Sunshine and blue skies blessed a mega field of 180 riders as dust, dirt and frenetic action proved to be the order of the day at the 16th edition of the men’s Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic.
Report
A week of sunshine and warm temperatures in the run-up to the race led to an action-packed edition with riders not having to battle the typically slippery gravel sectors, with dust and dry dirt the main order of the day instead.
On the run-up to Wymondham, Ollie Peckover (Ribble-Weldtite Pro Cycling) seized the initiative and won all three of the sprints on offer as he struck out ahead of the peloton alongside Spirit BSS’s Farley Barber.
With 31 km gone, the pair had stretched out a lead of more than six minutes and were sitting in a good position as the race hit the truly rough sectors for the first time.
However, that’s where the gap started to shrink. With tricky gravel sections kicking up a lot of dust and sapping energy from the legs, Peckover and Barber started to have their advantage eaten too thanks to a concerted chase effort behind.
As well the Peckover and Barker breakaway, the early part of the race was also marred by some heavy crashes. Rory Townsend (WiV SunGod) was the cause of a major crash, for which he later apologised, while his teammate Gruff Lewis was one of those affected in the crash-strewn opening.
On the first run up the Manorberg, they had 5 minutes and 45 seconds over a seven-rider chase group which featured Jacob Scott (WiV-SunGod), Finn Crockett (Ribble-Weldtite Pro Cycling), Max Walker (Trinity Racing), Tomas Kopecky (À Bloc CT), Bas Van Belle (WPGA Amsterdam), Bob Donaldson (GB Cycling Team) and Roberto Gonzalez (Java Kiwi Atlántico).
However, as the lead duo traversed the Manorberg climb for the second time, that chase group had sliced their advantage down to just over two minutes, and effective work by the seven meant the only question was when, not if, the chase would be caught.
They hung on for much longer than many would have expected, with the chase only catching the lead after the penultimate run of the Owston sector – this time in reverse – as Barber ran into a mechanical issue in the feed zone after the Green Lane sector leaving Owston.
Slimmed down slightly after a bike issue for Gonzalez, the group merged with a counter group of six and as they came across the finish line in Melton Mowbray for the first time, Stuart Balfour (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling) decided to clip off the front, with Kopecky taking off after him. The move meant Balfour was leading as they crossed the finished line for the final lap, winning him the infamous giant pork pie prize the race is famous for.
With 8km to go, Balfour and Kopecky came together, with Scott joining them for company. Sensing an opportunity, Ribble Weldtite committed another rider as Finn Crockett bridged the gap and joined the trio for the run down the arrow-straight finishing road.
As Balfour dropped off from the lead group, the remaining trio unleashed a ferocious sprint to the line, with Crockett having just enough left in his legs to pip Kopecky to the line in a sprint that could have gone to either of them. Scott finished a length behind in third, with Balfour coming home a couple of seconds down in fourth.
The victory marked Finn Crockett’s first UCI road race win, continuing a fine run of form this season that has already seen him win three National B road races and finish 9th overall at the Tour de Loir et Cher (2.2). It was also Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling’s second UCI road race win, their first since Damien Clayton’s 2019 victory at the GP des Marbriers.
