2022 Wally Gimber Trophy road race: preview and startlist

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

The national road racing season is now in full swing, at National B level at least. This weekend four national road races take place: the first round of the Scottish National Alba Men’s Road Race Series (the ERC Gifford Road Race), the men’s and women’s editions of the exciting new Peaks 2 Day stage race, and the historic Wally Gimber Trophy road race. This preview focuses on the latter.

What is it?

The Wally Gimber Trophy is a ‘National B‘ road race promoted by Dulwich Paragon, held on the border of East Sussex and Kent. One of the longest-running road races in the UK, this will be the 62nd edition of the race.

The trophy was awarded to the club for presentation at the annual road race by Wally Gimber, a lifelong club member. Wally Gimber was an active Dulwich Paragon member in the 1940s and excelled on the local Herne Hill track. In 1948-9 he was the London centre track, massed start and roller champion and set a national tandem paced half-mile record of 48.55 seconds. He emigrated to the US in the 1960s but returned to the UK in 1985 to present the trophy to John Shand at the club’s 50th anniversary dinner. He kept in regular touch with the club until his death in 1993.

The race has served as an important early-season race in the UK for over half a century. Past winners include Sir Bradley Wiggins and Alexandar Richardson. Tony Gibb won three times, while Simon Cope and Rob Hurd each won four editions.

In 2021, after a year’s break due to Covid, the race resumed in August at a new course in Tenterden, where Chris McNamara (Nuun – Sigma Sports – London RT) won the trophy after over 20 years of trying.

The route

This year the race takes place between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Bewl Water reservoir on a 20.6 kilometre circuit around Frant, Lamberhurst and Wadhurst. The riders cover the anti-clockwise circuit seven times, with the race covering 144 kilometres in total.

It’s a relatively hilly route with 319 metres of elevation per laps. The descents are fast and wide fast, however, meaning that no hard braking is required anywhere on the corners. The race rolls out from Bells Yew Green for a two-kilometre neutralised section before the flag drops at the start/finish line just before Frant.

It is downhill after Frant until the riders reach Station Hill as the riders approach Wadhurst. At just over a kilometre in length and with gradients reaching nearly 8% in places, this marks an obvious point for breakaway attempts. The road is mainly downhill after Wadhurst until about five kilometres from home, just after Hook Green. From here, the road steadily rises all the way to the circuit’s end. The steepest parts of this drag are just before the finish line, where the road pitches above 8% in the final 200 metres. So expect a real slog of a sprint finish if a small group comes to the line.

Contenders

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

Last update: 19 March 2022

The field might only include four UCI Continental riders but it’s a strong one nonetheless, featuring no less than three of the four 2022 National B road race winners so far.

After their domineering display at the Jock Wadley Memorial last weekend, Le Col is arguably the team to watch. They placed three riders in the top four at the race, including race winner Yanto Barker and second-placed Alex Richardson, both of whom will be closely marked.

Matt King, Red Walters (both Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling), Jake Crossley (Saint Piran) and Rory Townsend (WiV SunGod) are the four UCI Continental riders on the startlist. Matt King – 5th at the Beaumont Trophy last season – is a rider that could go well on this course. And Rory Townsend, a late entrant to the race, needs little introduction. One of the finest domestic riders in recent years, he surely has to be one of the favourites.

Seb Garry (Nopinz Motip RT) and Samuel Beckett (Wales Racing Academy) are both in-form riders having won the Evesham Vale and Primavera road races respectively this season. Beckett is second in our national road race rankings, so a good result here could see him move into the lead.

Richardsons-Trek DAS bring a strong squad, including James Jenkins and Conor McGoldrick, two riders we hold in high regard here at The British Continental. Spirit BSS are another team to watch too, with George Kimber our pick of their starters. Defending champion Chris McNamara (Sigma Sports / Cannondale RT) should not be discounted either. Watch out for Matthew Lord (Hart Performance Coaching); he was seventh at the Jock Wadley last weekend so clearly has the shape to go well here too.

Provisional startlist

Startlist as published on 19 March 2022.

