If the CiCLE Classic is the UK’s answer to Paris-Roubaix, then the iconic Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike is surely the Flanders of Great Britain. Cobbles, crosswinds, cowbells and city-centre crowds combine to give the Grand Prix the feel of a Flemish festival.

Featured image: Joe Cotterill

What is it?

Hyberbole is common currency in sports coverage but it is hard to exaggerate the importance of the Lincoln Grand Prix to British road racing. With a rich fabled history, a spectator-friendly circuit that runs through the heart of historic Lincoln, and a steep cobbled climb as its centrepiece, the race is cherished by riders, teams and fans alike. It is hard to think of a more important one-day race in the UK. 

Not so long ago, this treasured race’s future was uncertain, with the organisers struggling to find sufficient sponsorship to keep it afloat. The risk was that the scene would lose the jewel from its crown. Thankfully, Rapha stepped in as title sponsor, since which the race has gone from strength to strength. 

Now called the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike, the race is a key round of the 2023 National Road Series, forming round 1 of the men’s Series and round 2 of the women’s Series. Round 1 of the latter was an epic edition of the ANEXO/CAMS CiCLE Classic back in March. 

First held in the summer of 1956 – a women’s edition has also run since 2015 – this year will be 67th edition of the race. With the steep cobbled climb of Michaelgate and its kermesse-style circuit, the Grand Prix is often compared to some of the classic Flandrian races. Links with Flanders don’t end with the parcours either. In the 1100s, when Lincoln Castle was built, Lincoln was one of the wealthiest towns in England, thanks to its cloth and wool exports to Flanders.

The list of past winners features many of the greats of domestic road racing. In the men’s race, these include four-time winners Paul Curran and Russell Downing, as well as Chris Walker, Brian Smith, Steve Joughin, Chris Lillywhite, Dean Downing, Pete Kennaugh, Tom Stewart and Ian Bibby, to name but a few. The women’s race, which began in 2016, has been won twice each by Becks Durrell and Alice Barnes, while Lizzie Deignan won in 2015 when the race hosted the National Road Championships. 

Last year, under glorious spring sunshine, the winners were Scot Becky Storrie (then of CAMS-Basso, now at Team DSM) and American Luke Lamperti of TRINITY Racing.

Course

The race features a 12.9 km circuit starting and finishing in the centre of Lincoln. The women’s race covers 8 laps of the circuit, with the men taking on 13 laps. It makes the race a spectator’s dream; stay all day and you can watch the race pass 21 times. You can wander with ease from Castle Square down to the foot of the Michaelgate and beyond to see the action from multiple angles.

From the start line, the circuit is flat as riders roll north out of Lincoln to the village of Burton-by-Lincoln on the B1398. As they reach Burton, the riders turn left into a fast descent through the village which eventually leads on to a left-hander onto the A57. Here, if the winds are unfavourable (or favourable, depending on your disposition), splits in the bunch can occur with the danger of crosswinds being ever-present. This section is too short to make a lasting impression, but it is the accumulation of this after several laps that can make a difference.

There is a short, shallow ‘feed-zone’ climb along the Long Leys Road which may appear benign but with eight passes for the women and thirteen for the men, it will be attritional. And then comes the fight for positioning before the fast approach to the bottom of Michaelgate. Riders not at the front before the climb have little chance of moving up once the climb begins, and risk being caught behind crashes and splits in the peloton.

Then onto Michaelgate itself, the centrepiece of the circuit. The steep, narrow cobbled climb leads the riders up to the finish in Castle Square. It’s short – just 200 metres or so, but it is steep. It averages 12.9% and towards the top, the gradients are over 20% – 27.6% at its steepest according to VeloViewer; 30-45 seconds of flat-out effort.

Michaelgate leads directly onto the twisty finishing ‘straight’ on Castle Square, also cobbled, meaning the final ascent often comes down to a battle royale between whoever is left at the front of the race.

Contenders

Last update: 8am, 14 May 2023.

Any domestic rider worth their salt wants to win Lincoln, so the provisional startlists are unsurprisingly stacked. You can see the provisional startlists here. These are sure to change ahead of the race so keep an eye out for updates closer to Sunday.

Update. Final startlists here.

Women’s race

All three British UCI Continental teams take part in the women’s race. ANEXO/CAMS CiCLE Classic winner – and current National Road Series leader – Jessica Finney (AWOL O’Shea) has been one of the revelations of 2023 and we’re looking forward to seeing how she fares at Lincoln.

