For the fourth consecutive year, Loughborough University’s campus is playing host to a feast of cycling with the Youth Series showcasing potential stars of tomorrow, while Women’s and Open Nat Bs will give riders the opportunity to get their eyes back in on technical laps ahead of the National Circuit Series kicking back into life in a few weeks.
With a handful of other races taking place over the weekend, the Festival will be hoping to catch the eyes of anyone looking to pull a double – the racing is on Bank Holiday Monday, 27 May.
With Loughborough becoming an increasingly significant hub of cycling – and looks set to expand even further, if Dave Nichols has his way – it was logical that the campus held its own series of races to add another road-based criterium to the calendar, complementing longer established races on purpose-built circuits.
A key round of the National Youth Circuit Series, the race has already seen a number of rising stars etch their names in the history books with Cat Ferguson, Seb Grindley and newly-signed Team Visma Lease a Bike WorldTour rider Matthew Brennan all taking victories since the first edition of the race in 2021.
LOUGHBOROUGH, GBR – 28 May 2023 – Loughborough Cycling Festival held at the Loughborough University Campus (Photos by David & Samantha Crawford / http://www.stillsport.com)
The Senior Women’s Race participants compete for the Jose Gilbert Memorial Trophy – named after the pro racer who sadly passed away having been hit by a lorry out on a training ride – with previous winners including Jo Tindley, Beth Morrow, and Isabel Darvill.
Elite Open winners have included Callum Laborde and Toby Barnes (twice).
Route
The racing will be held in the heart of the campus, with a number of link roads being combined to create a 1.5km course which includes something of everything – short, sharp, climbs, technical descents and a mix of sweeping and 90degree corners.
The course starts with a climb which hits 7.8% at its steepest over the first 300m of the course. Throw in relatively square left and right corners, and the course lands its most significant punch right in the early stages. Weaving round the edge of a cluster of campus buildings, the course descends pretty much for the rest of the lap and with a few right-angled turns thrown in to get round the sports pitches and back to the start in front of the Hazelrigg building.
Dan Barnes holds the Strava segment record with a 1m58sec lap, meaning stamina and power are going to be key. With the Elite races clocking at 60 minutes, and the Youth races just 10 minutes less, the course lends itself to those who can manage their energy best and have enough left in the tank for a final lap sprint.
Riders to watch
Women’s Race
LOUGHBOROUGH, GBR – 28 May 2023 – Loughborough Cycling Festival held at the Loughborough University Campus (Photos by David & Samantha Crawford / http://www.stillsport.com)
A field of 58 is set to do battle round the campus, and home ground advantage would suggest that the sizeable contingent of Loughborough Lightning riders would be the ones to watch. With National Road Series leader Lucy Harris, BUCS Road Race winner Miriam Jessett, and recent Spatzwear Friday Night Crit Series winner Jay Hine part of a strong contingent in the purple kit it’s hard to look past a local win.
That said, there’s a strong field up and down the order with reigning British Gravel Champion Xan Crees (Spectra Racing) making her circuit return, Bexy Dew looking to continue a run of top 20s for Pro-Noctis – 200 Degrees Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting and her team-mate Lucy Ellmore is also looking to continue a positive run of form.
Notably, none of the previous race winners are back to add a second win to their palmarès so whatever happens come Monday, we’ll have a new race winner.
Open Race
Compared to the Women’s Race, there’s winners aplenty for the Open Race as Callum Laborde (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) looks to take his second successive win in Loughborough while Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) will look to pull ahead of him with a third victory.
Elsewhere on the 52-rider startlist, Joe Shillabeer (Shibden-A.Fawcett Racing) should – in theory – be hot-footing it across from the 360 Tour of the Northwest (where he’s already taken a 10th on the opening stage), while Spectra’s second Barnes – this time Dan Barnes – will be looking for a continuation of the circuit form that netted him a third at Colne and an eighth at the Newark Grand Prix last year.
A positive run of form is also something Richardsons Trek DAS rider Matthew Lord will be looking to continue – an eighth at the BUCS Road Race, a 10th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race, and eighth in the GC at The Peaks 2 Day the stand-outs from the season so far.
