The B-side: a closer look at National B road racing
Following the return of men’s national road racing two weekends ago at Chitterne and the Return to Racing for Big Dogs, comes the third men’s National B road race of the year, the Holohan Coaching road race.
A National B race sponsored by Holohan Coaching. As with all road racing events at the moment, Covid-19 restrictions apply, meaning the field is capped at 60 riders.
As with the previous two men’s National B road races this year, the race boasts a strong field, as top-level domestic riders take the opportunity to get in some much-needed race miles. The event will also include a Regional A race in the morning.
“The course is long-established and has served up some classic races in the past”, says co-organiser Chris Pook. “Former Pinarello rider Mike Jones won on it a few times and Malcolm Elliot won in 2004 in a field that included a good placing for Matt Stephens and a top ten for Matt Bottrill. I also remember a classic windy race at the end of Mark Lovatt’s career that saw the field in pieces from quite early on and a top five for the man himself. A young Dan McLay also finished second early in his career.”
In recent years it’s mainly been used for Regional A races (including editions won by Pook himself) but Pook says that given the lack of high-level domestic racing in the UK over the past 18 months, “we were determined to do our bit and try to help reinvigorate it”.
Riders
The provisional startlist includes 13 UCI Continental riders. There are three riders each from Canyon dhb SunGod (Damien Clayton, Andy Tennant and Reece Wood) and Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling (Cameron Jeffers, Tom Timothy and Jacob Tipper). Saint Piran, meanwhile, feature seven of their team, including their ever-strong rider-manager Steve Lampier. Race sponsor Liam Holohan is also a DS at Saint Piran and will no doubt be looking to assess his riders ahead of their forthcoming UCI races.
There is plenty of strength beyond the UCI Continental teams, including Toby Barnes (Crimson Orientation Marketing RT), who won the elite men’s criterium at the Loughborough Cycling Festival last weekend, first-year U23 George Wood (Cycling Sheffield), who was third at the Return to Racing for Big Dogs, GB Senior Academy rider Jack Rootkin-Gray (GB Senior Academy), Matt King (Team PB Performance), winner at the Doncaster crit on Saturday, and Joshua Giddings (Z Junior Race Team), who was the best-placed junior at Chitterne.
The route
Starting in Leighton, Shropshire, the race takes in six laps of a 15.6 km circuit. With a few additional kilometres as the race rolls out of Leighton Village Hall to join the main circuit, the total length is 93 km.
“It’s a real racers’ course”, according to Pook. “The steady climb to the finish line each lap ensures that only the strongest can contest the sprint to the line as you’ve often been anaerobic for a few minutes by then”, he tells us. “Normally it ends in a breakaway of 6-8 riders as the course wears people down without there being one particularly tough section that causes a split. The course favours those who like to attack as with some of the twisty roads you can get you out of sight fairly quickly.”
The B-side: a closer look at National B road racing
Following the return of men’s national road racing two weekends ago at Chitterne and the Return to Racing for Big Dogs, comes the third men’s National B road race of the year, the Holohan Coaching road race.
Featured photo: James Little
What is it?
A National B race sponsored by Holohan Coaching. As with all road racing events at the moment, Covid-19 restrictions apply, meaning the field is capped at 60 riders.
As with the previous two men’s National B road races this year, the race boasts a strong field, as top-level domestic riders take the opportunity to get in some much-needed race miles. The event will also include a Regional A race in the morning.
“The course is long-established and has served up some classic races in the past”, says co-organiser Chris Pook. “Former Pinarello rider Mike Jones won on it a few times and Malcolm Elliot won in 2004 in a field that included a good placing for Matt Stephens and a top ten for Matt Bottrill. I also remember a classic windy race at the end of Mark Lovatt’s career that saw the field in pieces from quite early on and a top five for the man himself. A young Dan McLay also finished second early in his career.”
In recent years it’s mainly been used for Regional A races (including editions won by Pook himself) but Pook says that given the lack of high-level domestic racing in the UK over the past 18 months, “we were determined to do our bit and try to help reinvigorate it”.
Riders
The provisional startlist includes 13 UCI Continental riders. There are three riders each from Canyon dhb SunGod (Damien Clayton, Andy Tennant and Reece Wood) and Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling (Cameron Jeffers, Tom Timothy and Jacob Tipper). Saint Piran, meanwhile, feature seven of their team, including their ever-strong rider-manager Steve Lampier. Race sponsor Liam Holohan is also a DS at Saint Piran and will no doubt be looking to assess his riders ahead of their forthcoming UCI races.
There is plenty of strength beyond the UCI Continental teams, including Toby Barnes (Crimson Orientation Marketing RT), who won the elite men’s criterium at the Loughborough Cycling Festival last weekend, first-year U23 George Wood (Cycling Sheffield), who was third at the Return to Racing for Big Dogs, GB Senior Academy rider Jack Rootkin-Gray (GB Senior Academy), Matt King (Team PB Performance), winner at the Doncaster crit on Saturday, and Joshua Giddings (Z Junior Race Team), who was the best-placed junior at Chitterne.
The route
Starting in Leighton, Shropshire, the race takes in six laps of a 15.6 km circuit. With a few additional kilometres as the race rolls out of Leighton Village Hall to join the main circuit, the total length is 93 km.
“It’s a real racers’ course”, according to Pook. “The steady climb to the finish line each lap ensures that only the strongest can contest the sprint to the line as you’ve often been anaerobic for a few minutes by then”, he tells us. “Normally it ends in a breakaway of 6-8 riders as the course wears people down without there being one particularly tough section that causes a split. The course favours those who like to attack as with some of the twisty roads you can get you out of sight fairly quickly.”
Timings
Date: Sunday, 6 June 2021
Start: 14.00
Provisional startlist
Share this: