Jonathan Tiernan-Locke

In 2010 he was offered the opportunity to ride with Rapha Condor–Sharp for the 2011 season. He won the mountains classification and finished fifth in the general classification in the Tour of Britain.[7][8]

Tiernan-Locke in the leader's jersey at the 2012 Tour of Britain. He was later stripped of the title over bio-passport irregularities

Tiernan-Locke moved to Endura Racing for the 2012 season. At the start of the year he won the Tour Méditerranéen,[9] and the Tour du Haut Var,[10] with those results gaining him the lead of the UCI Europe Tour.[11] Tiernan-Locke later placed second to Movistar Team's Nairo Quintana in the Vuelta a Murcia.[12] He suffered a fractured collarbone at the Lincoln Grand Prix in May,[13] but returned to cycling at June's Route du Sud, finishing 22nd overall. In July he won the Tour Alsace overall as well as two stages during the event.[14] Tiernan-Locke led Endura at his home race, the Tour of Britain. He finished second on stage six, to Caerphilly mountain, to take the lead of the race. He held the lead until the end of the race, becoming the first British rider to win a British cycling tour since 1993.[15][16]

Tiernan-Locke represented Great Britain at the road world championships finishing 19th. He further enhanced his reputation by staying in contention with the world class field until the final climb.[17][18]

On 4 October 2012, it was announced that Tiernan-Locke would join UCI ProTeam Team Sky on a two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.[1]

Tiernan-Locke riding for Team Sky at the 2013 Paris–Nice

Tiernan-Locke withdrew from the road world championships on 29 September 2013 because of a potential discrepancy in his biological passport data.[19] He was suspended from racing for Team Sky or taking part in any training activities until he had faced an anti-doping hearing.[20] In July 2014, his ban was announced by the UCI, banning him until 31 December 2015 and stripping his 2012 Tour of Britain and World Championship results.[21] Team Sky immediately terminated his contract.[22] In August 2014, UK Anti-Doping upheld the ban, accepting Tiernan-Locke's claim that he had indulged in binge drinking two days before the positive test but rejecting his contention that he had not rehydrated by the time of the test, given that he was tested on the eve of the 2012 World Championship road race, where he finished 19th.[23] Tiernan-Locke subsequently expressed an interest in returning to professional cycling after the end of his ban.[24]

In January 2016, following the end of his ban, Tiernan-Locke indicated that he would return to racing as an independent, rather than with a team.[25] He subsequently expressed dissatisfaction with being awarded a second-category racing licence for his return to competition, after having raced with an elite-level licence from 2003 until his ban.[26] Tiernan-Locke later confirmed that he would ride for the Saint Piran team, which he had co-founded.[27] He finished second on his return to racing in the Primavera Road Race in February 2016,[28] and subsequently won the Modbury Spring Road Race in March.[29] In April 2016, he told Cycling Weekly that "I'm realistic that it's a hobby these days, I'm getting by on 10 hours a week training. Realistically, I'm riding at a good level and I'm happy with that".[30]