Early career Born in
Chelmsford, Stannard grew up in
Milton Keynes. He initially focused on both road and track cycling, 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 UEC 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 finished 160th at the Giro.
Team Sky (2010–2020) 2010–2011 Stannard joined the new British Pro Tour team on an initial two-year contract 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, and completed a 1–2–3 at the
British National Road Race Championships behind teammates
Geraint Thomas and
Peter Kennaugh. Stannard almost took victory in the
2011 Gent–Wevelgem, after breaking away on the final climb, the . He was part of a move with
Peter Sagan,
Maciej Bodnar (both from ) and
Sylvain Chavanel () with to cover until the finish. The quartet kept clear of the chasing peloton until Stannard broke free and crossed the
flamme rouge alone. He was passed by the field with some 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. Stannard also featured in a 14-rider lead group at the end of season
Paris–Tours race, finishing fourth. One of the hardest working domestiques in the peloton, Stannard rode a total of during 93 race days in 2011.
2012 . 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 as part of the
Great Britain team for the
Olympic road race, alongside
David Millar,
Chris Froome,
Bradley Wiggins and
Mark Cavendish. With the team aiming to lead Cavendish to a sprint victory on
The Mall, and 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.
2013 In freezing conditions at March's
Milan–San Remo, Stannard initially rode at the front of the race in support of
Geraint Thomas, before taking a second-place finish at the
British National Road Race Championships in
Glasgow, being outsprinted by
Mark Cavendish at the finish. Stannard was selected to ride the
Tour de France for the first time, and played a key role as a
domestique for
Chris Froome, who went on to win the race overall. Following the Tour de France, Stannard took two second-place stage finishes at the
Eneco Tour, and the
Tour of Britain – the latter result coming in an
individual time trial – with a seventh-place overall finish in the Tour of Britain.
2014 Stannard began 2014 in good form, finishing fourth overall in the
Tour of Qatar in February. Stannard won – the opening race of the
Flanders Classics – after he out-sprinted his breakaway companion
Greg Van Avermaet, thereby becoming 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.
2015 , where he defeated teammates
Niki Terpstra (left) and
Tom Boonen (right) Stannard recovered from his injuries for the start of the 2015 season, again placing fourth in February's
Tour of Qatar. At the end of the month, Stannard won
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, defending his 2014 title – the first time a male rider had won consecutive editions since
Peter Van Petegem in
1997 and
1998. He defeated
Niki Terpstra in a two-man sprint, after spending the final 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. He was also part of the selection that won the
team time trial at the
Tour de Romandie, and he finished third in the
British National Road Race Championships.
2016 In an interview in January, Stannard confirmed that he would not compete in
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne – having previously appeared in the opening double header of the Belgian classics season every year since 2009 and forgoing the opportunity to win the Omloop for the third year running – in order to focus on peaking for the
Flemish Cycling Week. He also explained that his preparation for the spring classics would include debut appearances at the
Volta ao Algarve and
Paris–Nice. He also finished on the podium at
Paris–Roubaix, where he finished third in a sprint from a five-man group which had formed when Stannard animated the race with an attack on the cobbled section at
Camphin-en-Pévèle. Stannard was part of the
Tour de France-winning team, regarded as Sky's key domestique on flat stages, and he ultimately took a victory at September's
Tour of Britain, following a solo attack on the third stage.
Post-2016 Stannard started his 2017 season with a block of racing in Australia, which culminated in a stage victory on the final day of the
Herald Sun Tour, attacking inside the final kilometre. Having signed a three-year contract extension earlier in the season, Stannard also played a part as a
domestique in the
Vuelta a España success for
Chris Froome and . In 2018, Stannard took a second career stage victory at the
Tour of Britain, when he won the penultimate stage of the race from a solo move at around remaining. He recorded his first podium finish at the
British National Road Race Championships since 2015 in 2019, when he finished second behind teammate
Ben Swift, having "softened up the others" for Swift.
Retirement, directeur sportif Following the
COVID-19 pandemic-effected 2020 season, Stannard announced his retirement from competition that November after being diagnosed with
rheumatoid arthritis. In February 2021, Stannard joined
UCI Continental team as a
directeur sportif, remaining with the team until the end of the 2022 season, when he joined his former team – since renamed as the – in a similar role. ==Major results==