After a busy weekend involving four National B road races, the national road racing calendar is more straightforward this weekend, with a doubleheader at Witham Hall this Sunday 9 April.
The Witham Hall Junior & U23 Women’s Grand Prix, the first round of the Junior and U23 Women’s Road Series, is followed by the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix, a National B road race held in honour of the late Tim James.
Organised by Bourne Wheelers CC, the Witham Hall Junior & U23 Women’s Grand Prix was first run in 2016. The race has a notable list of past winners, three of whom have since gone on to ride in the Women’s WorldTour (Roberts, Georgi and Shackley), while the other two are both current UCI Continental team riders.
Year
Winner
2016
Jess Roberts
2017
April Tacey
2018
Pfeiffer Georgi
2019
Anna Shackley
2022
Lucy Gadd
Perhaps in recognition of the important role the race plays in rider development, Bob Varney, owner of Lifeplus Wahoo, has donated over £600 pounds worth of prizes in addition to the £500 prize fund.
Velomax Ronde 2022, Lucy Gadd wins the Junior+U23 Women’s Road Race. Image: David Partridge
Until 2019 the race was for juniors only, and then last year it incorporated U23 riders too, after the creation of British Cycling’s Junior & U23 Women’s National Road Series. The Series consists of five rounds and incorporates separate Junior Women and U23 Women individual competitions. You can read the Series regulations here.
The Timmy James Memorial was set up to honour the Tim James who sadly passed away on 14 May 2021 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Tim was a member of Bourne Wheelers CC, who were keen to set up this race in his memory. As well as a race to celebrate Tim’s life, the club hope to use the event to raise as much money as possible for Young Lives Vs Cancer, the charity that supported Tim and his family in the final few months of his life.
Toby Barnes won last year’s race, held on the same course. In 2021, a first memorial race was staged by SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, whom Tim had joined ahead of the 2020 season, after Covid restirctions had prevented Bourne Wheelers CC from putting on an event themselves. Sam Watson, now at Groupama-FDJ, won that edition.
The route
The races are both run on the same 18.6 km Witham on the Hill circuit which straddles the Lincolnshire-Rutland border. At 185 m of elevation per lap, the circuit is best described as ‘rolling’ and is devoid of any major climbs.
Riders enter the circuit at Witham on the Hill after a short neutral section, with the finish line placed on Barber’s Hill on the other side of the course.
From the finish line, the circuit continues on the B1176, dropping down to Ryhall village. At the village, the course turns left onto the A6121, where it runs through Essendine village and Carlby village before another to turn left at the Witham crossroads towards Witham on the Hill. The road through Witham is narrow, with the potential obstacle of parked vehicles. The circuit then heads to Little Bytham, taking in an unclassified road. At Little Bytham, the circuit takes a final left back onto the B1176.
After passing through Careby, there is a short 0.5 km climb to the Barber’s Hill finish line. It’s not steep, averaging 4.2%, but should be enough to help separate the leading riders as they dash for the line.
The Witham Hall GP takes in 4.5 laps (76 km) in total, while the Timmy James Memorial involves 8.5 laps (150 km).
Timings
9.30
Witham Hall GP race start
11.40
Witham Hall GP race finish (approx.)
13.30
Timmy James Memorial race start
17.00
Timmy James Memorial race finish
Weather
Happy days for weather watchers, as the forecast is for sunny spells and a gentle breeze.
The women’s field includes a more than full quota of 42 junior riders (the regs allow for 40 riders from each age category, although additional entries can be accepted from the other category to achieve a full field).
Juniors to watch include first-year junior Imogen Wolff (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) who was an impressive 5th at the Capernwray road race, Ella Jamieson (Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films), who was 7th at the Trofeo Binda Juniors Nations Cup race last month, Jamieson’s teammate Awen Roberts (second in the national junior road race last season behind Zoe Bäckstedt), Amelia Cebak (Tofauti Everyone Active), the top-placed junior at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, Evie White (Alba Development Road Team), 5th in this series last season, and Niamh Murphy (Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films), who was 9th in Gent – Wevelgem Juniors in March.
There are only 15 under-23s on the provisional startlist (note that any Elite category riders are not allowed to participate in this series). Brother UK – Orientation Marketing have a third of those riders – as well as 8 junior starters – giving them numerical advantage. Libby Smithson (AWOL O’Shea) was second in this series last season and talented cyclocross rider Alderney Baker could be another rider to watch from this category.
Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix
In the men’s race, Toby Barnes (Private Member) lines up, fresh from his Danum Trophy win, looking to defend his title. To do so, he’ll need trump the flying Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite), who has won every National B road race he has entered so far this year.
Will Tidball, Adam Lewis and the Mazzone brothers (Leon and Tom) are part of a strong six-rider Saint Piran line-up. Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) has been in superb form this season and was unlucky to puncture out of the RCR Factreations road race last weekend.
Ben Marsh (BCC Race Team) and Jacob Bush (MAS Design – Fensham Howes) are two juniors to watch. Marsh won the Junior CiCLE Classic and was 6th in ther Danum Trophy. Meanwhile Bush was second in the CiCLE race.
Alex Peters (Richardsons Trek DAS) is a class rider on any terrain, Nicholas Cooper (Sweden Cycling Academy) was 5th at Danum last weekend, winnng the reduced bunch finish, James McKay(Cycling Sheffield) hasn’t been out of the top 20 in a national road race yet this season, and the former AT85 Pro Cycling rider Ross Birrell will be looking to make a mark as he searches for a new team.
After a busy weekend involving four National B road races, the national road racing calendar is more straightforward this weekend, with a doubleheader at Witham Hall this Sunday 9 April.
The Witham Hall Junior & U23 Women’s Grand Prix, the first round of the Junior and U23 Women’s Road Series, is followed by the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix, a National B road race held in honour of the late Tim James.
Featured image: ELW Photography
What is it?
Organised by Bourne Wheelers CC, the Witham Hall Junior & U23 Women’s Grand Prix was first run in 2016. The race has a notable list of past winners, three of whom have since gone on to ride in the Women’s WorldTour (Roberts, Georgi and Shackley), while the other two are both current UCI Continental team riders.
Perhaps in recognition of the important role the race plays in rider development, Bob Varney, owner of Lifeplus Wahoo, has donated over £600 pounds worth of prizes in addition to the £500 prize fund.
Until 2019 the race was for juniors only, and then last year it incorporated U23 riders too, after the creation of British Cycling’s Junior & U23 Women’s National Road Series. The Series consists of five rounds and incorporates separate Junior Women and U23 Women individual competitions. You can read the Series regulations here.
The Timmy James Memorial was set up to honour the Tim James who sadly passed away on 14 May 2021 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Tim was a member of Bourne Wheelers CC, who were keen to set up this race in his memory. As well as a race to celebrate Tim’s life, the club hope to use the event to raise as much money as possible for Young Lives Vs Cancer, the charity that supported Tim and his family in the final few months of his life.
Toby Barnes won last year’s race, held on the same course. In 2021, a first memorial race was staged by SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling, whom Tim had joined ahead of the 2020 season, after Covid restirctions had prevented Bourne Wheelers CC from putting on an event themselves. Sam Watson, now at Groupama-FDJ, won that edition.
The route
The races are both run on the same 18.6 km Witham on the Hill circuit which straddles the Lincolnshire-Rutland border. At 185 m of elevation per lap, the circuit is best described as ‘rolling’ and is devoid of any major climbs.
Riders enter the circuit at Witham on the Hill after a short neutral section, with the finish line placed on Barber’s Hill on the other side of the course.
From the finish line, the circuit continues on the B1176, dropping down to Ryhall village. At the village, the course turns left onto the A6121, where it runs through Essendine village and Carlby village before another to turn left at the Witham crossroads towards Witham on the Hill. The road through Witham is narrow, with the potential obstacle of parked vehicles. The circuit then heads to Little Bytham, taking in an unclassified road. At Little Bytham, the circuit takes a final left back onto the B1176.
After passing through Careby, there is a short 0.5 km climb to the Barber’s Hill finish line. It’s not steep, averaging 4.2%, but should be enough to help separate the leading riders as they dash for the line.
The Witham Hall GP takes in 4.5 laps (76 km) in total, while the Timmy James Memorial involves 8.5 laps (150 km).
Timings
Weather
Happy days for weather watchers, as the forecast is for sunny spells and a gentle breeze.
How to follow
Follow Bourne Wheelers on Twitter for race updates.
Contenders
Witham Hall Grand Prix
The women’s field includes a more than full quota of 42 junior riders (the regs allow for 40 riders from each age category, although additional entries can be accepted from the other category to achieve a full field).
Juniors to watch include first-year junior Imogen Wolff (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) who was an impressive 5th at the Capernwray road race, Ella Jamieson (Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films), who was 7th at the Trofeo Binda Juniors Nations Cup race last month, Jamieson’s teammate Awen Roberts (second in the national junior road race last season behind Zoe Bäckstedt), Amelia Cebak (Tofauti Everyone Active), the top-placed junior at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, Evie White (Alba Development Road Team), 5th in this series last season, and Niamh Murphy (Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films), who was 9th in Gent – Wevelgem Juniors in March.
There are only 15 under-23s on the provisional startlist (note that any Elite category riders are not allowed to participate in this series). Brother UK – Orientation Marketing have a third of those riders – as well as 8 junior starters – giving them numerical advantage. Libby Smithson (AWOL O’Shea) was second in this series last season and talented cyclocross rider Alderney Baker could be another rider to watch from this category.
Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix
In the men’s race, Toby Barnes (Private Member) lines up, fresh from his Danum Trophy win, looking to defend his title. To do so, he’ll need trump the flying Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite), who has won every National B road race he has entered so far this year.
Will Tidball, Adam Lewis and the Mazzone brothers (Leon and Tom) are part of a strong six-rider Saint Piran line-up. Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) has been in superb form this season and was unlucky to puncture out of the RCR Factreations road race last weekend.
Ben Marsh (BCC Race Team) and Jacob Bush (MAS Design – Fensham Howes) are two juniors to watch. Marsh won the Junior CiCLE Classic and was 6th in ther Danum Trophy. Meanwhile Bush was second in the CiCLE race.
Alex Peters (Richardsons Trek DAS) is a class rider on any terrain, Nicholas Cooper (Sweden Cycling Academy) was 5th at Danum last weekend, winnng the reduced bunch finish, James McKay (Cycling Sheffield) hasn’t been out of the top 20 in a national road race yet this season, and the former AT85 Pro Cycling rider Ross Birrell will be looking to make a mark as he searches for a new team.
Provisional startlists
Witham Hall Grand Prix
Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix
Reserves
Share this:
Discover more from The British Continental
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.