Jess Finney (CAMS-Basso) rode away from her competition to take a superb solo victory in the women’s edition of the Stockton Cycling Festival Grand Prix.

The men’s race was a domination for WiV SunGod, as Jake Scott headed a clean sweep of the top three for the team, with Rob Scott and Jim Brown taking places on the podium – the latter also taking the overall National Road Series lead.

Featured Picture: SWPix.com/Will Palmer

Reports

Women’s race

Despite a diminished peloton due to a spate of Covid cases taking out riders, and the entire Alba Development Race Team, the action wasn’t quiet in the slightest.

Once the field made it from Stockton riverside through the liaison and out into the country, there were two early laps where the field kept itself pretty much bunched together – no one wanting to be the first to show their form or tire themselves out too early.

When moves did go on the ‘main’ circuit, they tended to not be out for too long. Indeed, our journal contributor Flora Perkins (Le Col – Wahoo) was involved in two such moves.

The first was with Corinne Side (Pro-Noctis – Rotor – Redchilli Bikes p/b Heidi Kjeldsen), Storey Racing’s Lucy Gadd and ARA Pro RACING Sunshine Coast’s Rachael Wales.

Through the feed zone the quartet had about half-a-dozen seconds on the chasing peloton behind, and once they went out deeper into the County Durham countryside, they were reabsorbed.

A lap later, and Perkins was at it again, this time joined by Emma Edwards (CAMS-Basso) and Robyn Clay from Otley CC. That again, though, didn’t stick.

Even a determined move from Connie Hayes (AWOL O’Shea) on the liaison section between the circuits was reeled back in as they hit the riverside road for the first time.

With breaks failing for the first half of the race, it was a surprise when one finally got away. Heading round the crit-style circuit with long straights and sweeping roundabouts, Finney broke clear with Hayes’ teammate Frankie Morgans-Slader.

The latter lasted alongside Finney for just a single lap, such was the high pace the CAMS-Basso rider was putting through the pedals.

On the second and third laps, it looked like the peloton was going to be able to marshal itself into some sort of attack but, despite being able to see Finney for long sections of the circuit such was the ‘here-and-back’ nature of the course, no move was forthcoming.

That gave Finney an untroubled run to the finish, 20 seconds ahead of the squabbling pack. The sprint was won by Millie Couzens for Plantur Pura, with Torelli-Cayman Islands – Scimitar’s Lee Boon rounding out the podium.

In the overall National Road Series, Alice McWilliam (Bianchi Hunt Morvélo) holds on to her Series lead after finishing 11th.

On 62 points, she has a 20-point advantage Anna Kay (StarCasino Team), with Finney’s win putting her on 38 points, four behind Kay and tied with Emma Jeffers (JRC-Interflon) – the leading Junior rider.

It’s close around the top five too, with Jessie Carridge (Brother UK-Orientation Marketing) on 36 – one ahead of Team Boompod’s Monica Greenwood.

Men’s race

The sunshine and blue skies that complemented the racing for the women’s encounter was replaced by sporadic heavy showers to give an extra bit of spice to what was an action-packed second round of the men’s National Road Series.

Heading up from Stockton to Thorpe Thewles for the main circuit, the action was furious right from the very start with the peloton electing to set a high pace around the country lanes.

The first move of significance came on the third run through the feed zone at Redmarshall with WiV SunGod moving the majority of its squad to the sharp-end of the field, briefly splintering the peloton before the race came back together together.

Other riders had a few digs off the front – notably Joe Shillabeer (05/03) and William Truelove’s (Wales Racing Academy) brief burst off the front. But nothing particularly stuck until the seventh lap. 

At that point, with a number of groups starting to slip off the back of the main peloton, six riders went on the attack. Wiv SunGod’s Jake and Rob Scott were joined by Finn Crockett (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling), Callum Thornley (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli), Joe Wilson (Dolan Ellesse Race Team) and Dan Gardner (Project 51).

The group had just over a minute on the relatively disorganised chase behind until they got to the liaison section taking the field back into town. Here, the gap started to be eaten into with the leaders getting onto the A177 for the run back in with just over 40 seconds of an advantage.

Reaching the riverside circuit, the group of six found themselves under ever increasing pressure. The chasing group behind was making the most of the added visibility of the shorter circuit around Stockton riverside to really fix a target on the backs of the leaders. 

Making the biggest move was Ollie Peckover (Ribble Weldtite) and new National Circuit Champion Matt Bostock (WiV SunGod). They bridged over, and Bostock’s team-mate Jim Brown added himself to the leading group too to make it four WiV riders in the top seven – Thornley dropping off as the pace got ever faster.