Results
| # | First Name | Last Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Finn | CROCKETT | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | 4:37:40 |
| 2 | Tomas | KOPECKÝ | À Bloc CT | st |
| 3 | Jacob | SCOTT | WiV Sungod | st |
| 4 | Stuart | BALFOUR | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | +3 |
| 5 | Max | WALKER | Trinity Racing | +8 |
| 6 | Jens | SCHUERMANS | BEAT Cycling | +10 |
| 7 | Jack | ROOTKIN-GRAY | Great Britain | +1:23 |
| 8 | Harry | BIRCHILL | Great Britain | st |
| 9 | Bob | DONALDSON | Great Britain | +2:03 |
| 10 | Jordy | BOUTS | BEAT Cycling | +2:55 |
| 11 | Andreas | MILTIADIS | Java Kiwi Atlantico | st |
| 12 | Matt | BOSTOCK | WiV Sungod | +3:51 |
| 13 | Callum | MACLEOD | À Bloc CT | st |
| 14 | Reece | WOOD | WiV Sungod | st |
| 15 | Jack | CROOK | Dolan Ellesse | +4:44 |
| 16 | James | JENKINS | Richardsons-Trek DAS | +4:46 |
| 17 | Ben | GRANGER | BC North West Region | +5:05 |
| 18 | Niek | VOOGT | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | +5:20 |
| 19 | Leon | MAZZONE | Saint Piran | st |
| 20 | George | WOOD | Cycling Sheffield | +5:26 |
| 21 | Luke | VERBURG | À Bloc CT | st |
| 22 | Joseph | BECKINGSALE | Wales Racing Academy | st |
| 23 | Jente | BOONS | BEAT Cycling | st |
| 24 | Wessel | MOURIS | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | st |
| 25 | Charles | PAIGE | BC North West Region | st |
| 26 | Lukas | NERURKAR | Trinity Racing | st |
| 27 | Cameron | MASON | Trinity Racing | st |
| 28 | Alex | HAINES | BC East Midlands Region p/b Carter-Legrand | +6:39 |
| 29 | Callum | THORNLEY | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli | st |
| 30 | Oliver | MAXWELL | SCRT Muc Off | st |
| 31 | Lee | ROSIE | Spokes Racing Team | st |
| 32 | George | KIMBER | Spirit BSS | +6:41 |
| 33 | Isaac | MUNDY | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | st |
| 34 | Hugo | KARS | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | +6:47 |
| 35 | David | HIRD | Embark-Bikestrong | +7:03 |
| 36 | Matt | GIBSON | WiV Sungod | +9:24 |
| 37 | Jack | BROUGH | Great Britain | st |
| 38 | Michael | CHADWICK | Embark-Bikestrong | st |
| 39 | Lars | LOOHUIS | À Bloc CT | +10:52 |
| 40 | Farley | BARBER | Spirit BSS | +12:29 |
| 41 | Ollie | PECKOVER | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | st |
| 42 | Siebe | ROSEMS | Trinity Racing | +13:35 |
| 43 | Joe | WILSON | Dolan Ellesse | st |
| 44 | Theo | OBHOLZER | Saint Piran | +13:43 |
| 45 | Bas | Van BELLE | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | +14:39 |
| 46 | Travis | BRAMLEY | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | st |
| 47 | Freddie | SCHESKE | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | st |
| 48 | Dean | WATSON | Embark-Bikestrong | st |
| 49 | Cameron | JEFFERS | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | st |
| 50 | Alec | GREGORY | BC East Midlands Region p/b Carter-Legrand | +15:34 |
| 51 | Dan | BARNES | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | st |
| 52 | Josh | PRICE | Spirit BSS | +18:50 |
| DNF | Charles | PAGE | Saint Piran | |
| DNF | Tom | MAZZONE | Saint Piran | |
| DNF | William | BJERGFELT | Saint Piran | |
| DNF | Harry | TANFIELD | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | |
| DNF | Zeb | KYFFIN | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | |
| DNF | Aiden | LAWRENCE | Trinity Racing | |
| DNF | Carter | TURNBULL | Trinity Racing | |
| DNF | Mel | Van Der VEEKENS | À Bloc CT | |
| DNF | Martin | PLUTO | À Bloc CT | |
| DNF | Bram | DISSEL | BEAT Cycling | |
| DNF | Jochem | KERCKHAERT | BEAT Cycling | |
| DNF | Rindert | BUITER | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | |
| DNF | Bram | LEERKES | WPGA Amsterdam Racing Academy | |