No	Name	Team / Club	Cat.
1	Will Auty	4T + Cyclopark	2nd
2	Jack Rebours	Caesarean CC Jersey	2nd
3	Kevin Nelson	Crawley Wheelers Race Team	1st
4	Morris Bacon	DAP Cycling Club	Elite
5	Harley Matthews	DAP Cycling Club	1st
6	Mark Richards	DAP Cycling Club	1st
7	Andrew Taylor	DAP Cycling Club	Elite
8	Adam Clifton	Dulwich Paragon CC	2nd
9	Maxwell Ikin	Dulwich Paragon CC	3rd
10	Chris Schiering	Dulwich Paragon CC	3rd
11	Stephen Maxwell	Dulwich Paragon CC	2nd
12	James Ambrose-Parish	Embark-Bikestrong	1st
13	David Hird	Embark-Bikestrong	1st
14	Ryan Savage	Finchley Racing Team	2nd
15	James Boyman	Hoops Velo	1st
16	Eliot Ward	INFLITE	Elite
17	Ole Henrik Bang-Andreasen	Le Col	2nd
18	Yanto Barker	Le Col	2nd
19	Alexandar Richardson	Le Col	Elite
20	Richard Todd	Le Col	2nd
21	Rowan Baker	London Dynamo	2nd
22	Marinus Petersen	Loughborough Students CC	1st
23	Jack Freeman	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	Elite
24	Matthew Houlberg	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	1st
25	Sebastian Garry	Nopinz Motip Race Team	1st
26	Nathan Hallett	Nopinz Motip Race Team	1st
27	Matt Witts	Nopinz Motip Race Team	1st
28	Andy Critchlow	Norwood Paragon CC	1st
29	Bradley Shenton	Partenza-Nude Espresso RT	2nd
30	Jacob Storey	Partenza-Nude Espresso RT	2nd
31	Nicholas Tyrie	Primera-TeamJobs	1st
32	Ian Vagg	Project 51	2nd
33	James Gray	Rapha Cycling Club	2nd
34	Rafael Hackenbroch	Regents Park Rouleurs	2nd
35	Matthew King	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	Elite
36	Red Walters	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	Elite
37	James Jenkins	Richardsons Trek DAS	Elite
38	Conor McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek DAS	Elite
39	Callum Riley	Richardsons Trek DAS	2nd
40	Luke Ryan	Richardsons Trek DAS	2nd
41	Aaron Stone	Richardsons Trek DAS	2nd
42	Jake Crossley	Saint Piran	1st
43	Jordan Retallack	05/03	2nd
44	Chris McNamara	Sigma Sports / Cannondale RT	1st
45	Rory Barrett	Southborough & District Wheelers	1st
46	Keith Henderson	Southborough & District Wheelers	2nd
47	Joshua Avery	Spirit BSS	1st
48	David Bolland	Spirit BSS	1st
49	Clay Davies	Spirit BSS	1st
50	George Kimber	Spirit BSS	1st
51	Thomas Lowther	SRCT MUC-OFF	2nd
52	Oliver Maxwell	SRCT MUC-OFF	1st
53	Charles Ager	Stolen Goat Race Team	2nd
54	Jack Fothergill	Stolen Goat Race Team	2nd
55	Oliver Hurdle	Stolen Goat Race Team	2nd
56	Matthew Downie	TAAP Cervelo	1st
57	Matthew Lock	TAAP Cervelo	1st
58	Jamie Pullen	TAAP Cervelo	2nd
59	Lucas Rowley	Tactic Sport UK Race Team	2nd
60	Kishan Bakrania	TBW23 Stuart Hall Cycling	2nd
61	George Pittock	Thanet RC Race Team	2nd
62	Samuel Clark	trainSharp Development Team	1st
63	Finn Dunton	trainSharp Development Team	2nd
64	Torin Henderson	trainSharp Development Team	2nd
65	Harry Ives	trainSharp Development Team	2nd
66	Jacob James	trainSharp Development Team	2nd
67	Danylo Riwnyj	trainSharp Development Team	2nd
68	Casper Brazier	TRASH MILE	2nd
69	William Harper	Unattached	1st
70	Harry Jukes	Unattached	2nd
71	James O’Connell	Unattached	1st
72	Joe Hill	UpShift Nutrition Race Team	Elite
73	Leighton Oxley-Crisp	Velo Schils-Interbike RT	2nd
74	Dominic Schils	Velo Schils-Interbike RT	Elite
75	Andrea Bartoluccio	Verulam-reallymoving.com	2nd
76	Samuel Beckett	Wales Racing Academy	1st
77	Benjamin Hellabo	Wheelsuckers	2nd
78	Joe Staunton	WightlinkWight Mountain CRT	1st
79	Rory Townsend	WiV Sungod	Elite
80	Jesse Yates	Yoeleo Test Team P/B 4MIND	3rd
81	Jack Wylie	TAAP Cervelo	2nd
82	Ben Wheeler	TRASH MILE	2nd
83	Scott Redding	SRCT MUC-OFF	2nd
84	Benjamin Tappenden	Precise Performance RT	2nd
85	Matt Bailey	High Wycombe CC	2nd
86	Matthew Lord	Hart Performance Coaching	2nd
87	James Nicholson	TAAP Cervelo	2nd
88	Len Delicaet	Dulwich Paragon CC	2nd

Timings

The race departs race HQ at 11.00 with the finished expected around 14.45.

Weather

At the time of writing,the forecast suggests the weather should be mild and dry with just a moderate breeze, so the weather is unlikely to be a big factor.