George Kimber and Eilidh Shaw secure Lloyds Bank National Road Series titles as Clay and Rees sprint to breakaway success.
Women
Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) powered to Curlew Cup victory, proving the fastest from an 18-rider break that escaped late in the race. Meanwhile, Eilidh Shaw's (Alba Development Road Team) second place secured the Lloyds Bank National Road Series crown on a tense day in Stamfordham.
Autumnal conditions greeted the 72 riders for the early morning start, with the race rolling out under a blanket of tension. No rider wanted to risk opening the hostilities with three laps of the daunting 40km circuit awaiting them, each one featuring the infamous double-digit gradients of the Ryals climb.
The Ryals brought the first skirmishes of the race when Lauren Dickson (Alba Development Road Team) demonstrated the same climbing prowess that landed her second places at the previous two rounds of the Series in Lancaster and Ryedale. The Scot set a tough pace up the 2.7km ascent, taking maximum points at the Queen of the Mountains point and splitting the bunch before the race came back together on the descent.
The second lap followed the same pattern as the first. It was a cagey affair until Dickson hit the Ryals climb, the speed of her ascent causing the peloton to split in two under the pressure. The gap to the front group extended to 20 seconds and it was Dickson’s teammates who took charge of the chase in the second group, the Alba Development RT duo of Keira Bond and Abi Plowman out of position and on the back foot in Eilidh Shaw's defence of the series lead.
With the status quo returned shortly after the leading group had crossed the line, the race was set for a final lap showdown. A small group escaped up the final ascent of the Ryals and it was Dickson leading the charge with Eilidh Shaw, soon to be joined by Katy Hill (London Academy), Carys Lloyd (Tofauti Everyone Active) and Lancaster Grand Prix winner Frankie Hall (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK).
With the peloton in pieces, a chasing group of 12 made contact with the front group as the race reached the 3km to go mark. Molly Patch (The Phoenix Collective) took her opportunity to attack having been towards the head of the peloton throughout the race.
Patch was reeled in by the chasers shortly after and the race was set for a thrilling sprint finish. Robyn Clay delivered a devastating turn of speed as the line approached, powering ahead of her rivals with enough time to sit up, raise her arms, and savour the victory. Second was Eilidh Shaw, sealing the National Road Series title to add to her National Circuit Series crown, with junior Esther Wong (Shibden-Apex) rounding out the podium.
After racing on the front foot all day, the Alba Development Road Team took home the team prize courtesy of placing three riders in the top ten, while DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK secured the overall Series honours in the team classification.
Open
Ollie Rees (Sabgal / Anicolor) outsprinted his breakaway companions to claim the Beaumont Trophy on a hectic afternoon in the northeast, where George Kimber (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling) recovered from a puncture and last lap crash to be crowned the Lloyds Bank National Road Series winner.
The race start was delayed by 45 minutes following a crash in the morning’s race. When racing finally got underway, it was under blue skies following a heavy shower, with the race shortened to just four laps and 160km.
The peloton set out at a rapid pace and the early moves had no success for much of the opening lap. Logan Maclean (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling) sacrificed his chances to play the team role for Kimber, policing the front of the bunch. Steven Parsonage (Richardsons Trek-DAS) was the first rider to force his way clear of the bunch on the Ryals climb, however, the peloton clawed him back on the descent, completing the first lap all together.
The autumn sunshine soon turned to persistent showers, with the gusting wind providing a chill amongst the heavy rain, and the conditions took their toll on the race with a number of riders going down in multiple crashes.
Among the riders to go down was James McKay (Saint Piran), who started the day as Kimber’s closest rival for the series title. Bloodied and bruised, with his skinsuit in shreds, McKay fought his way back into the bunch by the time the peloton had completed another lap. Meanwhile, the duo of Oliver Snodden (SN Vitae Huub pb BimBam Coaching) and Gabriel Dellar (Stolen Goat RT) held a slender advantage over the large bunch as they began the second lap.
With the pace high it was only a matter of time before the elastic broke. A dangerous eight-man move went clear on the third lap including eventual race winner Ollie Rees, Will Truelove (Thriva-SRCT), Tom Armstrong and Tom Martin (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Alex Ball (Project1), Dylan Westley (Saint Piran), Ryan Christensen (Foran CC), and Jack Hartley (Cycling Sheffield), who would later crash and abandon in the testing conditions.
Behind, Damien Clayton (Le Col Race Team) set off in pursuit, shortly followed by a group of four riders and driven on by James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield). Behind, the peloton upped the pace with Kimber sitting towards its rear, an untimely puncture forcing a wheel change and stressful chase back to the bunch.
The leading group’s gap was stable at 35 seconds as they crossed the line for the penultimate time, and it seemed the winner would come from this breakaway group.
Attacks rained down as the seven leaders ascended the Ryals for the final time and a group of three pulled away over the top of the climb. Tom Martin paid for his early aggression, the efforts taking their toll as he was the sole rider to drift off the back of the chase group. However, the leading trio were reeled in by the time the race had reached the final kilometre and a sprint beckoned.
Fresh from the Tour of Britain, Ollie Rees took a central line and timed his sprint well as the riders flew into Stamfordham. He held on in the rapid finish and crossed the line clear of a charging Truelove, with Thomas Armstrong rounding out the podium. Rees punched the air in celebration, finally taking a National Series victory after so many near-misses.
Behind, the race was back together and the Series title still hung in the balance. Kimber had suffered a crash on the final lap, but he had managed to move up from the back of the bunch and unleashed an adrenaline-fuelled sprint to arrive home in 10th just behind James McKay, securing the title after an action-packed finale.
Rees also claimed the King of the Mountains title after his work in the break, while Wheelbase CabTech Castelli took the team honours on the day, with both Martin and Armstrong forming part of the winning move.
However, they were powerless to stop Saint Piran winning the series, the Cornish team held the top spot all the way to the season finale after taking the lead in the first round.
