Fresh from the excitement of last weekend’s Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix presented by Wattbike, many domestic teams are now busy at the Cairde Rás Táilteann in neighbouring Ireland or testing their legs in Belgium.
With many domestic teams abroad, then, this weekend presents an opportunity for students to shine, as the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) road race takes place in Harrogate this weekend.
For any cycling enthusiast, mentioning the 2019 world road race championships immediately evokes memories of challenging conditions and gripping parcourses. This Sunday (21 May), Harrogate will once again be hosting a championship event, this time with an international roster of students representing over 35 British universities.
Previous editions of the BUCS Championship have witnessed the participation of some of Britain’s most talented riders. In 2019, Anna Henderson emerged as the champion, with Max Stedman (Exeter), Dan Bigham (Oxford Brooks), and Rory Townsend (St Mary’s University), all finding their feet back in 2015.
Route
The race will unfold at the ever-popular Penny Pot Lane circuit just outside the scenic town. This 18km circuit incorporates sections of the World Championship finishing circuit, featuring a highly technical corkscrew descent and 233m of elevation change per lap.
The women’s races takes in 5 laps of the circuit, with the men tackling 7 laps.
Contenders
This year, with reigning champions Lucy Gadd (Southampton) and Adam Mitchell (Loughborough) absent, a new generation of students will have the opportunity to seize the title.
Keep an eye on riders like Francesca Hall and Amber Harding (both from Loughborough), who will undoubtedly face pressure to perform due to the abundant racing opportunities and substantial funding available at Loughborough. Another key rider to watch is Gabriella Homer (Nottingham), who enters the race as a serial Irish national track champion. Recent successes on similar terrain by Erin Avill (Hallam U23) and Jayati Hine (Sheffield) also make them worthy contenders.
In the men’s race, the formidable Loughborough team will consist of Toby Barnes, Matthew Ellis, and Dan Barnes, while Matthew Warhurst (Sheffield) is considered the race favourite, aiming to continue his recent success following a strong performance at the Oakenclough road race in late April. Oliver Hurdle (Southampton) is our wild-card pick, having impressed at the Rutland International CiCLE Classic and displayed strong finishes in previous editions of the BUCS road race.
Timings
| 9.00 | Women’s road race |
| 14.15 | Men’s road race |
How to follow
For live updates on the race, you can follow @yompbonkcrew on social media.
Provisional startlists
Women’s race
| # | Team | Name |
| 1 | Bath | Eva Edwards |
| 2 | Birmingham | Nicola Greenwood |
| 3 | Edinburgh | Amelia Tyler |
| 4 | Liverpool | Lucy Nelson |
| 5 | Loughborough | Eva Callinan |
| 6 | Loughborough | Philippa Draper |
| 7 | Loughborough | Róisín Lally |
| 8 | Loughborough | Francesca Hall |
| 9 | Nottingham | Matilda Gurney |
| 10 | Nottingham | Gabriella Homer |
| 11 | Nottingham | Ffyona Booker |
| 12 | Oxford | Kaitlyn Dennis |
| 13 | Oxford | Ishani Ummat |
| 14 | Oxford | Maisy Vasic |
