Good to here that there is some justice.

The sad part is that if he had hit him with his car instead of with his fists, he would have gotten off much easier

That doesn't sound an awful lot like justice to me.

For those unfamiliar with the British justice system, firstly, a sentence of two years means he'll likely serve 12 months or less if he can behave himself in prison, because early release is extremely common.

Secondly, GBH is a very serious charge to be convicted of, indicating permanent and often life-changing injuries to the victim. This isn't just a bit of road rash that'll heal in a few weeks, but injuries that will likely affect his mobility and possibly ability to work, for the rest of his life.

12 months prison for a crime like that seems pretty light to me.

How does the British justice system works with civil lawsuits? In America, this dude would probably spend a big chunk of the rest of his life trying to financially pay back the victim for his injuries. If he has no money, the car insurance company would probably be on the hook for some of the liabilities.

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

I couldn't say with much certainty I'm afraid, I'm not a lawyer, nor do I have any direct experience with situations like this, fortunately.

If it were a road accident or even vehicular assault (i.e. ramming the cyclist off the road with his car) then his car insurers would almost certainly be on-the-hook for any victim settlement. As the guy has apparently parked up and personally assaulted the cyclist, I would imagine the car insurers would deny any and all liability.

A good house insurance policy would include personal liability cover, but I suspect they are usually for incidents that occur on the property and I'd be surprised if they extend to the results of intentional and criminal incidents that occur elsewhere.

In short, I think you're probably right, this guy would be required to pay damages straight out of his own pocket, but the court will determine the nature of any settlement/subsequent payments, and how much of that the victim ever sees would be very difficult to say.