After the first national road race of the season, the Perfs Pedal last month, won by Jack Rootkin-Gray (Saint Piran), the domestic peloton has had to patiently wait until this weekend for more National B road race action.

The actions steps up a level this weekend, however. There are two National B road races, the men’s Jock Wadley Memorial in Essex and the Capernwray road races (one men’s race, one women’s race) in Lancashire. The day before, there is also the 61st edition of the treasured Eddie Soens Memorial, a closed-circuit Regional C+ handicap race held at Aintree that always contains a strong field.

Meanwhile, AT85 Pro Cycling are at the Dorpenomloop Rucphen (1.2) in the Netherlands. It feels like the season is finally getting underway for the domestic teams.

This post previews the long-running Jock Wadley Memorial.

What is it?

The Jock Wadley Memorial is a ‘National B‘ road race promoted by Colchester Rovers CC. It takes place by Abberton Reservoir in Essex one of Europe’s top wetland sites.

Organised by Malcolm Hargreaves of Colchester Rovers CC, this is the 39th edition of the race, created in Jock Wadley’s memory. Wadley was a pioneering cycle racing journalist who helped opened British fans’ eyes to Continental bike racing during his time at publications such as The Bicycle, Sporting Cyclist and International Cycle Sport.

Past editions of the race attracted stellar fields, similar in standard to a modern National Road Series race with UCI Continental teams sending some of their strongest riders to compete. As such, the list of past winners is impressive, including names such as Ben Luckwell, Tony Gibb, Malcolm Elliot, Luke Rowe, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke and two-time winner Steele von Hoff. Another two-time winner is Andy Lyons, now manager of the Richardsons-Trek DAS team.

Last year, Yanto Barker (Le Col) – 42 at the time- rolled back the years to take victory, crossing the line with then-teammate Alex Richardson. Both riders are on the provisional startlist for this season’s edition too.

The route

Starting and finishing by the village of Layer-de-la-Haye, just south of Colchester, the race takes in 12 laps of Abberton Reservoir. 

Each lap is 11.4 kilometres long, and takes in just 67 metres of elevation gain. Flat? Yes. Easy? No. With twisty narrow lanes, crosswinds, unrelenting drags, a little kicker under a kilometre from the finish, and 80 riders all raring to go after their off-season, the racing should be fearsome. Expect the bunch to be whittled down steadily on each lap, with a solo win as likely as a reduced bunch sprint.

Timings

The race begins at 11.00.

Weather

The weather should be much warmer than it is currently (snow is falling out the window), but rain is a possibility, and the breeze looks stiff.

Contenders

The startlist is provisional only, and subject to change.

Saint Piran bring some UCI Continental glamour to a field that is otherwise made up of a contingent of strong elite-level riders. The team have Jack Rootkin-Gray, Harry Birchill, Zeb Kyffin, and Alex Richardson on the provisional startlist: the former three riders took at 1-2-3 at the Perfs Pedal, while Richardson was on fire at this race this time last year. On paper, then, these will be the four to beat. Richardson though is currently training in Tenerife, while Rootkin-Gray has been under the weather, so it’s not clear at this stage if the team will be quite as strong as it looks when it comes to race day.

Beyond Saint Piran, the strongest teams are local squad Richardsons-Trek DAS and Embark Spirit BSS. Both have a number of quality riders on the startlist. Richardsons-Trek DAS look particularly well-equipped to get a result, with new signing Alex Peters, a former WorldTour rider, lining up alongside three riders that featured in last year’s top ten: James Jenkins, Sam Asker and Matthew Lord. Under-23 riders Matthew Houlberg and Sam Painter are our picks for the riders most likely to feature at the front of the race for Embark Spirit BSS.

Others to watch? Who would bet against reigning champion Yanto Barker (Le Col) repeating his 2022 win? Former UCI Continental rider Charles Page (ROKIT-SRCT) has a fast finish so could be one to watch if it comes down to a reduced bunch sprint. Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) caught the eye at Perfs Pedal with a 5th, so we’ll be watching to see if he can continue that form.

47-year-old Chris McNamara (Sigma Sports – Cannondale RT) had a brilliantly consistent road season last year, with several top tens in National B road races. At the other end of the age spectrum, Sam Clark (TrainSharp Elite) demonstrated his potential last year with a win at the Yorkshire Under-23 Classic and a top ten at the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix. Can he start 2023 with a bang?

Provisional startlist

Startlist as published on 8 March 2022.

