Just four more sleeps until the start of the domestic road racing season.
Yes, national-level road racing returns this Sunday 12 February with the Perfs Pedal road race, now firmly established as the UK’s road racing season opener. In anticipation of the UK’s humble version of ‘opening weekend’, here is a look at the route, the race history, the startlist and the contenders.
What is it?
The Perfs Pedal is a men’s ‘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 (for the men at least). An important early-season marker of fitness, it normally attracts a strong field of riders all eager to test their form after a winter of training. The field normally includes a mix of domestic Continental, elite and junior-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. The climbing starts just after 1 km into the circuit, with the steepest sections (maximum gradient of 10.6 %) arriving after the village of Boarhunt as the riders head south towards Portsdown Hill road.
The course then take a left onto Portsdown Road, which is exposed, the harbour to the riders’ right, an army barracks to the left, meaning coastal crosswinds can often be a feature of the race.
People who are good at climbing, obviously go on the climb, but then people who aren’t, either bring it back and it neutralises, or it splits up in a crosswind
Damien Clayton (Embark Spirit BSS)
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 have been frequent obstacles for the riders. And in the 1990s, mild, wet winters meant that flooding was a problem.
You don’t know what you’re gonna get really, everyone’s quite keen for it. It’s always shorter than you imagined it to be, always horrible weather
Damien Clayton (Embark Spirit BSS)
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, while Covid put paid to the 2021 race.
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 five 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), Jacob Vaughan (Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes) won in 2019, and then Damien Clayton (WiV SunGod) won the last edition in 2022.
Tim Elverson’s squad – now called AT85 Pro Cycling – won’t be on the start line this year however giving the opportunity for a new team to take the first win of the domestic road racing season.
Contenders
At the time of writing, the startlist is provisional only, and subject to change.
No less than four previous winners are on the provisional startlist. Last year’s winner Damien Clayton will don bib number one as the reigning champion. Riding for a new team this year, Embark Spirit BSS (a merger of three teams: Spirit BSS, Embark-Bikestrong, and TBW23), he will be one to watch. He knows the race well (he was second in 2019 too) and, speaking to him just hours before we wrote this, he is eager to start the season well. Watch out for an extended interview with him out very soon.
Veterans Chris Opie and Alex Paton are also previous winners, as is relative youngster Jacob Vaughan (23), who has left Saint Piran and joined a new team for 2023 (yet-to-be-announced). Sources tell us that Vaughan, the current British Gravel Champion, is keen to prove himself on the road this year after a challenging couple of seasons, so we’ll be keen to see how he performs.
The UCI Continental Saint Piran team offers the strongest line-up of the race. Alex Richardson and Jack Rootkin-Gray were in imperious form at the end of last year, and it would be no surprise to see them dominate on Sunday. Zeb Kyffin and Harry Birchall are also more than capable of a win, so Saint Piran have options.
Beyond those we have already mentioned, Clayton’s new teammate Samuel Painter (Embark Spirit BSS) was second last year, so watch out for a repeat performance from him. Others to watch include Richardsons-Trek DAS’ Conor McGoldrick, always a threat in a race like this, former Junior Tour of Wales winner Tyler Hannay (Mastromarco-Sensi-FC Nibali), and George Wood (Cycling Sheffield).
What we love about this race is that there is often a surprise performer or two (such as Clayton when he came second in 2019), so we’ll be perusing the results sheet closely for early signs of a breakthrough rider.
Provisional startlist
Startlist as published on 8 February 2023.
