2022 Perfs Pedal road race: race preview and startlist

The B-side: a closer look at National B road racing

The road racing season may have begun in Europe, but here in the UK, the first sniff of UCI road racing won’t happen until the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic on 24 April. Thankfully, national-level road racing will begin soon with the first National B road race of the year: the Perfs Pedal. In anticipation of this landmark, here is a quick look at the route, the race history, the startlist and the contenders.

What is it?

The Perfs Pedal road race is a ‘National B‘ road race promoted by VC St Raphael. Taking place near Portsmouth in the south of England, it is the traditional opener to the domestic road racing season. This will be the first time the race has run since 2019. An important early-season marker of fitness, it normally attracts a strong field, including many domestic Continental-level riders, and this year is no different. 

The route

The race is a short, punchy affair at 74 kilometres (46 miles). Starting in Southwick, the race begins with five laps of a lumpy 13.6 km circuit around Portsdown Hill, which has a maximum gradient of 10.6 %.

The race then switches off the main circuit at Staple Cross Road to finish on the Lodge Hill climb, with the finish line placed just beyond the top of this final drag. The climb has a steep section towards the bottom – reaching nearly 15% in places, but continues to drag upward, making it a hard slog to the finish line. Local rider Red Walters holds the current Strava KOM for the climb.

The race is normally fast, furious and challenging enough that a solo win or a small group sprint can be expected.

History

Created by Mick Waite, who still runs the race, the first edition of the Perfs Pedal road race took place in July 1964, won by Tony Mills. The race moved to an early-season slot the following year where it has stayed ever since. 

Given its position in the calendar, the weather has often been a key feature of the race. Ice and snow has been a frequent obstacle for the riders. And in the 1990s, mild, wet winters meant that flooding was a problem. The 2003 edition was cancelled by the local police because of what organiser Mick Waite described as a ‘puddle’. Poor road conditions have also hampered the race, resulting in the cancellation of the 2010 and 2014 editions. The 2020 edition was also cancelled because of forecasts of strong winds and heavy rain.

The race has a long list of illustrious winners. Ian Hallam, Dave LeGrys, Chris Newton, Sean Yates, Tim Harris and Alex Dowsett have all won the race. The last four editions of the race have been won by Tim Elverson’s teams: Rory Townsend won in 2016 (when the team was called Pedal Heaven), Chris Opie in 2017 (for Bike Channel Canyon), Alex Paton took the honours in 2018 (for Canyon Eisberg), while Jacob Vaughan (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) was the most recent victor.

Contenders

At the time of writing, the startlist is provisional only, and subject to change.

Last update: 13 February 2022

WiV SunGod have dominated the race in recent times – it’s an important local race for team boss Tim Elverson – and as the only UCI Continental team represented, they will be the favourites to take the win for the fifth time in a row. All four two of their riders – Jim Brown, Josh Whitehead, Damien Clayton (second in 2019) and Euan MacLeod – are contenders in their own right.

Former WiV SunGod rider Alex Paton, winner of the race in 2018, is a fascinating inclusion on the startlist. He officially retired from racing at the end of 2020 but, if in shape, clearly has the pedigree to win this race.

Junior rider Joshua Tarling (FlandersColor Galloo) had an outstanding 2021, finishing third in the Otley Grand Prix on junior gears, winning the junior CiCLE Classics at the first time of asking and winning his first junior UCI road race. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is well in the mix for the win. Unfortunately, injuries picked up at a crash at the Manchester velodrome means he has had to withdraw from the race.

Elite teams Nopinz Motip RT, Primera-TeamJobs, and Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor all field full teams of six riders and will be looking to make their numerical advantage count. Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor rider Jordan Peacock was fourth in the 2019 edition, so has form in this race.

Elsewhere in the field, there are plenty of individuals who could challenge for a result. Richardsons-Trek DAS’ new signing Conor McGoldrick took no less than six wins at National B level last season, including a superb solo win at the Holohan Coaching Road Race. Cycling Sheffield’s George Wood is one of those; he took National B road race wins last year, including the Spokes RT Scottish Road Race. Wales Racing Academy’s William Roberts won the Sunderland round of the Tour Series last year, indicating he is capable of a win a fast, aggressive race like this.

Late additions to the race Alex Richardson and Yanto Barker are also both possible winners.

Provisional startlist

Startlist as published on 31 January 2022. Updated 2 and 13 February 2022.