| DNF | Xavier | CAÑELLAS | Java Kiwi Atlantico | |
| DNF | Roberto | GONZALES | Java Kiwi Atlantico | |
| DNF | Alessio | GASPARINI | Java Kiwi Atlantico | |
| DNF | Yuki | ISHIHARA | Java Kiwi Atlantico | |
| DNF | Cian | KEOGH | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Liam | CURLEY | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Eamon | FRANCK | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Conn | McDUNPHY | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Mitchell | MCLAUGHLIN | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Tom | MORIARTY | Evopro Racing | |
| DNF | Rory | TOWNSEND | WiV Sungod | |
| DNF | Gruff | LEWIS | WiV Sungod | |
| DNF | Kaspers | ILSJANS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Roberts | ANDERSONS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Rodzers | PETAKS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Karlis | KLISMETS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Oskars | DANKBARS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Rauls | GUTMANIS | Latvian National Team | |
| DNF | Ben | CHILTON | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | |
| DNF | Mickey | MOTTRAM | Team Spectra-Wiggle p/b Vitus | |
| DNF | Peter | COCKER | Richardsons-Trek DAS | |
| DNF | Stephen | PARSONAGE | Richardsons-Trek DAS | |
| DNF | Callum | RILEY | Richardsons-Trek DAS | |
| DNF | Aaron | FREEMAN | Richardsons-Trek DAS | |
| DNF | Jason | KENNY | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Rhys | KENNY | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Connor | MURNANE | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Sean | LANDERS | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Andrew | RYAN | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Joel | LUKE | UCD Dublin | |
| DNF | Adam | MITCHELL | Cycling Sheffield | |
| DNF | Will | HARDING | Cycling Sheffield | |
| DNF | James | McKAY | Cycling Sheffield | |
| DNF | Joe | COUKHAM | Cycling Sheffield | |
| DNF | James | HARTLEY | Cycling Sheffield | |
| DNF | Jamieson | BLAIN | Embark-Bikestrong | |
| DNF | Cameron | BIDDLE | Embark-Bikestrong | |
| DNF | Cai | DAVIES | Embark-Bikestrong | |
| DNF | Will | TRUELOVE | Wales Racing Academy | |
| DNF | Edward | MORGAN | Wales Racing Academy | |
| DNF | Liam | James MORRIS | Wales Racing Academy | |
| DNF | Toby | JARVIS | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | Jacques | COATES | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | George | PEDAN | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | Cavan | WALKER | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | Jude | TAYLOR | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | Max | SILLIFANT | Team PB Performance | |
| DNF | Jordan | PEACOCK | Spirit BSS | |
| DNF | Tom | PRICE | Spirit BSS | |
| DNF | Joe | HILL | Spirit BSS | |
| DNF | Conor | McKINNON | Dolan Ellesse | |
| DNF | Tom | ASHCROFT | Dolan Ellesse | |
| DNF | Matt | TAYLOR | Dolan Ellesse | |
| DNF | Thomas | LOWTHER | SCRT Muc Off | |
| DNF | Matthew | WARHURST | SCRT Muc Off | |
| DNF | Matthew | ELLIS | SCRT Muc Off | |
| DNF | Daniel | YONHIN | Tarrants Skoda Cycling Munster | |
| DNF | Conor | KISSANE | Tarrants Skoda Cycling Munster | |
| DNF | Jordan | LUKE | Tarrants Skoda Cycling Munster | |
| DNF | Lorcon | DALY | Tarrants Skoda Cycling Munster | |
| DNF | Paul | HART | Hart Performance Coaching | |
| DNF | Nicholas | KNIGHT | Hart Performance Coaching | |
| DNF | Louis | DIGANCE | Hart Performance Coaching | |
| DNF | Matthew | LORD | Hart Performance Coaching | |
| DNF | Logan | MACLEAN | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli | |
| DNF | Matti | DOBBINS | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli | |
| DNF | David | LINES | Wheelbase CabTech Castelli | |
| DNF | Daniel | KAIN | Spokes Racing Team | |
| DNF | Jack | SMITH | Spokes Racing Team | |
| DNF | Craig | PATERSON | Spokes Racing Team | |
| DNF | Peter | MERRITT | TBW 23 Stuart Hall Trainsharp | |
| DNF | Oliver | WOOD | TBW 23 Stuart Hall Trainsharp | |
| DNF | Kishan | BAKRANIA | TBW 23 Stuart Hall Trainsharp | |
| DNF | Irfan | ZAMIN | TBW 23 Stuart Hall Trainsharp | |
| DNF | William | FOSTER | JRC Interflon RT | |
| DNF | William | JEWITT | JRC Interflon RT | |
| DNF | Oliver | SAWYER | JRC Interflon RT | |
| DNF | Ethan | BROWNE | JRC Interflon RT | |
| DNF | Pierre | VERNIE | BC East Midlands Region p/b Carter-Legrand | |
| DNF | Nick | COOPER | BC East Midlands Region p/b Carter-Legrand | |
| DNF | Alistair | THOMAS | BC North West Region | |
| DNF | Richard | EVANS | BC North West Region | |
| DNF | Oli | HURDLE | Stolen Goat Racing Team | |
| DNF | Jack | FOTHERGILL | Stolen Goat Racing Team | |
| DNF | James | ASHCROFT | Stolen Goat Racing Team | |
| DNF | Charlie | AGER | Stolen Goat Racing Team | |
| DNF | Ben | THOMPSON | Team LDN – Brother UK | |
| DNF | Tim | ALLEN | Team LDN – Brother UK | |
| DNF | Vaughn | PRETORIUS | Team LDN – Brother UK | |
| DNF | Jody | PAXMAN | Team LDN – Brother UK | |
| DNF | Matt | DOWNIE | TAAP Cervelo | |
| DNF | James | AMBROSE-PARISH | TAAP Cervelo | |
| DNF | Harvey | STROH | TAAP Cervelo | |
| DNF | Jack | WYLLIE | TAAP Cervelo | |
| DNF | David | BOLLAND | Army Cycling Union | |
| DNF | Kieran | SIMCOX | Army Cycling Union | |
| DNF | Paul | QUINN | Army Cycling Union | |
| DNF | Stefan | GLOYN | Army Cycling Union | |
| DNS | Jacob | VAUGHAN | Saint Piran | |
| DNS | Stijn | DAEMEN | BEAT Cycling | |
| DNS | Josh | CHARLTON | Great Britain | |
| DNS | Corran | CARRICK ANDERSON | Great Britain | |
| DNS | Gaizka | GURRUTXAGA | Java Kiwi Atlantico | |
| DNS | Jim | BRADFORD | Richardsons-Trek DAS | |
| DNS | Owain | ROBERTS | Wales Racing Academy | |
| DNS | Sam | BECKETT | Wales Racing Academy | |
| DNS | Declan | HUDSON | Dolan Ellesse | |
| DNS | William | HARPER | SCRT Muc Off | |
| DNS | Elliot | BARRAT | SCRT Muc Off |
King of the Bergs standings, overall
| # | No. | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | 117 | Farley Barber | Spirit BSS | 18 |
| 2 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | 14 |
| 3 | 38 | Bob Donaldson | Great Britain | 9 |
| 4 | 11 | Finn Crockett | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling | 5 |
| 5 | 17 | Max Walker | Trinity Racing | 3 |
| 6 | 55 | Jacob Scott | Wiv SunGod | 2 |
| 7 | 46 | Roberton Gonzalez | Java Kiwi Atlántico | 2 |
| 8 | 28 | Jens Schurmans | BEAT Cycling | 1 |
Sprint results
Special Sprint 1: Wymondham Windmill (Pass 1)
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
Special Sprint 2: Wymondham Windmill (Pass 2)
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
Special Sprint 3: Wymondham
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
Special Sprint 4: Return to Rutland Migration Gin
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
Hot Spot Sprint 1: Oakham
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
| 2 | 117 | Farley Barber | Spirit BSS |
| 3 | 20 | Lars Loohuis | Á Bloc CT |
Special Sprint 6: Owston Village (Pass 1)
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Ollie Peckover | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
Hot Spot Sprint 7: Owston Village (Pass 2)
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 37 | Harry Birchill | Great Britain |
| 2 | 55 | Jacob Scott | WiV Sungod |
| 3 | 17 | Max Walker | Trinity Racing |
Special Sprint 8: Melton Mowbray
| # | No. | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Stuart Balfour | Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling |
