Malcolm Elliott

Malcolm Elliott (born 1 July 1961) is a former English professional cyclist, whose professional career has lasted from 1984 to 1997 when he retired and from 2003 up to 2011 when he made his comeback in British domestic racing.

Known as a sprinter, his career includes three stages and the points classification in the Vuelta a España, two gold medals in the Commonwealth Games, and winning the amateur Milk Race and its professional version, the Kellogg's Tour. He rode and finished the Tour de France in 1987 and 1988. Elliott also competed at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1996.

Early life and amateur career
Elliott was brought up in the Wadsley area of Sheffield. He joined Rutland Cycling Club in Sheffield at 15 where he was selected for the British team for the world junior championship in Argentina in 1979. In 1980 riding for Rutland CC, Elliott won the British National Hill Climb Championships, beating Jeff Williams by one fifth of a second. He also raced for the UV Aube cycling club in Troyes, France, for part of 1980 season to gain experience of racing on the continent before being selected for the British team pursuit at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He, Sean Yates and Tony Doyle finished seventh.

Elliott's breakthrough came at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane where he first took gold in the team time trial and then again in the 184 kilometre road race by outsprinting Steve Bauer, Roger Sumich, Steve Lawrence and Russell Harrington.

1983 was Elliott's final year as an amateur and he took six stages of the Milk Race and was also third overall in the Circuit des Ardennes before turning professional with Raleigh–Weinmann in 1984. Further domestic success followed in 1984 and 1985 before switching to the ANC–Halfords Cycling Team for the 1987 season, alongside Graham Jones, Paul Watson and Joey McLoughlin.

Professional career
ANC–Halfords raced on the continent as well as in Britain. Elliott finished third in the 1987 Amstel Gold Race. The team received an invitation to the 1987 Tour de France with Elliott finishing 94th overall and third on the stage into Bordeaux.

In 1988 Elliott joined the Fagor team, led by Stephen Roche. Elliott took his first stage in the Vuelta a España that year and another two in 1989, by which time he had switched to the Spanish Teka team riding alongside fellow British rider Darryl Webster. He rode in Europe until the end of 1992 when he signed for the American team, Chevrolet–LA Sheriffs.

Elliott had many wins for Chevrolet, winning the First Union Grand Prix in 1993 and 1994 and the Redlands Classic in 1993 and 1994, and two stage wins in the Tour DuPont in 1993 and 1995. In 1996 he was then selected for the Olympic Games road race, but finished a disappointing seventy ninth. The race was won by Pascal Richard. In 1997 he moved to Comptel–Colorado Cyclist but the team hit financial trouble. That led Elliott to retire at the end of 1997 aged 36.

Comeback
Elliott returned at the start of 2003 at 41. Riding as an individual for the Pinarello-Assos squad (set up by his former manager at ANC–Halfords, Phil Griffiths), he won in the Havant International GP and stages in the Irish Milk Ras. In 2004, he won the season long Premier Calendar, and the National Elite Circuit Series. For 2006 Elliott signed for Plowman Craven team and again won the National Elite Circuit Series. On 24 August 2006 in St. Johann, Austria, he became UCI road masters world champion.

In 2007 he won the UCI 1.2 ranked International CiCle Classic, and the Shay Elliott Memorial, the Irish one-day classic.

In 2009 he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame.

For the 2010 season, Elliott raced with the newly launched Motorpoint Pro-Cycling Team. The ten-strong team, based in Stone in Staffordshire, saw Elliott managed by Keith Lambert and the team run by Phil Griffiths. The team competed in such high-profile races as the Tour of Britain and 'UK Tour Series' – the city centre-based cycling race series broadcast on TV, in which Elliott won the Durham round and the Motorpoint team took overall honours. On 16 May 2010 he set the record for completing the Etape du Dales sportive in 5 hours and 43 minutes. He left the roster after the 2011 season, but remained with the team as a sporting director.

Doping
In 1992 Elliott failed a dope test on stages 3 and 5 of the Tour of Andalucia, testing positive for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. As the two tests were so close this was treated as a single infraction and he was stripped of the win on stage 3.

Major results

 * 1979
 * 3rd National Junior Road Race Series


 * 1980
 * 1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG National Hill Climb Championships


 * 1981
 * 2nd National Hill Climb Championships


 * 1982
 * Commonwealth Games
 * 1st gold medal blank.svg Road race
 * 1st gold medal blank.svg Team time trial
 * 3rd Overall Sealink International Grand Prix


 * 1983
 * 1st Premier Calendar
 * 1st Lincoln Grand Prix
 * 1st Tour of the Peak
 * 3rd Overall Circuit des Ardennes
 * 3rd Milk Race
 * 1st Six stages


 * 1984
 * 1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG National Criterium Championships
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Sealink International Grand Prix
 * 10th Overall Milk Race


 * 1985
 * 1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG Individual pursuit, National Track Championships
 * 13th Milk Race
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Herald Sun Tour
 * 1st Stages 1, 2, 12 & 16


 * 1986
 * 2nd Overall Milk Race
 * 1st Two stages
 * 3rd Overall Herald Sun Tour
 * 1st Stages 6 & 16


 * 1987
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Milk Race
 * 1st Five stages
 * Nissan Classic
 * 1st Stages 1, 4b & 5
 * 1st Stage 4 Herald Sun Tour
 * 3rd Amstel Gold Race


 * 1988
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Tour of Britain
 * 1st Prologue & Stage 1
 * 1st Stage 17 Vuelta a España
 * 1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Aragón
 * 1st Stage 13 Herald Sun Tour
 * 2nd Overall Nissan Classic


 * 1989
 * Vuelta a España
 * 1st MaillotCyan.PNG Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3b & 11
 * Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
 * 1st Prologue & Stages 1 & 5
 * Vuelta a Castilla y León
 * 1st Stages 3 & 5
 * 1st Prologue Tour of Britain
 * 1st Stage 2 Tour of Galicia
 * 1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
 * 2nd Tour of the Americas


 * 1990
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Milk Race
 * Volta a Catalunya
 * 1st Stages 1 & 3
 * Vuelta a Cantabria
 * 1st Stage 1 & 4a
 * 1st Stage 1 Tour of the Basque Country
 * 1st Stage 1 Tour of Britain


 * 1991
 * 1st Trofeo Masferrer
 * Troféu Joaquim Agostinho
 * 1st Stages 3a & 6
 * 6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen


 * 1992
 * 1st Stage 4 Vuelta a los Valles Mineros
 * 1st Stage 5 Volta ao Alentejo
 * 2nd Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
 * 3rd Clásica de Sabiñánigo
 * 6th Trofeo Masferrer


 * 1993
 * 1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG Road race, National Road Championships
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Redlands Classic
 * 1st Stage
 * 1st Overall Tour of Bisbee
 * 1st Stage
 * 1st Stage 6 Tour DuPont
 * 1st First Union Grand Prix


 * 1994
 * 1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Redlands Classic
 * Killington Stage Race
 * 1st Two stages
 * 1st First Union Grand Prix


 * 1995
 * Killington Stage Race
 * 1st Two stages
 * 1st Stage 1 Tour DuPont
 * 1st Stage Tour de Toona


 * 1996
 * 1st Killington Stage Race
 * 1st Manhattan Beach GP


 * 1997
 * 1st Jackson Criterium


 * 2003
 * 1st Havant International GP
 * 3rd Premier Calendar


 * 2004
 * 1st Premier Calendar
 * Girvan 3-Day
 * 1st 2 stages
 * 5th Overall Rás Tailteann
 * 1st Stages 5 & 8


 * 2005
 * 1st Beaumont Trophy
 * 2nd Overall Rás Tailteann
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 4


 * 2006
 * 1st UCI road masters world champion
 * 1st British Elite Circuit Series Champion


 * 2007
 * 1st Shay Elliott Memorial Race
 * 1st East Midlands International Cicle Classic
 * 1st Newport Nocturne


 * 2008
 * 1st Circuit de Stone
 * 3rd East Midlands International Cicle Classic
 * 5th Rogaland Grand Prix
 * 5th Grand Prix of Wales