2024 Upton Road Race: report and results

Cole Davis rounded off a brilliant weekend with victory in the Upton 200, the Ribble Rebellion rider proving distance is no barrier as he beat breakaway rivals Damien Clayton (Le Col RT) and Logan Maclean (Project1) in a three-up sprint after taking second in the Ilkley Grand Prix on Friday night.

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Report

As the flag dropped in South Yorkshire the pace was immediately high, the 60 strong peloton seemingly unconcerned by the mammoth 200km distance as they exchanged early attacks; notable entries on the day from Australian Josh Ludman (Saint Piran) and Davis adding to the firepower in a high quality field.

On the second of 21 laps of the famous flat and fast Upton circuit a move was finally allowed away, Logan Maclean (Project1) and Damien Clayton (Le Col RT) joined by a rider each from Moonglu RT and Richardsons Trek-DAS. 

With Maclean picking up the first prime at the end of lap four, the quartet were reeled in shortly after, the Scot and Clayton again aggressors a lap later as the decisive break got away, including eventual winner Davis, Ludman, Tobias Bartlett (Doddington Cycling Club), Bernard Galea (SPRNT), Andrew Nichols (Team Lifting Gear Products), Josh Housley (HUUB BCC RT), Daniel McDermott (Ride Revolution Coaching) and Aiden Warden (360Cycling).

With riders bridging across to the break and the gap fluctuating between 40 seconds and a minute over a Moonglu and Richardsons Trek-DAS led peloton, a number of riders in the leading group sat on, unsure if the move would stick with such a long way to go.

With Ludman picking up the next prime, and a 5kg bag of Haribo with it, the race began to hot up with five laps remaining, the pace picking up as riders began to lose contact with the leading group, the peloton not in vision yet as the gap continued to remain at around a minute. 

Clayton was the first rider to attack from the break, putting in a big effort with 40km to go, gaining a lead of 20 seconds despite the group working well in pursuit. American Davis was the first to sense the danger, attempting to bridge across, pursued by Ludman with less than three laps to go.

Maclean jumped across to the Australian’s wheel, going straight round him on the way to linking up with Davis; Ludman left in no man’s land on the way back to the break. With Davis and Maclean making the junction to Clayton, the strong trio looked in control of the race heading into the final laps.

Yorkshireman Clayton seemed determined to not take the pair to the line, continually attacking, then sitting on for long periods after Maclean and Davis had responded to every move he threw at them. 

With the gap nearing a minute as the riders took the bell, Clayton made one final effort with 6km remaining, Maclean countering, with Davis jumping straight on his wheel. With Maclean unwilling to take the criterium specialist to the line he sat up and the status quo returned.

With reports from the race officials that the break were only 20 seconds behind with 4km remaining, the trio began working well again as the race headed to the line, knowing any games of cat and mouse were only going to harm their chances. 

Clayton opened up the sprint with 300m to the line, moving to the other side of the road, Maclean jumping on his wheel but was unable to move around the Le Col rider, the pair fatigued after an aggressive five hour race. Davis, who showed his form, and speed, with 2nd at the Ilkely Grand Prix on Friday, won the sprint at a canter, the criterium specialist taking his first win in the UK. 

Speaking to The British Continental after the race, Maclean revealed he was wanting to attack late on, but struggled to find an opportunity with the race in balance on the flat course. “I was trying to get away because I knew if he [Davis] was getting 2nd at Ilkley he was strong,” the Scot revealed. “He was always winning that sprint, it was pan flat.”

Results