National B road racing returns: Halesowen A&CC’s women’s road race preview

It has been 428 days since Peter Kibble won the Betty Pharoah Memorial road race. That was the last time a National B road race was held in the UK, the last opportunity for the top domestic road racers to compete on the road.

All that changes today with Halesowen A&CC women’s road race. The race might be limited to a 42-mile course (or two hours max) and the field might be capped at 60 riders, but it marks an important milestone toward what we hope is a return to some normality for UK road racing.

It’s a stacked field too. As one team manager told us, the race will have “more women’s UCI & elite domestic riders than most National Road Series races”. Riders on the provisional start list (see below) include no less than ten riders from the UCI Continental CAMS-Basso team, riders from the other British UCI teams, Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur and AWOL O’Shea, junior sensation Zoe Backstedt, GB Senior Academy riders Ella Barnwell and Sophie Lewis, and virtual Women’s Tour winner Leah Dixon (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank). Our journal contributors Abi Smith (GB Senior Academy) and Charliiy Berry (Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen) are also slated to ride.

The event will also be poignant for very different reasons. Halesowen A&CC is mourning the loss of former member and academy rider Nick Clayton, who died on Monday at just 23 years of age. Nick had been taken ill with t-cell lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, in January. The men’s race (for Cat 2/3/4), held in the morning, will include a special prize in honour of Nick, awarded to the best junior in the race.

Course

42 miles of relatively flat terrain, starting and finishing near Astley Village Hall, Stourport-on-Severn.

The women’s race kicks off at 14.30 BST.

Provisional startlist

#	First name	Surname	Team
1	Zoe	Backstedt	Tormans-ACROG
2	Alderney	Baker	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
3	Megan	Barker	CAMS-Basso
4	Daisy	Barnes	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm
5	Ella	Barnwell	Team Wales
6	Olivia	Bentley	Natural Greatness – Vib Sports
7	Charlotte	Berry	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen
8	Sian	Botteley	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm
9	Polly	Burge	Jadan – Vive le Velo
10	Millie	Couzens	PH-MAS – Paul Milnes Cycles
11	Xan	Crees	Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus
12	Isabel	Darvill	Team Boompods
13	Matea	Deliu	Team Watto-LDN
14	Bexy	Dew	Saint Piran WRT
15	Leah	Dixon	Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank
16	Emma	Edwards	CAMS-Basso
17	Jessica	Finney	CAMS-Basso
18	Madeleine	Gammons	Jadan – Vive le Velo
19	Illi	Gardner	CAMS-Basso
20	Charlotte	Gibson	Awol
21	Monica	Greenwood	Macclesfield Wheelers
22	Natalie	Grinczer	CAMS-Basso
23	Francesca	Hall	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
24	Louise	Hart	Campinense – Velo Performance
25	Gabriella	Homer	Team Rupelcleaning – Champion Lubricants
26	Ellen	Inglis	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm
27	Kinga	Ingram	Storey Racing
28	Ffion	James	Hope Factory Racing
29	Emma	Jeffers	JRC-Shutt-Ridley Race Team
30	Jasmine	Jones	Bianchi Dama
31	Eluned	King	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Cycles
32	Flora	Knight	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
33	Hannah	Lancaster	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
34	Madelaine	Leech	PH-MAS – Paul Milnes Cycles
35	Sophie	Lewis	Team Breeze (UCI Track Team)
36	Grace	Lister	Cero – Cycle Division Racing Team
37	Ella	Maclean-Howell	Tofauti Everyone Active
38	Phoebe	Martin	AWOL- O’Shea
39	Heather	Mayer	Team Watto-LDN
40	Emily	Meakin	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR (DRP)
41	Josie	Nelson	Isorex NoAqua Ladies Cycling Team
42	Millie	Noble	UpShift Nutrition Race Team
43	Gabriella	Nordin	TW1 Racing
44	Keri	Parton	Pro Vision
45	Laura	Pittard	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm
46	Jennifer	Powell	CAMS-Basso
47	Sian	Reynolds	Sprinteur Club Féminin
48	Gemma	Sargent	Saint Piran WRT
49	Katie	Scott	CAMS-Basso
50	Laura	Senior	Saint Piran WRT
51	Ruth	Shier	Team LDN – Brother UK
52	Hayley	Simmonds	CAMS-Basso
53	Meg	Smith	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
54	Abi	Smith	Team Breeze
55	Becky	Storrie	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm
56	Jo	Tindley	CAMS-Basso
57	Chloe	Vickers	Loughborough Lightning – TRG
58	Maddie	Wadsworth	Watersley R&D Cycling Team
59	Lydia	Watts	Awol
60	Kate	Wootton	CAMS-Basso