The Great Bicycle Race by Russ Crossley

Phillip Host, alchemist and inventor, builds the first nuclear fusion steam driven cycle and his employer tells him the Royal Family expect him to win the Great Bicycle Race from London to South Hampton or the British Empire will fall and the future of Europe will be forever changed. Phillip discovers he must defeat the German champion disgraced, evil, alchemist, Samuel Gesture.

Will Britain rule the road just as it once did the waves or will the sun set on the empire?

An alternate history story where alchemy and steam come together in Victorian times to decide the fate of nations, and one man is responsible for the future.