DAS-Handsling has arguably the strongest line-up in the race. The team boasts 2022 National Road Series winner Sammie Stuart and Lucy Lee, who was third in the Series last year. Perhaps their best bet though is former British Cycling track coach Monica Greenwood, who has been in scintillating form in Europe of late. She followed up two recent kermesse wins, with 4th at Leiedal Koerse (1.2) two weekends ago and then 5th at GP Eco-Struct (1.1) last Saturday.

Lifeplus-Wahoo brings a strong trio duo of riders including April Tacey who has frequently excelled in National Road Series races in the past. Tacey was an excellent 9th at Scheldeprijs recently, so has form.

Junior sensation Cat Ferguson has been a two-time junior Nations Cup winner this season already, having won a stage at the Tour du Gévaudan Occitanie last weekend and the Trofeo Binda in March. Wins in the UK at the Oakenclough and Capernwray road races show she is well capable of beating senior-level opposition on tough parcours. Her teammate Imogen Wolff is another to watch.

Hutchinson-Brother UK has arguably been the domestic team of the year so far, riding high in our national road race rankings. Tammy Miller and Ruth Shier have both taken wins at National B level this year, while local rider Sian Botteley has also been in the mix in top domestic races.

Ever-strong local outfit Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee also brings a strong squad, including Zoe Langham, top of our national road race rankings, and Bexy Dew.

2022 Lancaster Grand Prix winner Mary Wilkinson (Team Boompods) and Alba Development Road Team’s Beth Mciver (4th last season) are among the other riders to watch.

Finger-in-the-air prediction time. Cat Ferguson might only have just turned 17, but we think she may take her biggest win yet on an uphill finish that suits her down to the ground.

Men’s race

The men’s race looks set to feature 2022 champion Luke Lamperti. He’s in red hot form, the winner of the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic last month, as well as a stage of the Tour de Bretagne. He is part of a very strong TRINITY Racing team; Max Walker and Ollie Rees could be threats too if they are on form.

The UK’s other men’s UCI Continental team, Saint Piran, also puts forward a very strong line-up. Jack Rootkin-Gray has had an outstanding season and comes into the race after double success in Norway last weekend, having won the Ringerike Grand Prix (1.2) after a third at the Sundvolden Grand Prix (1.2) the day before. Previous Lincoln Grand Prix victor Alex Richardson can’t stop winning National B road races at the moment, always solo, so the peloton will want to keep him well in its sights.

Irish road race champion Rory Townsend (Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy) brings some ProTeam glamour to the race too. He was injured last year when the race happened, but is a good shape this year and will be keen to add this race to his extensive palmares.

As the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE results highlighted, the UCI riders and teams will need to watch out for a number of in-form domestic riders from the elite teams. Cycling Sheffield’s James McKay was on the podium at the CiCLE Classic and won the Totnes Vire stage race last weekend. Three-time National B road race winner this year Ollie Peckover (trainSharp) is another domestic rider in terrific form.

Last weekend’s Yorkshire Under-23 Classic winner Jenson Young (also ROKiT-SRCT) demonstrated he has a strong uphill finish and now leads our national road race rankings. His new teammate, Irishman Matthew Teggart is highly talented and is one of a number of former AT85 Pro Cycling riders who will be keen to make a mark.

Speaking of former AT85 Pro Cycling riders, last year’s CiCLE Classic winner Finn Crockett was third in this race last year and lines up this time around for The Cycling Academy. His former teammates Toby Barnes and Sam Culverwell also line up, both having joined a re-bolstered Dolan Ellesse team. As do Max Stedman (Private) and Jim Brown (Cross team Legendre).

Others to watch include Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) – one of the breakthrough riders of 2023 – Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM), Alex Peters (Richardsons-Trek DAS) and Huw Buck Jones (Wales Racing Academy).

Wild prediction. Luke Lamperti and Jack Rootkin-Gray are both on hot streaks and with strong teams behind them both, we think the winner is likely to be one or the other.

Timings

	Start	Estimated finish
Women’s race	9.00	12.00
Men’s race	13.00	16.45

How to follow

There is no TV coverage but British Cycling will have live updates on Twitter and Instagram. We will also cover the race on Instagram stories.

Weather

At the time of writing the forecast suggests the weather will be warm and sunny, interspersed with drizzly spells.