Keira Bond continued Alba Development Road Team’s golden run in the National Circuit Series, taking a stunning solo win in the McLaren Automotive Sheffield Women’s Grand Prix.

Later, Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) took a brilliant solo victory in the BikeBox Alan Open Sheffield Grand Prix, putting him right in the mix for the overall series after a shortened race which finished in the dark.

Reports

The McLaren Automotive Women’s Grand Prix

On the day summer finally arrived in Sheffield, a cooling evening breeze greeted the 80 strong women’s field on the start line, the series hotting up with only three rounds remaining; Isabel Darvill (Doltcini-O’Shea) looking to consolidate her series lead after battling through a nasty crash in Dudley last Friday.

A large group stayed together at the head of the race in the early stages, Emily Proud (Le Col RT) setting the pace before the major players in the series came to the fore to string the group out.

Frankie Hall (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK), the winner in Otley, took up the pace setting at the head of the race, putting in the fastest lap of the race to that point after 15 minutes, the elastic snapping behind her as a leading group of around 30 riders, containing all the favourites, formed.

Halfway through the race the first big attack came courtesy of former National Champion Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis – 200 Degrees Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting), the Lincolnshire squad having the extra motivation following the news they are requiring a new title sponsor for next year. Tindley’s move thinned the group further with only 17 riders remaining. Keira Bond (Alba Development RT), who played a starring role in Dudley, was the next to try her luck off the front a lap later.

However, the race was halted straight after for around 25 minutes due to a major crash on another part of the circuit. The unusual scenario was something else for the riders to contend with on top of the technical circuit through the Steel City’s pedestrianised centre.

The commissaires ruled the race would be an eight lap dash after the restart, with the leading group comprising of all riders on the leading lap at the time of the stoppage. Could those riders previously dropped make the most of their newly improved position?

The race re-started at an infernal pace, Hall straight back on the front piling on the pressure, the Tekkerz CC pairing of Megan Barker and Amy Perryman glued to her wheel as the group was forced into single file.

Hall’s teammate Lucy Lee came to the front a lap later, setting up Hall for an attack, Barker immediately responding as the DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK squad looked intent on breaking up what remained of the leading group in the final five laps.

With Hall unable to get a gap it was Bond who moved off the front with a little over three laps to go, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. With teammate Eilidh Shaw getting a free ride six seconds behind in the bunch, it looked like the Alba Development Road Team had again played it tactically perfect following Shaw’s win in Dudley on Friday.

Bond continued to press on in her home city and had a gap of almost 20 seconds as the bell rang to signal the last lap, Tekkerz CC moving to the front of the chasing group for one last desperate attempt to catch the solo leader who looked set for a stunning win.

Bond pressed hard on the pedals for the final 1.3km, high-fiving team manager Bob Lyons through the pits as she sat up with her arms raised to take a stunning win in front of a large, raucous crowd. Behind, the bunch wound up for a ferocious sprint, track star Jenny Holl (Loughborough Lightning) demonstrating her turn of speed to bring them home ahead of Barker and Shaw.

Darvill was a non-finisher, perhaps a victim of the crash, meaning Shaw has now taken over as the leader in the individual series standings, just seven points in front of Hall, who was tenth on the night, and eight points ahead of teammate Bond.

DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK continue to lead in the team standings but their lead has narrowed slightly to Alba Development Road Team, the Scottish team now 96 points in arrears with two rounds remaining.

The Bike Box Alan Open Grand Prix

With a further delay to the start of the race due to another incident on course after the women’s race was stopped earlier in the evening, the riders made their way to the start line as the light began to fade, series leader Rob Scott (Tekkerz CC) deciding his sunglasses would be surplus to requirements, handing them to a commissaire.

Given the lengthy delay the race was shortened to only 25 minutes + 5 laps, an unprecedented distance for a national series event.

Home team Cycling Sheffield made their intentions clear from the off, Jack Hartley leading the race through the first lap at an infernal pace with the peloton lined out behind him.

With 17 seconds separating the front of the bunch to the back, positioning was crucial with the constant threat of splits opening. Harry Tanfield and Matt Gibson (Saint Piran) were among the big names caught at the wrong end of the race.

A lap later the splits started to appear as Jacob Scott (REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland) dragged a small group clear, Max Rushby’s (Ribble Rebellion) early DNF a blow to Matt Bostock’s chances of taking the win and series lead.

As the light began to fade even further, the lead motorbike’s headlights piercing through the dulling atmosphere, the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli squad came to the fore led by Thomas Armstrong. Saint Piran’s Will Roberts also contributed to the pace as the leading group was whittled down to just 21 riders after ten minutes.

Series leader Rob Scott put in a big move a lap later, joined by Roberts as the pair looked to stretch their slender advantage; the chasing group knowing only too well Scott’s ability to go from a long way out after his exploits in Guildford.

Matt Bostock (Ribble Rebellion) sensed the danger and moved to bridge across, his speed causing a reaction in the bunch as the race came back together, Ben Marsh (Project1) the final rider in an elite leading group.

Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) has never been too far from the action in the series thus far and his attack brought him a sizeable gap, the in-form Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) joined by the might of Saint Piran, who fielded their strongest squad of the series to date, in chasing the rider from Lichfield.

Jack Brough, plying his trade in France with AVC Aix-en-Provence, attempted to bridge across as the gap reached ten seconds, the clock constantly ticking down in this truncated race. However, his move was quickly neutralised, Harry Tanfield moving to the front with Rob Scott to man the chase as the gap continued to increase.

As the five laps to go board made its appearance a lack of impetus seemed to hit the chasing group, Roberts and Scott looking at eachother as Barnes continued to ride away, the light from the freshly illuminated streetlights bouncing off his colourful Spectra jersey.

With the gap at 17 seconds a lap later, Rob Scott unleashed another electric attack in a now or never effort, another race win in his sights. However, his effort was short lived as the status quo returned, Jacob Scott left to lead the chase.

With two laps to go the gap was 27 seconds, Barnes cruising to his first National Circuit Series win after showing such brilliant form in recent rounds. Back in the bunch thoughts turned to the series overall, the likes of Scott and Bostock backing off the chase an waiting for the sprint finish.

As Barnes punched the air to mark his outstanding solo victory, the bunch were travelling at pace at the start of the finishing straight, Matt Bostock unleashing his trademark finish to win the sprint for second, gaining vital points on series rival Rob Scott who could only manage 6th. Thomas Armstrong rounded out the podium, another impressive result for the Wheelbase climber.

Rob Scott still leads the individual classification of the National Circuit Series, but with a reduced buffer of 20 points over challenger Bostock. Barnes’ victory propels him to third in the standings.

Tekkerz CC scored enough points to leapfrog to the top of the team standings, their rivals Ribble Rebellion failing to score any points after not fielding enough riders to be considered for the team classification in this race. Tekkerz CC’s lead is a slender 26 points with two rounds to go.

Results

The McLaren Automotive Women’s Grand Prix

Rank	#	Name	Team	Time
1	3	Keira Bond	Alba Development Road Team	1:07:20
2	42	Jenny Holl	Loughborough Lightning	+15
3	75	Megan Barker	TEKKERZ CC	st
4	7	Eilidh Shaw	Alba Development Road Team	st
5	20	Sophie Lewis	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
6	76	Amy Perryman	TEKKERZ CC	st
7	1	Monica Greenwood	Team Coop-Hitec Products	st
8	41	Jayati Hine	Loughborough Lightning	st
9	72	Lucy Glover	Shibden Apex RT	st
10	18	Frankie Hall	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
11	60	Samantha Fawcett	Spectra Racing	st
12	19	Lucy Lee	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	+20
13	34	Kirstie Drakeford	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
14	66	Elizabeth Sanders	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	st
15	36	Rebekah Nash	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
16	56	Katie-Anne Calton	Saint Piran WRT	st
17	54	Jo Tindley	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	st
18	73	Evie Smith	Shibden Apex RT	st
19	58	Ailsa McLagan	Saint Piran WRT	st
20	22	Sophie Thackray	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
21	37	Abbie Taylor	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
22	6	Abi Plowman	Alba Development Road Team	st
23	17	Sian Botteley	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
24	71	Erin Avill	Nouvelles Cycling x Prendas	st
25	23	Darcie Richards	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
26	55	Hannah Bayes	Saint Piran WRT	st
27	21	Tamsin Miller	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	st
28	11	Lily Brindle	Brother UK – On Form	st
29	46	Georgina Oakley	Loughborough Lightning	st
30	44	Olivia Kelly	Loughborough Lightning	st
31	63	Amy Drysdale	Team Boompods	st
32	33	Laura Davies	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
33	83	Anastasia Bowler	Saint Piran WRT	st
34	82	Charlotte Berry	The Phoenix Collective	+37
35	49	Lucy Ellmore	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	+41
36	52	Annabel Ramsay	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	st
37	35	Isabella Johnson	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
38	8	Millie Skinner	Alba Development Road Team	+55
39	70	Sasha Halsey	London Dynamo	+59
40	45	Georgia Lancaster	Loughborough Lightning	+1:03
41	65	Rebecca Hair	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	st
42	31	Emily Chilton	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
43	38	Beth Watson	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	st
44	26	Amy Mourne	Doltcini – Cycle Division	st
45	15	Rosie Simmons	Brother UK – On Form	+1:06
46	14	Electra Morris	Brother UK – On Form	+1:46
47	27	Lindsay Toy	Doltcini – Cycle Division	+2:21
48	77	Ella Tandy	Tofauti Everyone Active	st
49	68	Louise Davidson	London Academy	st
50	59	Xan Crees	Spectra Racing	+3:17
51	2	Daisy Barnes	Alba Development Road Team	+1 Lap
52	69	Lucy Neatham	London Academy	+1 Lap
53	53	Lowri Richards	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	+4 Laps
54	78	Melissa Denman	Stolen Goat Race Team	+4 Laps
55	86	Hannah McClory	Doltcini – Cycle Division	+4 Laps
56	81	Lydia Turan		+4 Laps
57	84	Eleina McFadden	Inspire Racing Adaston Scape	+4 Laps
58	87	Harriet Evans	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+5 Laps
59	80	Isabella Torrie	Tactic UK WRT	+5 Laps
	5	Lulu Bartlett	Alba Development Road Team	DNF
	13	Lotty Dawson	Brother UK – On Form	DNF
	16	Amelia Staunton	Brother UK – On Form	DNF
	25	Jacqueline Kinsey	Doltcini – Cycle Division	DNF
	29	Isabel Darvill	Doltcini – OShea	DNF
	39	Penny Colloff	Loughborough Lightning	DNF
	40	Philippa Draper	Loughborough Lightning	DNF
	43	Miriam Jessett	Loughborough Lightning	DNF
	48	Bexy Dew	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	DNF
	50	Amy Gornall	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	DNF
	57	Sophie Holmes	Saint Piran WRT	DNF
	62	Megan Anderson	Team Boompods	DNF
	64	Sian Marsh	Team Boompods	DNF
	67	Emily Proud	Le Col Race Team	DNF
	74	Alderney Baker	Team Empella	DNF
	79	Nicola Soden	Tactic UK WRT	DNF
	4	Arianne Holland	Alba Development Road Team	DNS
	9	Victoria Smith	Alba Development Road Team	DNS
	10	Niamh Boulding	Brother UK – On Form	DNS
	12	Rebecca Carter	Brother UK – On Form	DNS
	24	Robyn Clay	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK	DNS
	28	Georgia Bullard	Doltcini – OShea	DNS
	30	Libby Smithson	Doltcini – OShea	DNS
	32	Skye Davidson	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon	DNS
	47	Jessy Carveth	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	DNS
	51	Lucy Harris	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd	DNS
	61	Corinne Side	Spectra Racing	DNS
	85	Laura Senior	Spectra Racing	DNS