#	First name	Surname	Team
1	James	Bentley	A.Fawcett Racing
2	Marcus	Burnett	Brunei Continental Cycling Team
3	John	Pallot	Casp Racing
4	Alexander	Bosley	CC Plancoet
5	Max	Avery	Colchester Rovers CC
6	Morris	Bacon	Dap Cycling Club
7	Mark	Richards	Dap Cycling Club
8	Matthew	Brown	Elite cycling Development Team
9	Benjamin	Flatau	Elite cycling Development Team
10	Jude	Chamberlain	Embark Spirit BSS
11	Iwan	Evans	Embark Spirit BSS
12	Matthew	Houlberg	Embark Spirit BSS
13	George	Kimber	Embark Spirit BSS
14	Samuel	Painter	Embark Spirit BSS
15	Irfan	Zamen	Embark Spirit BSS
16	Ryan	Savage	Finchley Racing Team
17	Mark	Kendernay	GFTL
18	George	Nemilostivijs	GFTL
19	Edmund	Slater	GFTL
20	Benjamin	May	Hutchinson-Brother UK
21	Jody	Paxman	Hutchinson-Brother UK
22	Andrew	Kerr	INFLITE TYPE ONE
23	Daniel	Shoobridge	Kalas Motip Race Team
24	Matt	Witts	Kalas Motip Race Team
25	Yanto	Barker	Le Col
26	Monte	Guerrini	Le Col
27	Rowan	Baker	London Dynamo
28	Ben	Chapman	London Dynamo
29	Archie	Hilder	London Dynamo
30	Jack	Jee	LVC Racing
31	Harold	Evans	Onyx Racing Team
32	Ross	Fawcett	Orwell Velo
33	Gary	Freeman	Orwell Velo
34	Will	Auty	Private Member
35	Joseph	Smith	Private Member
36	Finn	Dunton	Project 51
37	Ian	Vagg	Project 51
38	Isaac	Wright	Project 51
39	Samual	Asker	Richardsons Trek DAS
40	James	Jenkins	Richardsons Trek DAS
41	Matthew	Lord	Richardsons Trek DAS
42	Alex	Peters	Richardsons Trek DAS
43	William	Scott	Richardsons Trek DAS
44	Joshua	Avery	Ride Revolution Coaching
45	Matt	Bailey	Ride Revolution Coaching
46	Clay	Davies	Ride Revolution Coaching
47	Matt	Watson	Ride Revolution Coaching
48	David	Hird	ROKiT-SRCT
49	Charles	Page	ROKIT-SRCT
50	Harry	Birchill	Saint Piran
51	Zeb	Kyffin	Saint Piran
52	Alexandar	Richardson	Saint Piran
53	Jack	Rootkin-Gray	Saint Piran
54	Charles	Emmerson	Sigma Sports – Cannondale RT
55	Niels	Emmerson	Sigma Sports – Cannondale RT
56	Chris	McNamara	Sigma Sports – Cannondale RT
57	Simon	McNamara	Sigma Sports – Cannondale RT
58	Thomas	Heal	Stolen Goat Race Team
59	Oliver	Hurdle	Stolen Goat Race Team
60	Callum	Slade	Stolen Goat Race Team
61	Llewellyn	Kinch	TAAP Cervelo
62	Thomas	Charles	Team PB Performance
63	James	Dent	Team PB Performance
64	Nathan	Hardy	Team PB Performance
65	Mark	Lightfoot	Tofauti Everyone Active
66	Dexter	Mansel-Thomas	Tofauti Everyone Active
67	Harry	Ives	TrainSharp Development Team
68	Kyle	Jones	TrainSharp Development Team
69	Samual	Clark	TrainSharp Elite
70	Jack	Rebours	TrainSharp Elite
71	Timothy	Torrie	TrainSharp Elite
72	Len	Delicaet	VC Londres
73	Alexander	Cross	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
74	Peter	Fuller	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
75	Cameron	Hurst	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
76	Dominic	Schils	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
77	Oliver	Wood	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
78	Tom	Merry	Wheelbase Cab Tech Castelli
79	Benjamin	Hellebo	Wheelsuckers
80	Freddy	Pett	Wold Top The Edge Pactimo

Reserves

81	Lucas	Jowett	Saint Piran
82	Tim	Allen	Hutchinson-Brother UK
83	Danylo	Rikwnyi	Trainsharp Elite
84	Harley	Matthews	Dap Cycling Club
85	Arron	Freeman	Richardsons Trek
86	Matthew	Clements	Private Member

Featured image: HPSource Media / The British Continental.