Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen) was the king and queen of Lincoln Castle on Friday night as they were crowned the new National Circuit Race Champions.
Read more about the course in our race preview here.
Women’s race
Hometown girl Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen) took a commanding – and very popular – in the women’s race.
The pace was furious from the off, with the race already split into several groups after lap one. Tindley broke clear not long after and slowly built up an unassailable lead.
Behind, a group containing many of the pre-race favourites, such Abi Smith (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank), El King (Team Breeze), Hannah Barnes (Canyon//SRAM) and Josie Nelson (Team Coop-Hitec Products) tried to keep Tindley in check, but with the several of Tindley’s teammates in the chasing group, it wasn’t easy to form a coordinated chase. Smith, Barnes, Nelson and Lucy Gadd (Storey Racing) were amongst the chasers who tried attacks but each time they were foiled.
Tindley had time to celebrate in front of the home crowds as she crossed the line on the tight, twisty technical finish on the cobbles.
Behind, Smith won the sprint for second, but crashed into the feet of the barriers just after she crossed the line, taking down third-placed Corrine Side (Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen) in the process. Both riders recovered enough for the podium celebrations, the adrenalin getting them through. Hopefully, their injuries are superficial enough for them to take part in Sunday’s road race.
Speaking after the race, Tindley said:
“If you’re going to do it, you want to do it in front of a home crowd, don’t you? There was quite a lot of drive that kept me going, but it’s not sunk in just yet.
“There are some really good sprinters in the group, and having done some other races this year I knew I couldn’t just handle them, so for me it was either whittling it down and making one big move, or as it happened really early it just lined out and there’s not a lot of rest on this circuit, so I knew I could potentially get away. When the gap happened quite early I had to commit to it, I had no other option.
“I used to work at the pub just here so I know the finish line very well from looking out of the window at it. You always dream it – it’s pretty special.”
Results
| Rank | # | Rider | Team Name | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 30 | Jo Tindley | Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen | 1:07:26.09 | |
| 2 | 57 | Abi Smith | Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank | 1:08:39.08 | +1:12.91 |
| 3 | 35 | Corinne Side | Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen | 1:08:40.05 | +1:13.54 |
| 4 | 46 | Eluned King | Team Breeze | 1:08:41.01 | +1:14.16 |
| 5 | 13 | Hannah Barnes | CANYON – SRAM RACING | 1:08:41.03 | +1:14.39 |
| 6 | 49 | Josie Nelson | Team Coop-Hitec Products | 1:08:41.05 | +1:14.52 |
| 7 | 29 | Robyn Clay | Otley CC | 1:08:42.03 | +1:15.33 |
| 8 | 32 | Isabel Darvill | Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen | 1:08:42.07 | +1:15.76 |
| 9 | 45 | Lucy Gadd | Storey Racing | 1:08:43.02 | +1:16.29 |
| 10 | 59 | Jenny Holl | TEKKERZ CC | 1:08:43.06 | +1:16.70 |
| 11 | 3 | Hannah Bayes | AWOL- O’Shea | 1:08:43.10 | +1:17.02 |
| 12 | 44 | Beth Morrow | Storey Racing | 1:08:44.07 | +1:17.76 |
| 13 | 36 | Amy Gornall | Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen | 1:08:45.05 | +1:18.57 |
| 14 | 20 | Sophie Lankford | Jadan – Vive le Velo | 1:09:11.05 | +1:44.53 |
Men’s race
Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers), winner of the National Time Trial Championships on Thursday, set himself up for a historic treble by winning the National Circuit Race crown in the centre of Lincoln.
The pace was frenetic from the gun, with Harry Tanfield (Team Qhubeka Nexthash) in particular driving the pace in an effort to whittle the bunch down early on. It worked. An attack from Charles Page (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling) then sparked the winning move, which also contained Hayter, Harry Tanfield, his brother Charlie Tanfield (Canyon DHB Sungod) and Lewis Askey (Equipe Cycliste Continentale Groupama-FDJ).
Behind, a chase group formed of around 12 riders. From that group, Toby Barnes (Crimson Orientation Marketing), Max Stedman (Canyon DHB Sungod) and Isaac Mundy (Richardsons-Trek) were all active, but they never looked close to pulling back the five leaders.
There was nothing to split the quintet as the bell rang for the final lap. Askey attacked first, but the 20-year-old was unable to get away. As the sprint neared, Harry Tanfield dashed to the front before the technical section to the finish line and for a moment it looked like no-one would be able to come around him. But somehow ghosted past him with some deft manoeuvring taking him to the line first.
With all eyes now on the prospect of an unprecedented treble on Sunday, Hayter said:
“I managed to get myself straight to the front and I pretty much stayed out of trouble. I knew all these guys were super strong, both Tanfields are strong crit riders, and Lewis and Charles as well. I just tried to not do too much and stay close to the bunch so that the guys would keep working and not attack themselves.
Speaking about the buoyant Lincoln crowd, Hayter added:
“I was loving it to be honest. There were a lot of people shouting my name which was quite strange. It was lined the whole way around, and it’s almost like a go-kart track going around some of the corners, so it’s just really enjoyable.
“I think there’s a bit of pressure on [Sunday] now. It’s not going to be easy but we’ll see what we can do.”
Results
| Rank | # | Rider | Team Name | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 40 | Ethan Hayter | Team Ineos Grenadiers | 1:06:27.01 | |
| 2 | 49 | Harry Tanfield | Team Qhubeka Nexthash | 1:06:27.06 | +0.442 |
| 3 | 16 | Lewis Askey | Equipe Cycliste Continentale Groupama-FDJ | 1:06:27.10 | +0.879 |
| 4 | 11 | Charlie Tanfield | Canyon DHB Sungod | 1:06:28.02 | +1.107 |
| 5 | 27 | Charles Page | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | 1:06:31.06 | +4.524 |
| 6 | 5 | Matthew Bostock | Canyon DHB Sungod | 1:07:28.05 | +1:01.420 |
| 7 | 47 | William Tidball | Team Inspired | 1:07:28.09 | +1:01.796 |
| 8 | 55 | Joe Holt | Wales Racing Academy | 1:07:29.04 | +1:02.321 |
| 9 | 56 | Owain Roberts | Wales Racing Academy | 1:07:29.07 | +1:02.642 |
| 10 | 28 | Isaac Mundy | Richardsons Trek DAS | 1:07:30.00 | +1:02.906 |
| 11 | 58 | Finn Crockett | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli | 1:07:30.02 | +1:03.098 |
| 12 | 50 | Alec Briggs | TEKKERZ CC | 1:07:30.06 | +1:03.453 |
| 13 | 64 | Matti Dobbins | RT23 | 1:07:30.08 | +1:03.665 |
| 14 | 17 | Joshua Tarling | FlandersColor Galloo | 1:07:31.01 | +1:04.006 |
| 15 | 2 | Toby Barnes | Crimson Orientation Marketing RT | 1:07:31.04 | +1:04.338 |
| 16 | 10 | Maximilian Stedman | Canyon DHB Sungod | 1:07:32.03 | +1:05.244 |
| 17 | 14 | Oliver Wood | Canyon DHB Sungod | 1:07:47.04 | +1:20.303 |
