April ends with two races by one of our favourite race organisers, Cold Dark North: the Oakenclough road races on Sunday 30 April. The events form round 2 of the Proper Northern Road Race Series. Stacked fields, and plenty of climbing to boot, should make for a great day of racing.
Featured image: Ellen Isherwood. The men’s 2023 Capernwray Road Race.
What are they?
The Oakenclough road races – one for women, one for men – take place on the edge of the Forest of Bowland, not far from the village of Garstang, both of Preston.
They are both ‘National B‘ road races and this year they form round 2 of Cold Dark North’s well-regarded Proper Northern Road Race Series.
Previous winners include James Gullen, Steve Lampier, Karla Boddly, and Nicky Juniper, among others. Last year the race was held in July, when the winners were Ben Granger, then of Zappi Racing Team, and Team Boompod’s Mary Wilkinson.
The Proper Northern Road Race Series: how it works
The Series consists of three races, all taking place on grippy roads with summit or hilltop finishes.
The Series will include both an individual competition and a team competition.
In the individual competition, the first 20 riders across the line in each race score points. From 1st place through to 20th the points scale is the same used by British Cycling for National road races: 60, 52, 45, 40, 35, 31, 27, 23, 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1. The rider who accumulates the most points across the three races wins the competition.
For the team competition, each individual finisher earns points for their team based on the UCI points scale used for the Tour de France GC, which assigns points from 1st place down to 60th. The points earned by the top three finishers of each team are added up to determine the team rankings for each race. Teams earn points based on their ranking within each race based using the same British Cycling points scheme as for the individuals (i.e. best-placed team gets 60 points, and so on). The final ranking of teams will be on the basis of the total points earned across the three rounds.
The women’s 2023 Capernwray Road Race. Image: Ellen Isherwood
Cat Ferguson (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) and Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite) were the winners at round, the Capernwray road race, and therefore lead the individual series. Ferguson is back at Oakenclough to defend her lead but Peckover is absent, meaning second-placed Jacob Smith (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is the highest-placed rider on the startlist. Shibden Hope Tech Apex and Wheelbase CabTech Castelli lead the respective team rankings.
Route
A 17.4 kilometre circuit with 248 metres of ascent per lap (according to Strava) that finishes at the summit of the Delph Lane climb (Cold Dark North loves a summit finish).
The men take on 6 laps of the circuit, while the women tackle 5 (to be confirmed by the commissaires on the day). It’s a technical course featuring plenty of narrow roads, sharp corners, and steep descents. The circuit starts in Claughton village, by race HQ, meaning each race incorporates an additional 5km, all uphill, before the first official lap begins.
The centrepiece of the circuit, is undoubtedly the climb to Delph. Covering the last 5.8km of the circuit, the climbs becomes progressively harder as the approach of the finish line nears.
As you can see from the graphic below, the final 200 metres is particularly challenging, pitching up to 12.6% at its steepest, giving the puncheurs the advantage in the important closing stages.
Timings
9.00
Men’s road race
13.00
Women’s road race
Weather
The temperatures might be mild, but the forecast suggests that rain looks set to feature, potential making the races even more technical and wearing.
Contenders
Men’s race
It’s a strong field. The provisional startlist lists seven UCI Continental riders, together with a raft of top riders from elite teams.
Last year’s winner Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM) is very well adapted to this kind of terrain and comes into the race after a batch of UCI road races this month, so should be on good form.
Jacob Smith, second at Capernwray road race, heads up a strong Wheelbase CabTech Castelli team. Smith has proven himself a very capable climber this season, winning the Holme Moss time trial at the Peaks 2 Day, so will be one to watch.
Jacob Smith at the 2023 Capernwray road race. Image: Ellen Isherwood
Cycling Sheffield’s James McKay is the man of the moment, completing an outstanding start to the season with a podium at the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic. Arguably he’s not the strongest climber here, but with the form he’s in, don’t rule out another top result.
Dylan Hicks (Development Team DSM) is an intriguing inclusion on the provisional startlist. The talented first-year under-23 broke his collarbone at the Youngster Coast Challenge last month, so this would be his first race back.
Adam Lewis and Leon Mazzone (both Saint Piran) will be looking to make a mark. Lewis suits a punchy race, while Mazzone’s 4th place at Capernwray earlier this year demonstrates he can go well on a Cold Dark North course.
By all accounts Jack Crook (Richardson’s Trek DAS) could have won the Capernwray road road if he hadn’t dropped a bottle in the feed zone in the closing stages, so will be looking to make amends here.
Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) seems to have adjusted well to the UCI Continental level this year, leading out Luke Lamperti to the win at Rutland last weekend. He’s a fine tester, so the peloton should be wary of giving him any rope.
