After a thrilling opening to the women’s National Road Series last weekend at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, the domestic peloton will spread itself across four National B road races this weekend.
The Betty Pharoah Memorial Legstretchers Road Race and the Danum Trophy Road Race – both men’s races – take place on Sunday (2 April). But before them come the 2023 RCR Fatcreations Road Races, which take place in the south of England on the course of the 1982 world championships road race.
In September 1982, Great Britain’s Mandy Jones (now Mandy Bishop) and Italy’s Giuseppe Saronni won the world road race championships on a rural, leafy circuit around Goodwood in Sussex. It was just the third time the worlds had been held in the UK. The third time too that a British woman had become world road race champion. Yet this little corner of West Sussex, nestled between Chichester and the South Downs, is rarely celebrated by the cycling world, despite its importance in British road racing history.
On a mission to change this, Sebastian Ottley and his Racing Club Ravenna, hosted the very first RCR Fatcreations Road Races in 2022, recreating the course used in that historic 1982 race.
Last year, the men’s race was won by Zeb Kyffin (then of Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, now of Saint Piran), and he returns to the race this year to defend his crown. The women’s race, won by Olivia Bentley (then of Team Torelli) was a Regional A race last season but has been upgraded to a National B event this time around.
Olivia Bentley (second from left) wins the 2022 RCR Fatcreation women’s road race. Image: Ian Wrightson
It was a long time in the making, as Seb told us last year. The aim now, he says, is “to turn this in a ‘spring classic’, a race that’s on everyone’s target list early season like the Perfs Pedal, Wally Gimber or the Eddie Soens. Obviously, this is only the first year, so I’ll have to see how this one goes first.” The success of the first edition and the strength of the field for the 2023 races suggests that Ottley will achieve his ambition before long.
The route
The 17.3 km circuit – featuring 263 m of elevation – differs slightly from the course used for the world championships. In that event, the circuit took in a lap of the Goodwood motor circuit, whereas this course sticks to the roads.
Ottley told us last year that he was keen to retain the main climb to the finish line, however, which is what he has done.
“The world’s circuit was just under 10 miles. My main aim was to make sure the new course took on the main climb on the world’s course. The course we ended up with is 10.7 miles long, with the same climb and it actually has more climbing, which I’m sure the locals will love.”
Beginning outside the Goodwood race course, the circuit headseast along Selhurstpark Road for 5 kilometres, a rolling road at the highest point of the course. There is then a right turn onto the A285 heading south for 6.5 kilometres, descending through Halnaker and Boxgrove. A second right turn then takes the circuit onto New Road for 2 kilometres.
The course then turns right for a final time at a roundabout. From here, the circuit heads north back toward the start/finish line. It also where the real climbing starts, with the climb of Kennel Hill.
The road gently rises after the roundabout, and then with just over a kilometre to go from the finish line, the gradient steepens, pitching up to around 10% in places. Toward the top, the road bends round to the right, from where the final dash to the finish line begins.
The men take on 7 laps of the circuit (121 km in total), while the women face 5 laps (86km).
Timings
9.30
Men’s race start
13.30
Women’s race start
Weather
At the time of writing, the forecast suggests the weather should be mild with an outside chance of rain.
Contenders
Men
The men’s field contains some of the top domestic performers of the season so far.
Three of these riders come from the UCI Continental team Saint Piran. Alex Richardson looked on unstoppable form at the Jock Wadley Memorial, although couldn’t make it two from two after the cancellation of the Wally Gimber Trophy. His teamate Zeb Kyffin won this race last year and comes tin the race after a combative performance at the Olympia’s Tour (2.2).
Zeb Kyffin after winning the 2022 edition of the race. Image: Ian Wrightson
Jack Rootkin-Gray is on the reserves list as we write, but his win at the Perfs Pedal road race was backed up with 4th overall at the Olympia’s Tour. Together, this trio make Saint Piran the favourites for the win.
Who could challenge Saint Piran? Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite) for one. Peckover has been flying high so far this season, winning the Capernwray road race one weekend, the Peaks 2 Day stage race the next. He will have a strong team alongside too.
Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) is another man on form, finishing 5th at Perfs in February and then second behind Richardson at the Jock Wadley. So too is Jack Crook (Richardsons Trek DAS), 4th at the Perfs Pedal, then 3rd at Capernwray. Crooks was second in this race last year, by the way.
Crook’s teammate Conor McGoldrick has won several races at this level in the past, and arrives after a solid block of racing at the Volta ao Portugal where he guested for the BAI Sicasal Petro de Luanda team.
Another rider with UCI road racing under his belt is Tom Portsmouth. Now riding for the UCI Continental Bingoal WB Development Team, the 21-year-old already has 13 UCI road racing days under his belt. He also on the provisional startlist for the Volta Limburg on the same day, however, so it is unclear if he’ll take to the start.
Women
One name stands out above all in the women’s race: Jess Finney. The AWOL O’Shea won an epic edition of the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic last weekend after a stunning long-range sprint. With two AWOL O’Shea teammates for company (Lucy Harris – second in this race last season – and Megan Panton), can she record another win at Goodwood?
ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic 2023. Jessica Finney leads the sprint to win. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Another UCI Continental rider with a winning chance is DAS-Handsling’s Lucy Lee. Lee was a stage winner at the Peaks 2 Day and was third in the National Road Series last season. Without any teammates by her side, however, Lee will likely need to rely on in-race alliances in order to succeed.
Sian Botteley was another outstanding performer at the CiCLE Classic, part of the decisivie group of six, eventually finishing 5th. She participates as part of a strong 8-rider Hutchinson-Brother UK line-up. The team has impressed this season and will be high on morale heading into the weekend.
Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee pair Zoe Langham and Bexy Dew have been two of the form riders so far this year. A stage winner and 2nd overall at the Peaks 2 Day, as well as 4th at Capernwray, demonstrates that Langham has thrived on the hills so far this season. Dew, meanwhile, hasn’t finished lower than 12th in a road race this year so far (and that was at the savage CiCLE Classic), with 5th overall at the Peaks 2 Day arguably the pick of her 2023 performances so far. Dew was 5th in this race last season so will know the course well.
Finaly, cyclocross specialist Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) brings some WorldTour glamour to the race. The 19-year-old finsihed a creditable 53rd in the recent brutal edition of Gent-Wevelgem. A win at Goodwood is well within her grasp.
After a thrilling opening to the women’s National Road Series last weekend at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, the domestic peloton will spread itself across four National B road races this weekend.
The Betty Pharoah Memorial Legstretchers Road Race and the Danum Trophy Road Race – both men’s races – take place on Sunday (2 April). But before them come the 2023 RCR Fatcreations Road Races, which take place in the south of England on the course of the 1982 world championships road race.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson
What is it?
In September 1982, Great Britain’s Mandy Jones (now Mandy Bishop) and Italy’s Giuseppe Saronni won the world road race championships on a rural, leafy circuit around Goodwood in Sussex. It was just the third time the worlds had been held in the UK. The third time too that a British woman had become world road race champion. Yet this little corner of West Sussex, nestled between Chichester and the South Downs, is rarely celebrated by the cycling world, despite its importance in British road racing history.
On a mission to change this, Sebastian Ottley and his Racing Club Ravenna, hosted the very first RCR Fatcreations Road Races in 2022, recreating the course used in that historic 1982 race.
Last year, the men’s race was won by Zeb Kyffin (then of Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling, now of Saint Piran), and he returns to the race this year to defend his crown. The women’s race, won by Olivia Bentley (then of Team Torelli) was a Regional A race last season but has been upgraded to a National B event this time around.
It was a long time in the making, as Seb told us last year. The aim now, he says, is “to turn this in a ‘spring classic’, a race that’s on everyone’s target list early season like the Perfs Pedal, Wally Gimber or the Eddie Soens. Obviously, this is only the first year, so I’ll have to see how this one goes first.” The success of the first edition and the strength of the field for the 2023 races suggests that Ottley will achieve his ambition before long.
The route
The 17.3 km circuit – featuring 263 m of elevation – differs slightly from the course used for the world championships. In that event, the circuit took in a lap of the Goodwood motor circuit, whereas this course sticks to the roads.
Ottley told us last year that he was keen to retain the main climb to the finish line, however, which is what he has done.
“The world’s circuit was just under 10 miles. My main aim was to make sure the new course took on the main climb on the world’s course. The course we ended up with is 10.7 miles long, with the same climb and it actually has more climbing, which I’m sure the locals will love.”
Beginning outside the Goodwood race course, the circuit heads east along Selhurstpark Road for 5 kilometres, a rolling road at the highest point of the course. There is then a right turn onto the A285 heading south for 6.5 kilometres, descending through Halnaker and Boxgrove. A second right turn then takes the circuit onto New Road for 2 kilometres.
The course then turns right for a final time at a roundabout. From here, the circuit heads north back toward the start/finish line. It also where the real climbing starts, with the climb of Kennel Hill.
