
– Ryan Oldfield
– Sam Parker
– Mikey Ratcliffe
– Ryu Roberts-Hayamizu

New to sponsorship this year is Devon-based company Nicofe Materials, who stock and supply premium quality, high specification Controlled Expansion and Soft Magnetic Alloys and components in sectors such as Aerospace, Space, Defence, Electronics and Medical.

Along with lead sponsor Mapei UK, who have backed the Halesowen club since 2020, other backers of the Academy include Secret Training nutrition, Fleur au Soleil gîte in France, Aldon automotive, Colmore Partners financial services, Swinnerton cycle shop in Stoke and Fenwicks bike care. The team has also benefited from the support of the Rayner Foundation gateway programme with its junior programme.

In addition to providing a pathway for young cyclists, the Academy is a major contributor to the West Midlands race scene, running six days of road racing this year including the Marches 3-day which is now in its third year, with a new addition a round of the National Under-23 series at Welland on June 8.

“We actively support racing, because if we don’t do it our riders will end up with nothing to race,” said academy founder William Fotheringham, who doubles up as road racing lead for the West Midlands region board. “Over the last few years our parents and sponsors have helped to revitalise local racing, and there must be food for thought there for pretty much any team in the UK.”

mapei.co.uk
nicofe.com
fleurausoleilgiteholidays.com
provisionclothing.com
colmorepartners.co.uk
aldonauto.co.uk
fenwicksbike.com
wenlockspring.co.uk
swinnertoncycles.co.uk
theraynerfoundation.org

Photo: Gary Main