| # | Forename | Surname | Club / Team Name | Cat | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Damien | Clayton | Embark Spirit BSS Winner of Perfs in 2022 | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Fletcher | Adams | LAKA Pedal Mafia RT | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Will | Auty | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Matt | Bailey | Ride Revolution Coaching | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Rowan | Baker | London Dynamo | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Luke | Barfoot | Primera-TeamJobs | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Paul | Barnard | Precise Performance RT | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 8 | James | Bevan | trainSharp Elite | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 9 | Harry | Birchill | Saint Piran | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Alexander | Bosley | CC Plancoet | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 11 | Benjamin | Bright | Wales Racing Academy | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 12 | James | Brown | University of Bristol CC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 13 | Huw | Buck Jones | Wales Racing Academy | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Max | Bufton | Tofauti Everyone Active | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 15 | Lucas | Byron | Kalas Motip Race Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 16 | Thomas | Charles | Team PB Performance | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 17 | Harry | Codd | Cero – Cycle Division Racing Team | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 18 | Matthew | Cole | Beeston Cycling Club | 1st Junior | |||||||||||||
| 19 | Jack | Crook | Richardsons Trek DAS | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 20 | Jack | Cutsforth | SPATZWEAR | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 21 | Spencer | Davies | Wales Racing Academy | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 22 | Cai | Davies | Kalas Motip Race Team | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 23 | Thomas | Day | Elevate P/B Home Solution – Soenens | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 24 | Gabriel | Dellar | StolenGoat Race Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 25 | Finn | Dunton | trainSharp Development Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 26 | Max | Fleming | LAKA Pedal Mafia RT | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 27 | Gary | Freeman | Orwell Velo | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 28 | Jordan | Giles | Primera-TeamJobs | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 29 | Joe | Griffiths | SCOTT Racing | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 30 | Zackary | Hamon | Big Maggys | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 31 | Tyler | Hannay | Mastromarco-Sensi-FC Nibali | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 32 | Finlay | Hawker | VC Londres | 3rd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 33 | Angus | Hawkins | Ride Revolution Coaching | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 34 | Danny | Hedley | Royal Air Force CA | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 35 | Benjamin | Hellebo | Wheelsuckers | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 36 | Archie | Hilder | London Dynamo | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 37 | Joe | Hill | Embark Spirit BSS | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 38 | Sam | Holwill | trainSharp Development Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 39 | Matthew | Houlberg | Meudon Pedal Heaven Le Col RT | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 40 | Dylan | Humber-Kelly | Yoeleo Test Team P/B 4MIND | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 41 | Oliver | Hurdle | StolenGoat Race Team | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 42 | Dom | Jackson | Foran CCC | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 43 | Will | Jewitt | Kalas Motip Race Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 44 | Harry | Johnson | VC St Raphael | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 45 | Seth | Jones | Backstedt Bike Performance JRT | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 46 | Zeb | Kyffin | Saint Piran | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 47 | Isaac | Lawrence | 05/03 | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 48 | Olivier | Mangham | TEKKERZ CC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 49 | Conor | McGoldrick | Richardsons Trek DAS | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 50 | Fred | Meredith | Wales Racing Academy | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 51 | George | Mitchell | Foran CCC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 52 | Calum | Moir | Zappi Junior Race Team | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 53 | Robin | Mould | Foran CCC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 54 | Cormac | Nisbet | Zappi Junior Race Team | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 55 | Chris | Opie | Le Col Winner of Perfs 2012, 2017 | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 56 | Sebastian | Ottley | Racing Club Ravenna | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 57 | Samuel | Painter | Embark Spirit BSS | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 58 | Alex | Paton | Winner of Perfs 2018 | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 59 | Marinus | Peterson | Kalas Motip Race Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 60 | Vaughn | Pretorius | Kalas Motip Race Team | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 61 | Thomas | Price | Reflex Racing | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 62 | Milo | Purvis | Paceline RT | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 63 | Thomas | Quaid | Foran CCC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 64 | Jack | Rebours | trainSharp Elite | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 65 | Daniel | Rees | API-Metrow/Bodyby JR | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 66 | Alexandar | Richardson | Saint Piran | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 67 | Jack | Rootkin-Gray | Saint Piran | Elite | |||||||||||||
| 68 | Dave | Roper | Kalas Motip Race Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 69 | Sam | Shepherd | 05/03 | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 70 | George | Smith | Primera-TeamJobs | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 71 | James | Somerfield | TRASH MILE | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 72 | Joe | Staunton | Primera-TeamJobs | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 73 | Angus | Stoneham | Beaconsfield Cycling Club | 1st Junior | |||||||||||||
| 74 | Joseph | Surmon | University of Bristol CC | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 75 | Rhys | Thomas | Backstedt Bike Performance JRT | 2nd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 76 | Benjamin | Tuchner | TEKKERZ CC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 77 | Jacob | Vaughan | Winner of Perfs 2019 | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 78 | Dean | Watson | Embark Spirit BSS | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 79 | Felix | Whetter | Mid Devon CC | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 80 | Conor | Williams | trainSharp Development Team | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 81 | Oliver | Winwood Bratchell | Primera-TeamJobs | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 82 | George | Wood | Cycling Sheffield | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 83 | Isaac | Wright | Project 51 | 1st | |||||||||||||
| 84 | Irfan | Zaman | Embark Spirit BSS | 2nd | |||||||||||||
| 85 | Theo | Anderson | Chippenham & District Whs | 3rd Junior | |||||||||||||
| Reserves | |||||||||||||||||
| 86 | Richard | Todd | Le Col | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 87 | Oscar | Pratt | Saint Piran Development | 3rd | |||||||||||||
| 88 | Oliver | Masters | Southboro & District Whs | 3rd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 89 | Edward | Charles | Backstedt Bike Performance JRT | 3rd Junior | |||||||||||||
| 90 | Ben | Barnett | Team Novo Disc Development | 3rd | |||||||||||||
Timings
The race kicks off at 11.00 and is expected to finish not long after 13.00.
There is still a limited number of Rapha x The British Continental jerseys and gilets available. If you would like to get your hands on one before they go, use the code 40OFF to get 40% off your order.