Once the four blue and white riders settled themselves within the leading group, it was very much like watching a pack of lions terrorising unsuspecting prey. Taking turns on the front, they forced their co-escapees to use up valuable energy to keep the four in check.

On the run to the finish for the penultimate time, the WiV attack stepped up even further with Brown and the two Scotts (Jake & Rob Scott), accelerating clear along with Wilson – the local lad getting an extra bit of motivation racing in front of his hometown crowds.

He couldn’t keep up though, and on the run across the Princess Alexandra Bridge for the final time Jake Scott made his race-winning move.

Through the final hairpin he had a good handful of seconds over his two team-mates -Wilson a few seconds further back – enough so that he had could zip up the jersey and raise his arms aloft as he took the chequered flag. 

Rob Scott took second, as he and Brown – who takes over as the new National Road Series leader – casually rolled across the line. Wilson took a well-deserved fourth, while Bostock ensured a total WiV SunGod domination by edging Crockett to finish fifth.

In the overall standings, Brown leads by four points from Crockett, while Jake Scott’s win has propelled him up to third overall – 35 points in total for him and 11 down on Crockett.

Luke Lamperti (TRINITY Racing) is still in fourth on 30 points, thanks to his Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix triumph, but is having his heels nipped at by Rob Scott and Ben Perry who are tied two points behind.

The next round of the men’s and women’s National Road Series is the Lancaster Grand Prix on Sunday 17 July.

Results

Women’s race

Rank	#	Name	Team	Time
1	31	Jessica Finney	CAMS-Basso	2:51:22
2	113	Millie Couzens (U23)	Plantur-Pura	+9
3	96	Lee Boon (U23)	Torelli-Cayman-Islands-Scimitar	st
4	117	Anna Kay	StarCasino Team	st
5	81	Monica Greenwood	Team Boompods	st
6	34	Sammie Stuart	CAMS-Basso	st
7	125	April Tacey (U23)	Le Col – Wahoo	st
8	45	Emma Jeffers (JR)	JRC-INTERFLON Race Team	st
9	12	Frankie Morgans-Slader (U23)	AWOL Oshea	st
10	33	Beth Morrow (U23)	CAMS-Basso	st
11	20	Alice McWilliam	Bianchi Hunt Morvelo	st
12	86	Mary Wilkinson	Team Boompods	st
13	40	Beth Harley-Jepson	Jadan – Vive le Velo	st
14	29	Izzy Sharp	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	st
15	124	Katarzyna Madej	Onyx RT	st
16	49	Niamh Murphy (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	st
17	16	Maddie Wadsworth (U23)	AWOL Oshea	st
18	47	Ella Jamieson (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	st
19	26	Grace Lister (JR)	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	st
20	75	Kinga Ingram (U23)	Storey Racing	st
21	57	Bexy Dew	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	st
22	23	Ellen Bennett (U23)	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	st
23	48	Matilda McKibben (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	st
24	112	Robyn Clay (U23)	Otley CC	st
25	60	Zoe Langham	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	st
26	28	Holly Ramsey (JR)	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	st
27	53	Amber Harding	Loughborough Lightning	st
28	58	Lucy Ellmore (U23)	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	st
29	101	Libby Smithson (U23)	AWOL Worx Galliard	st
30	35	Emma Matthews	CAMS-Basso	st
31	65	Elizabeth Sanders	Saint Piran WRT	st
32	98	Rachael Wales	ARA Pro RACING Sunshine Coast	st
33	97	Annamarie Lipp (U23)	Torelli-Cayman-Islands-Scimitar	st
34	90	Tiffany Keep (U23)	Team LDN – Brother UK	st
35	72	Erin Avill (U23)	Storey Racing	st
36	13	Alice Lethbridge	AWOL Oshea	st
37	62	Jo Tindley	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	st
38	19	Alderney Baker (U23)	Bianchi Hunt Morvelo	st
39	93	Kerry Middleton	Team LDN – Brother UK	st
40	15	Connie Hayes (U23)	AWOL Oshea	st
41	115	Savannah Morgan		+17
42	109	Flora Perkins (U23)	Le Col – Wahoo	st
43	21	Tamsin Miller	Bianchi Hunt Morvelo	+40
44	68	Gemma Sargent	Saint Piran WRT	+1:11
45	22	Daisy Barnes (U23)	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	+5:28
46	92	Heather Mayer	Team LDN – Brother UK	st
47	88	Francesca Cutts	Team LDN – Brother UK	+10:27
48	85	Keri Parton	Team Boompods	+1Lap

Men’s race

Rank	#	Name	Team	Time
1	102	Jacob Scott	WiV Sungod	3:55:25
2	106	Robert Scott	WiV Sungod	+4
3	104	Jim Brown (U23)	WiV Sungod	st
4	16	Joe Wilson (U23)	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	+18
5	103	Matthew Bostock	WiV Sungod	+36
6	30	Finn Crockett	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	st
7	128	Dan Gardner	Project 51	+39
8	33	Zeb Kyffin	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	+1:20
9	109	Oliver Wood	WiV Sungod	+1:37
10	35	Oliver Peckover	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	st
11	87	Samuel Beckett (U23)	Wales Racing Academy	st
12	13	Jack Crook	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	st
13	100	Matthew Fox (U23)	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
14	43	Conor McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek DAS	st
15	42	James Jenkins	Richardsons Trek DAS	st
16	108	Josh Whitehead (U23)	WiV Sungod	st
17	110	Max Rushby (U23)	Acrog-Tormans	st
18	99	Callum Thornley (U23)	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
19	10	Adam Mitchell (U23)	Cycling Sheffield	+1:40
20	15	Matthew Taylor (U23)	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	st
21	44	Steven Parsonage	Richardsons Trek DAS	+1:42
22	75	Jack Rootkin-Gray (U23)	Team Inspired	+3:17
23	50	Tom Mazzone	Saint Piran	+5:09
24	54	Farley Barber (U23)	Spirit BSS	st
25	122	Matthew Houlberg (U23)	Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT	st
26	25	Sebastian Garry	Nopinz Motip Race Team	st
27	139	Ben Mewes	X-Speed United Continental Team	+5:11
28	52	Theodor Obholzer	Saint Piran	+5:37
29	3	Joe Shillabeer (U23)	05/03	+5:57
30	49	Cooper Sayers	Saint Piran	st
31	93	Joseph Beckingsale (U23)	Wales Racing Academy	st
32	73	Harry Birchill (U23)	Team Inspired	st
33	71	Oliver Hurdle	StolenGoat Race Team	st
34	123	Thomas Stringer	Moonglu Race Team	st
35	59	Frazier Carr	Spirit BSS	+7:00
36	56	Joe Hill	Spirit BSS	st
37	89	Liam James-Morris (U23)	Wales Racing Academy	st
38	19	Jamieson Blain (U23)	Embark – Bikestrong	st
39	94	William Truelove (U23)	Wales Racing Academy	st
40	79	Toby Jarvis	Team PB Performance	st
41	62	Lee Rosie (U23)	Spokes Racing Team	st
42	68	Oliver Maxwell	SRCT MUC-OFF	st
43	77	Jacques Coates (U23)	Team PB Performance	st
44	112	Tom Williams (U23)	Nopinz Motip Race Team	st
45	135	Sam Kettlewell (U23)	TS Racing	st
46	57	Josh Housley	Spirit BSS	st
47	116	Jamie Fletcher	Cycling Club Isle of Man	+7:04
48	24	Dean Watson	Embark – Bikestrong	+7:06
49	138	Philip Large	Wold Top The Edge RT	st
50	39	Sean Mullen	Richardsons Trek DAS	+7:08
51	55	Angus Hawkins (U23)	Spirit BSS	+7:09
52	141	Benjamin Bright (U23)		st
53	69	Matthew Warhurst (U23)	SRCT MUC-OFF	st
54	48	Michael Gill	Saint Piran	+7:44
55	117	Rhys Britton	EvoPro Racing	+7:50
56	47	William Bjergfelt	Saint Piran	st
57	46	Stephen Bradbury	Saint Piran	st
58	22	Joseph Rees (U23)	Embark – Bikestrong	+8:37
59	131	Nicholas Cooper	Sweden Cycling Academy	+11:21
60	21	David Hird (U23)	Embark – Bikestrong	+1Lap
61	132	Irfan Zaman (U23)	TBW23 Stuart Hall Cycling	+1Lap
62	134	Gregor McArthur (U23)	The Cycling Academy	+1Lap
63	27	Daniel Shoobridge	Nopinz Motip Race Team	+1Lap
64	83	Jude Taylor	Team PB Performance	+1Lap

National Road Series standings

Women’s

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Alice McWilliam	Bianchi Hunt Morvelo	62
2	Anna Kay	StarCasino Team	42
3	Jessica Finney	CAMS-Basso	38
4	Emma Jeffers (JR)	JRC-INTERFLON Race Team	38
5	Jessie Carridge	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	36
6	Monica Greenwood	Team Boompods	35
7	Beth Morrow (U23)	CAMS-Basso	34
8	Josie Nelson (U23)	Team Coop-Hitec Products	30
9	Becky Storrie	CAMS-Basso	30
10	Sammie Stuart	CAMS-Basso	29
11	Millie Couzens (U23)	Plantur-Pura	28
12	Madelaine Leech (U23)	CAMS-Basso	28
13	Lee Boon (U23)	Torelli-Cayman-Islands-Scimitar	26
14	Eluned King	Le Col – Wahoo	26
15	Beth Maciver (U23)	Alba Development Road Team	24
16	Danielle Shrosbree	CAMS-Basso	23
17	Ellen McDermott	Team Boompods	20
18	Awen Roberts (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	20
19	April Tacey (U23)	Le Col – Wahoo	18
20	Kate Richardson (U23)	Alba Development Road Team	16
21	Emma Matthews	Team Boompods	16
22	Grace Lister (JR)	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	16
23	Lucy Lee	Team LDN – Brother UK	14
24	Frankie Morgans-Slader (U23)	AWOL Oshea	14
25	Marine Guerin	Sprinter Nice Metropole	12
26	Madeleine Gammons	Saint Piran WRT	10
27	Amira Mellor	Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus	9
28	Mary Wilkinson	Team Boompods	9
29	Beth Harley-Jepson	Jadan – Vive le Velo	8
30	Dannielle Khan	Solihull CC	8
31	Niamh Murphy (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	8
32	Isabel Darvill (U23)	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	7
33	Izzy Sharp	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	7
34	Jo Tindley	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	7
35	Lucy Ellmore (U23)	Pro-Noctis – Rotor – RedchilliBikes by Heidi Kjeldsen	6
36	Katarzyna Madej	Onyx RT	6
37	Zoe Backstedt (JR)	Acrog-Tormans	6
38	Robyn Clay (U23)	Otley CC	5
39	Ella Maclean-Howell (JR)	Tofauti Everyone Active	4
40	Maddie Wadsworth (U23)	AWOL Oshea	4
41	Tamsin Miller	Bianchi Hunt Morvelo	4
42	Ella Jamieson (JR)	Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films	3
43	Olivia Bentley	Torelli-Cayman-Islands-Scimitar	3
44	Tiffany Keep (U23)	Team LDN – Brother UK	2
45	Lucy Harris	Team Boompods	2
46	Kinga Ingram (U23)	Storey Racing	1
47	Suzetta Guerrini	Jadan – Vive le Velo	1

Men’s

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Jim Brown (U23)	WiV Sungod	50
2	Finn Crockett	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	46
3	Jacob Scott	WiV Sungod	35
4	Luke Lamperti	TRINITY Road Racing	30
5	Robert Scott	WiV Sungod	28
6	Benjamin Perry	WiV Sungod	28
7	Joe Wilson (U23)	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	24
8	Matthew Bostock	WiV Sungod	22
9	Alexandar Richardson	Le Col	22
10	Harry Birchill (U23)	Team Inspired	20
11	Sam Culverwell (U23)	TRINITY Road Racing	18
12	Dan Gardner	Project 51	18
13	Zeb Kyffin	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	16
14	Andrew Nichols	Team Lifting Gear Products	16
15	Conor McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek DAS	16
16	Oliver Wood	WiV Sungod	14
17	Max Walker	TRINITY Road Racing	14
18	Alistair Slater	Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy	12
19	Oliver Peckover	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	12
20	Matthew Teggart	WiV Sungod	10
21	Samuel Beckett (U23)	Wales Racing Academy	10
22	Jack Crook	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	9
23	Matthew Fox (U23)	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	8
24	Leon Mazzone	Saint Piran	8
25	Robert Donaldson (U23)	Team Inspired	7
26	James Jenkins	Richardsons Trek DAS	6
27	George Kimber	Spirit BSS	6
28	Josh Whitehead (U23)	WiV Sungod	5
29	Max Rushby (U23)	Acrog-Tormans	4
30	Stuart Balfour	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	4
31	Callum Thornley (U23)	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	3
32	Charlie Tanfield	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling	3
33	William Perrett	Spellman – Dublin Port Track Team	2
34	Adam Mitchell (U23)	Cycling Sheffield	2
35	Matthew Taylor (U23)	Dolan Ellesse Race Team	1
36	George Wood (U23)	Cycling Sheffield	1