The road gently rises after the roundabout, and then with just over a kilometre to go from the finish line, the gradient steepens, pitching up to around 10% in places. Toward the top, the road bends round to the right, from where the final dash to the finish line begins.
The men take on 7 laps of the circuit (121 km in total), while the women face 5 laps (86km).
Timings
Weather
At the time of writing, the forecast suggests the weather should be mild with an outside chance of rain.
Contenders
Men
The men’s field contains some of the top domestic performers of the season so far.
Three of these riders come from the UCI Continental team Saint Piran. Alex Richardson looked on unstoppable form at the Jock Wadley Memorial, although couldn’t make it two from two after the cancellation of the Wally Gimber Trophy. His teamate Zeb Kyffin won this race last year and comes tin the race after a combative performance at the Olympia’s Tour (2.2).
Jack Rootkin-Gray is on the reserves list as we write, but his win at the Perfs Pedal road race was backed up with 4th overall at the Olympia’s Tour. Together, this trio make Saint Piran the favourites for the win.
Who could challenge Saint Piran? Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite) for one. Peckover has been flying high so far this season, winning the Capernwray road race one weekend, the Peaks 2 Day stage race the next. He will have a strong team alongside too.
Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) is another man on form, finishing 5th at Perfs in February and then second behind Richardson at the Jock Wadley. So too is Jack Crook (Richardsons Trek DAS), 4th at the Perfs Pedal, then 3rd at Capernwray. Crooks was second in this race last year, by the way.
Crook’s teammate Conor McGoldrick has won several races at this level in the past, and arrives after a solid block of racing at the Volta ao Portugal where he guested for the BAI Sicasal Petro de Luanda team.
Another rider with UCI road racing under his belt is Tom Portsmouth. Now riding for the UCI Continental Bingoal WB Development Team, the 21-year-old already has 13 UCI road racing days under his belt. He also on the provisional startlist for the Volta Limburg on the same day, however, so it is unclear if he’ll take to the start.
Women
One name stands out above all in the women’s race: Jess Finney. The AWOL O’Shea won an epic edition of the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic last weekend after a stunning long-range sprint. With two AWOL O’Shea teammates for company (Lucy Harris – second in this race last season – and Megan Panton), can she record another win at Goodwood?
Another UCI Continental rider with a winning chance is DAS-Handsling’s Lucy Lee. Lee was a stage winner at the Peaks 2 Day and was third in the National Road Series last season. Without any teammates by her side, however, Lee will likely need to rely on in-race alliances in order to succeed.
Sian Botteley was another outstanding performer at the CiCLE Classic, part of the decisivie group of six, eventually finishing 5th. She participates as part of a strong 8-rider Hutchinson-Brother UK line-up. The team has impressed this season and will be high on morale heading into the weekend.
Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee pair Zoe Langham and Bexy Dew have been two of the form riders so far this year. A stage winner and 2nd overall at the Peaks 2 Day, as well as 4th at Capernwray, demonstrates that Langham has thrived on the hills so far this season. Dew, meanwhile, hasn’t finished lower than 12th in a road race this year so far (and that was at the savage CiCLE Classic), with 5th overall at the Peaks 2 Day arguably the pick of her 2023 performances so far. Dew was 5th in this race last season so will know the course well.
Finaly, cyclocross specialist Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) brings some WorldTour glamour to the race. The 19-year-old finsihed a creditable 53rd in the recent brutal edition of Gent-Wevelgem. A win at Goodwood is well within her grasp.Provisional startlist
Updated: 23.00, 31 March
Men’s race
JudeChamberlainEmbark Spirit BSS2ndTobiasDahlhausForan CCC1stRobinMouldForan CCC2ndGeorgeSkinnerPrimera-TeamJobs1stJoshuaAveryRide Revolution Coaching2ndBradJonesROKiT-SRCT2ndJoeGriffithsSaddleback Racing2ndCharlesEmmersonSigma Sports – Cannondale RT2ndNielsEmmersonSigma Sports – Cannondale RT2ndJackRebourstrainSharp Elite2ndTimothyTorrietrainSharp Elite1stCarlMorrisVelo Club Venta3rdDavidFarmerSurrey Hills Cycleworks2ndAndrewLindsaySurrey Hills Cycleworks3rdRyanPeirceSurrey Hills Cycleworks3rdJackRootkin-GraySaint PiranEliteWomen’s race
MariaHoldcroftCowley Road Condors3rdMillieCouzensFenix-Deceuninck1stAnastasiaBowlerWahoo – Le Col3rdShare this:
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