LOUGHBOROUGH, GBR – 28 May 2023 – Loughborough Cycling Festival held at the Loughborough University Campus (Photos by David & Samantha Crawford / http://www.stillsport.com)
Timings
3/4 Support Race
8.30
Youth B Open
10.00
Youth B Girls
11.10
The Jose Gilbert Memorial Trophy
12.30
Youth A Girls
14.15
Youth A Open
15.40
Elite Open Criterium
17.00
How to follow
Joe Hudson will be at the races, providing updates on our Instagram.
For the fourth consecutive year, Loughborough University’s campus is playing host to a feast of cycling with the Youth Series showcasing potential stars of tomorrow, while Women’s and Open Nat Bs will give riders the opportunity to get their eyes back in on technical laps ahead of the National Circuit Series kicking back into life in a few weeks.
With a handful of other races taking place over the weekend, the Festival will be hoping to catch the eyes of anyone looking to pull a double – the racing is on Bank Holiday Monday, 27 May.
Featured Image: StillSport.com
What is it?
With Loughborough becoming an increasingly significant hub of cycling – and looks set to expand even further, if Dave Nichols has his way – it was logical that the campus held its own series of races to add another road-based criterium to the calendar, complementing longer established races on purpose-built circuits.
A key round of the National Youth Circuit Series, the race has already seen a number of rising stars etch their names in the history books with Cat Ferguson, Seb Grindley and newly-signed Team Visma Lease a Bike WorldTour rider Matthew Brennan all taking victories since the first edition of the race in 2021.
The Senior Women’s Race participants compete for the Jose Gilbert Memorial Trophy – named after the pro racer who sadly passed away having been hit by a lorry out on a training ride – with previous winners including Jo Tindley, Beth Morrow, and Isabel Darvill.
Elite Open winners have included Callum Laborde and Toby Barnes (twice).
Route
The racing will be held in the heart of the campus, with a number of link roads being combined to create a 1.5km course which includes something of everything – short, sharp, climbs, technical descents and a mix of sweeping and 90degree corners.
The course starts with a climb which hits 7.8% at its steepest over the first 300m of the course. Throw in relatively square left and right corners, and the course lands its most significant punch right in the early stages. Weaving round the edge of a cluster of campus buildings, the course descends pretty much for the rest of the lap and with a few right-angled turns thrown in to get round the sports pitches and back to the start in front of the Hazelrigg building.
Dan Barnes holds the Strava segment record with a 1m58sec lap, meaning stamina and power are going to be key. With the Elite races clocking at 60 minutes, and the Youth races just 10 minutes less, the course lends itself to those who can manage their energy best and have enough left in the tank for a final lap sprint.
Riders to watch
Women’s Race
A field of 58 is set to do battle round the campus, and home ground advantage would suggest that the sizeable contingent of Loughborough Lightning riders would be the ones to watch. With National Road Series leader Lucy Harris, BUCS Road Race winner Miriam Jessett, and recent Spatzwear Friday Night Crit Series winner Jay Hine part of a strong contingent in the purple kit it’s hard to look past a local win.
That said, there’s a strong field up and down the order with reigning British Gravel Champion Xan Crees (Spectra Racing) making her circuit return, Bexy Dew looking to continue a run of top 20s for Pro-Noctis – 200 Degrees Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting and her team-mate Lucy Ellmore is also looking to continue a positive run of form.
Notably, none of the previous race winners are back to add a second win to their palmarès so whatever happens come Monday, we’ll have a new race winner.
Open Race
Compared to the Women’s Race, there’s winners aplenty for the Open Race as Callum Laborde (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) looks to take his second successive win in Loughborough while Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) will look to pull ahead of him with a third victory.
Elsewhere on the 52-rider startlist, Joe Shillabeer (Shibden-A.Fawcett Racing) should – in theory – be hot-footing it across from the 360 Tour of the Northwest (where he’s already taken a 10th on the opening stage), while Spectra’s second Barnes – this time Dan Barnes – will be looking for a continuation of the circuit form that netted him a third at Colne and an eighth at the Newark Grand Prix last year.
A positive run of form is also something Richardsons Trek DAS rider Matthew Lord will be looking to continue – an eighth at the BUCS Road Race, a 10th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race, and eighth in the GC at The Peaks 2 Day the stand-outs from the season so far.
Timings
How to follow
Joe Hudson will be at the races, providing updates on our Instagram.
Provisional Startlists
Jose Gilbert Memorial Trophy
Open Race
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