| 15 | Sheffield | Jayati Hine |
| 16 | Sheffield Hallam | Erin Avill |
| 17 | Southampton | Ellen Bennett |
| 18 | Southampton | Grace Reynolds |
| 19 | Southampton | Rosie Simmons |
| 20 | Stirling | Lotta Mansfield |
| 21 | Surrey | Natasha Webb |
| 22 | Warwick | Natasha Reddy |
| 23 | York | Maya Branfoot |
| 24 | York | Emily Bridson |
Men’s race
| # | Team | Name |
| 1 | Bath | George Gray |
| 2 | Bath | Renzo Casale |
| 3 | Bath | Samuel Nisbet |
| 4 | Birmingham | Jonathan Allen |
| 5 | Bristol | Lucas Byam |
| 6 | Bristol | Joe Surmon |
| 7 | Bristol | James Pittard |
| 8 | Cambridge | Matt Rizzo-Naudi |
| 9 | Cambridge | Joe Adlam-Cook |
| 10 | Cardiff | Tom Charles |
| 11 | Cardiff | Oliver Cadin |
| 12 | Cardiff | Charlie Abel |
| 13 | Chester | Ben Singer |
| 14 | Coventry | Edward Woodward |
| 15 | Coventry | Wan hei victor Lau |
| 16 | Durham | William Barker |
| 17 | Durham | Sam Rowell |
| 18 | East Anglia | George Hunt |
| 19 | East Anglia | David Jacobs |
| 20 | East Anglia | Jack Bent |
| 21 | Edinburgh | Louis Moore |
| 22 | Edinburgh | Edward Riley |
| 23 | Edinburgh | Will Brown |
| 24 | Exeter | Charlie Mactear |
| 25 | Heriot-Watt | Tim Shoreman |
| 26 | Imperial | Cameron Still |
| 27 | Kingston | Thomas Heal |
| 28 | Lancaster | Joe Wilson |
| 29 | Leeds | Matthew Lock |
| 30 | Leeds | Tom Sparkes |
| 31 | Leeds | James Wordsworth |
| 32 | Leeds | Casper Raynard |
| 33 | Leeds Beckett | Reuben Orr |
| 34 | Leeds Beckett | Sam Kettlewell |
| 35 | Leeds Beckett | Joseph Yee |
| 36 | Leicester | Cai Davies |
| 37 | Leicester | Joseph Wynn-Jones |
| 38 | Loughborough | Toby Barnes |
| 39 | Loughborough | Joseph Smith |
| 40 | Loughborough | Joe Beckingsale |
| 41 | Loughborough | Dan Barnes |
| 42 | Manchester | Aydin Rezazadeh |
| 43 | Newcastle | Thomas Moody |
| 44 | Newcastle | miles Aubrey |
| 45 | Newcastle | Sebastian Siswick |
| 46 | Newcastle | Craig Rogers |
| 47 | Northumbria | Jack Hartley |
| 48 | Nottingham | Matthew Brown |
| 49 | Nottingham | Timothy Lane |
| 50 | Nottingham | Will Barham |
| 51 | Nottingham | Gabriel Taylor |
| 52 | Nottingham Trent | James Satoor |
| 53 | Oxford | George Hale |
| 54 | Oxford | Max Bolton |
| 55 | Plymouth | Ben Millar |
| 56 | Sheffield | Matthew Warhurst |
| 57 | Sheffield | Oliver Glen |
| 58 | Sheffield | Oliver Tandy |
| 59 | Sheffield | Kieran Devlin |
| 60 | Sheffield Hallam | Calum Brown |
| 61 | Sheffield Hallam | Harry Lea |
| 62 | Southampton | Oliver Hurdle |
| 63 | Southampton | Sherif Attia |
| 64 | Southampton | Jake Gillett |
| 65 | Strathclyde | Conal Davidson |
| 66 | Surrey | Sam Barrett |
| 67 | Swansea | Matt Smart |
| 68 | Swansea | Zhenyu Li |
| 69 | Swansea | Archie Peet |
| 70 | Teesside | Joe Howcroft |
| 71 | Warwick | Josh Small |
| 72 | Warwick | Daniel Lord |
| 73 | York | Joshua Vasilev |
| 74 | York | Francis Schofield |
| 75 | Aberdeen | Oliver Murray |
| Reserves | ||
| 76 | Bath | Daniel Maclean-Howell |
| 77 | East Anglia | Edward Howard |
| 78 | Loughbrough | Ben Bright |
| 79 | East Anglia | Sam Daniels |
| 80 | Cardiff | George Kimber |
| 81 | Loughbrough | Matthew Ellis |
| 82 | Loughbrough | Liam Flannery |
| 83 | Loughbrough | Nathan Hardy |
| 84 | Loughbrough | Joshua Knowles |
| 85 | Loughbrough | John Russell |