Jenson Young (ROKiT-SRCT) and Huw Buck Jones (Wales Racing Academy) have been two of the outstanding young domestic riders so far this year. Young was second overall at the Peaks 2 Day and second at Danum. Buck Jones, only a first-year under-23, was 7th at Capernwray, 4th at the Peaks 2 Day and a tremendous 13th at the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic.
Tyler Hannay (Mastromarco Sensi FC Nibali) has had relatively few road races this year, but 9th at the recent Coppa Zappi last weekend suggests the former Junior Tour of Wales winner is in good race shape.
Women’s race
Wearing bib number one, last year’s race winner Mary Wilkinson (Team Boompods) is an obvious pick. She hasn’t raced much this year though, so her form is a question mark, for us at least.
New kid on the block Cat Ferguson and her Shibden Hope Tech Apex team turned heads when the first-year junior won the Capernwray road race at the beginning of March. Her scintillating form has continued since, winning her first Nations Cup race, the Piccolo Trofeo Alfredo Binda, finishing second at the junior Gent-Wevelgem, and third at the EPZ Omloop van Borsele. She’s a red hot favourite despite her youth.
Cat Ferguson wins the 2023 Capernwray road race. Image: Ellen Isherwood
Ferguson’s teammate Imogen Wolff is another young rider to watch. The junior national cyclocross champion finished 5th at Capernwray so could well be in the mix again here.
UCI Continental riders Monica Greenwood and Lucy Lee (both DAS-Handsling) are both threats. Greenwood, second at the ANEXO/CAMS CiCLE Classic last month, has been making hay out in Belgium since, winning two kermesses, and finishing second in another. Lee, a stage winner at he Peaks 2 Day and 7th at Capernwray is well capable of a top result too.
Tammy Miller (Hutchinson-Brother UK) has been one of the revelations of the season so far, her GC win at the Peaks 2 Day a particular highlight. She hasn’t raced since the CiCLE Classic, however, so her form is a little uncertain.
Another top performer this year has been Zoe Langham. The Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee rider sits top of our national road race rankings, after 4th at Capernwray, 2nd overall at the Peaks 2 Day – including a stage win -and 2nd at the RCR FatCreations road race. Her teammate Bexy Dew has also been a consistent performer, in the top ten of every National B road race she has ridden this year, and 12th at the CiCLE Classic too.
April ends with two races by one of our favourite race organisers, Cold Dark North: the Oakenclough road races on Sunday 30 April. The events form round 2 of the Proper Northern Road Race Series. Stacked fields, and plenty of climbing to boot, should make for a great day of racing.
Featured image: Ellen Isherwood. The men’s 2023 Capernwray Road Race.
What are they?
The Oakenclough road races – one for women, one for men – take place on the edge of the Forest of Bowland, not far from the village of Garstang, both of Preston.
They are both ‘National B‘ road races and this year they form round 2 of Cold Dark North’s well-regarded Proper Northern Road Race Series.
Previous winners include James Gullen, Steve Lampier, Karla Boddly, and Nicky Juniper, among others. Last year the race was held in July, when the winners were Ben Granger, then of Zappi Racing Team, and Team Boompod’s Mary Wilkinson.
The Proper Northern Road Race Series: how it works
The Series consists of three races, all taking place on grippy roads with summit or hilltop finishes.
The Series will include both an individual competition and a team competition.
In the individual competition, the first 20 riders across the line in each race score points. From 1st place through to 20th the points scale is the same used by British Cycling for National road races: 60, 52, 45, 40, 35, 31, 27, 23, 20, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1. The rider who accumulates the most points across the three races wins the competition.
For the team competition, each individual finisher earns points for their team based on the UCI points scale used for the Tour de France GC, which assigns points from 1st place down to 60th. The points earned by the top three finishers of each team are added up to determine the team rankings for each race. Teams earn points based on their ranking within each race based using the same British Cycling points scheme as for the individuals (i.e. best-placed team gets 60 points, and so on). The final ranking of teams will be on the basis of the total points earned across the three rounds.
Cat Ferguson (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) and Ollie Peckover (trainSharp Elite) were the winners at round, the Capernwray road race, and therefore lead the individual series. Ferguson is back at Oakenclough to defend her lead but Peckover is absent, meaning second-placed Jacob Smith (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is the highest-placed rider on the startlist. Shibden Hope Tech Apex and Wheelbase CabTech Castelli lead the respective team rankings.
Route
A 17.4 kilometre circuit with 248 metres of ascent per lap (according to Strava) that finishes at the summit of the Delph Lane climb (Cold Dark North loves a summit finish).
The men take on 6 laps of the circuit, while the women tackle 5 (to be confirmed by the commissaires on the day). It’s a technical course featuring plenty of narrow roads, sharp corners, and steep descents. The circuit starts in Claughton village, by race HQ, meaning each race incorporates an additional 5km, all uphill, before the first official lap begins.
The centrepiece of the circuit, is undoubtedly the climb to Delph. Covering the last 5.8km of the circuit, the climbs becomes progressively harder as the approach of the finish line nears.
As you can see from the graphic below, the final 200 metres is particularly challenging, pitching up to 12.6% at its steepest, giving the puncheurs the advantage in the important closing stages.
Timings
Weather
The temperatures might be mild, but the forecast suggests that rain looks set to feature, potential making the races even more technical and wearing.
Contenders
Men’s race
It’s a strong field. The provisional startlist lists seven UCI Continental riders, together with a raft of top riders from elite teams.
Last year’s winner Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM) is very well adapted to this kind of terrain and comes into the race after a batch of UCI road races this month, so should be on good form.
Jacob Smith, second at Capernwray road race, heads up a strong Wheelbase CabTech Castelli team. Smith has proven himself a very capable climber this season, winning the Holme Moss time trial at the Peaks 2 Day, so will be one to watch.
Cycling Sheffield’s James McKay is the man of the moment, completing an outstanding start to the season with a podium at the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic. Arguably he’s not the strongest climber here, but with the form he’s in, don’t rule out another top result.
Dylan Hicks (Development Team DSM) is an intriguing inclusion on the provisional startlist. The talented first-year under-23 broke his collarbone at the Youngster Coast Challenge last month, so this would be his first race back.
Adam Lewis and Leon Mazzone (both Saint Piran) will be looking to make a mark. Lewis suits a punchy race, while Mazzone’s 4th place at Capernwray earlier this year demonstrates he can go well on a Cold Dark North course.
By all accounts Jack Crook (Richardson’s Trek DAS) could have won the Capernwray road road if he hadn’t dropped a bottle in the feed zone in the closing stages, so will be looking to make amends here.
Callum Thornley (TRINITY Racing) seems to have adjusted well to the UCI Continental level this year, leading out Luke Lamperti to the win at Rutland last weekend. He’s a fine tester, so the peloton should be wary of giving him any rope.
Jenson Young (ROKiT-SRCT) and Huw Buck Jones (Wales Racing Academy) have been two of the outstanding young domestic riders so far this year. Young was second overall at the Peaks 2 Day and second at Danum. Buck Jones, only a first-year under-23, was 7th at Capernwray, 4th at the Peaks 2 Day and a tremendous 13th at the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic.
Tyler Hannay (Mastromarco Sensi FC Nibali) has had relatively few road races this year, but 9th at the recent Coppa Zappi last weekend suggests the former Junior Tour of Wales winner is in good race shape.
Women’s race
Wearing bib number one, last year’s race winner Mary Wilkinson (Team Boompods) is an obvious pick. She hasn’t raced much this year though, so her form is a question mark, for us at least.
New kid on the block Cat Ferguson and her Shibden Hope Tech Apex team turned heads when the first-year junior won the Capernwray road race at the beginning of March. Her scintillating form has continued since, winning her first Nations Cup race, the Piccolo Trofeo Alfredo Binda, finishing second at the junior Gent-Wevelgem, and third at the EPZ Omloop van Borsele. She’s a red hot favourite despite her youth.
Ferguson’s teammate Imogen Wolff is another young rider to watch. The junior national cyclocross champion finished 5th at Capernwray so could well be in the mix again here.
UCI Continental riders Monica Greenwood and Lucy Lee (both DAS-Handsling) are both threats. Greenwood, second at the ANEXO/CAMS CiCLE Classic last month, has been making hay out in Belgium since, winning two kermesses, and finishing second in another. Lee, a stage winner at he Peaks 2 Day and 7th at Capernwray is well capable of a top result too.
Tammy Miller (Hutchinson-Brother UK) has been one of the revelations of the season so far, her GC win at the Peaks 2 Day a particular highlight. She hasn’t raced since the CiCLE Classic, however, so her form is a little uncertain.
Another top performer this year has been Zoe Langham. The Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee rider sits top of our national road race rankings, after 4th at Capernwray, 2nd overall at the Peaks 2 Day – including a stage win -and 2nd at the RCR FatCreations road race. Her teammate Bexy Dew has also been a consistent performer, in the top ten of every National B road race she has ridden this year, and 12th at the CiCLE Classic too.
Startlists
Men’s race
Women’s race
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