The club started out life in the 1940s as Belperion Road Club before re-emerging in the mid 1970s as Belper BC, with sponsorship from Thorntons (who had a factory in the town). The club were known as Belper BC Thorntons Toffee during this period and had a very strong road and time trial team, producing many riders who competed successfully at regional, national and international level. The Thorntons sponsorship ended in 1988 when the company became a PLC.

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The red and white jersey comes from the sponsorship. The late Ian Ringrose redesigned the kit with idea of the stars and stripes coming from the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, USA. The kit has since had a couple of updates but still retains the red and white colours and stars and stripes theme.

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Famous riders for the club through the years have included Derrick Woodings, Mike Allen, Dave Orford, Rex Butler, Mick Potts, Mark Storer and Carl Owen.

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