#	Name	Team	Cat
1	Alex Paton	BC PM	E
2	Dylan Hicks	Backstedt Bike Performance RT	2J
3	Euan Woodliffe	Backstedt Bike Performance RT	2J
4	Edward Hopkins	BCC RT	2J
5	Jamie Brown	BCC RT	2J
6	Lewis Holmes	BCC RT	2J
7	James Bevan	Bikestrong KTM	1
8	Jack Rebours	Caesarean CC Jersey	2J
9	Harry Johnson	CC Plancoetin	1
10	George Wood	Cycling Sheffield	1
11	Declan Hudson	Dolan Ellesse RT	1
12	Jack Crook	Dolan Ellesse RT	1
13	Joshua Tarling	FlandersColor Galloo	1J
14	Griff Lewis	FlandersColor Galloo	2J
15	Lucas Jowett	FlandersColor Galloo	2J
16	Jacob Schnabel	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	2
17	Dylan Humber-Kelly	JRC Interflow RT	2J
18	William Jewitt	JRC Interflow RT	2
19	Ethan Browne	JRC Interflow RT	2
20	Richard Todd	Le Col	2
21	Jack Freeman	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	E
22	Matthew Houlberg	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	1
23	Felix Whetter	Mid Devon CC	2J
24	Samuel Clark	Netlar Telecom-Ale	1
25	Travis Bramley	Nopinz Motip RT	1
26	Daniel Shoebridge	Nopinz Motip RT	1
27	Cameron McLaren	Nopinz Motip RT	1
28	James Ashcroft	Nopinz Motip RT	1
29	Matt Witts	Nopinz Motip RT	1
30	George Fowler	Nopinz Motip RT	2
31	Andrew Critchlow	Norwood Paragon	1
32	Chris McNamara	Nunn-Sigma Sport-London RT	1
33	George Smith	Primera-TeamJobs	E
34	Luke Barfoot	Primera-TeamJobs	1
35	Nicholas Tyrie	Primera-TeamJobs	1
36	Jordan Giles	Primera-TeamJobs	1
37	Samuel Wadsley	Primera-TeamJobs	2
38	Ashley Newman	Primera-TeamJobs	2
39	Ian Vagg	Project 51	2
40	Adam Cotterell	Project 51	2
41	Michael Weavers	Project 51	2
42	Conor McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek Das	E
43	Aaron Freeman	Richardsons Trek Das	2
44	Rory Barrett	Southborough & District Wh	1
45	Keith Henderson	Southborough & District Wh	2
46	Michael Mottram	Spectra Wiggle P/B Vitus	E
47	Jordan Peacock	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	1
48	Joshua Avery	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	1
49	Angus Hawkins	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	1
50	Thomas Price	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	2
51	Farley Barber	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	2
52	Joshua Price	Spirit Bontrager BSS Rotor	2
53	Lucas Rowley	Tactic Sport UK RT	2
54	Jack Fothergill	Team Jewson MI Racing	2
55	Jude Chamberlain	Team Jewson MI Racing	2J
56	Jack Dylan	Team Tor 2000 Kalas	2
57	Steven Jones	Team Tor 2000 Kalas	1
58	Noah Hobbs	Tekkerz CC	2J
59	Joshua Golliker	TrainSharp DT	2J
60	Jacob James	TrainSharp DT	2
61	Harry Ives	TrainSharp DT	2
62	Torin Henderson	TrainSharp DT	2
63	Joe Hill	Upshift Nutrition RT	E
64	Oliver Mangham	VC Londres	2J
65	Conor Williams	VC Londres	2J
66	Anthony Morris	VC Londres	2J
67	Thomas Caine	VC Meudon	2J
68	Felix Tuck	VC Meudon	2J
69	Matthew Gilmour	VC Venta	3J
70	Oliver Hurdle	Stolen Goat RT	2
71	Thomas Heal	Stolen Goat RT	2
72	Thomas Grigson	Stolen Goat RT	2
73	Joe Holt	Wales Racing Academy	E
74	Harvey McNaughton	Wales Racing Academy	1
75	William Roberts	Wales Racing Academy	1
76	Toby Manning	Wessex RC	2
77	Damien Clayton	WiV Sungod	E
78	Jim Brown	WiV Sungod	1
79	Josh Whitehead	WiV Sungod	1
80	Euan Macleod	WiV Sungod	2
81	George Gray	Z Junior RT	2J
82	William Smith	Z Junior RT	2J
83	Calum Moir	Z Junior RT	2J
84	Rory Knowles	Z Junior RT	2J
85	Oliver Akers	Z Junior RT	3J
	Reserves
86	Luke Goodwill	VC Londres	3J
87	Monte Guerrini	Foran CC	2
88	Max Fleming	University of Reading	2
89	Joseph Surmon	University of Bristol CC	3
90	David Roper	Nopinz Motip DT	2
91	Gabriel Dellar	Southampton University RC	3

Timings

The race kicks off at 11.00 and is expected to finish not long after 13.00.

Weather

The forecast looks typically grim. Strong winds and rain look set to make this edition a real hardman’s race.