The Bike Box Alan Open Grand Prix

Rank	#	Name	Team	Time
1	27	Toby Barnes	Spectra Racing	32:53
2	12	Matthew Bostock	Ribble Rebellion	+30
3	42	Thomas Armstrong	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
4	57	Jacob Scott	REMBE Pro Cycling Team Sauerland	st
5	41	William Truelove	THRIVA-SRCT	st
6	77	Robert Scott	TEKKERZ CC	st
7	61	Oliver Rees	Sabgal/Anicolor	st
8	20	Rhys Britton	Saint Piran	st
9	23	William Roberts	Saint Piran	st
10	33	Alec Briggs	TEKKERZ CC	st
11	87	Matti Dobbins	XSpeed Continental	st
12	44	Callum Laborde	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
13	24	Harry Tanfield	Saint Piran	st
14	26	Daniel Barnes	Spectra Racing	st
15	1	James Hartley	Cycling Sheffield	st
16	3	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	st
17	29	Simon Wyllie	Spectra Racing	st
18	16	Cai Davies	Richardsons Trek DAS	st
19	36	Ben Bright	THRIVA-SRCT	st
20	43	Aaron King	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
21	89	Oscar Amey	TEKKERZ CC	st
22	85	Ben Marsh	PROJECT 1 Cycling Team	st
23	88	Jack Brough	AVC Aix en Provence	st
24	66	Kieran Riley	Spellman – Dublin Port Cycling Team	st
25	40	Scott Redding	THRIVA-SRCT	st
26	25	Dylan Westley	Saint Piran	st
27	19	Harry Birchill	Saint Piran	st
28	81	Philip Large	Wold Top The Edge Pactimo	st
29	32	Cameron McLaren	TAAP Kalas	+44
30	39	Josh Price	THRIVA-SRCT	+46
31	62	Frank Longstaff	Schils –  Doltcini Racing Team	st
32	55	Joshua Horsfield	Mud Dock Racing	st
33	48	Maxwell Hereward	360cycling	st
34	34	Joe Holt	TEKKERZ CC	+58
35	64	Inigo Hawkings	SN Vitae Huub pb BimBam Coaching	+1:00
36	38	Jake Jackson	THRIVA-SRCT	+1:21
37	72	Tim Torrie	trainSharp Orro Elite	st
38	69	Nathan Hardy	Team PB Performance	st
39	59	Jake Hales	Ride Revolution Coaching	st
40	10	Thomas Doig	Primera-TeamJobs	st
41	49	Archie Fletcher	360cycling	st
42	86	Oliver Dawson	Fensham Howes – MAS Design	st
43	5	Benjamin Flatau	HUUB BCC Race Team	st
44	47	Cai Curtis-Roberts	360cycling	st
45	4	Max Krasinski	Cycling Sheffield	st
46	53	Alistair Slater	Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy	st
47	68	Bernard Galea	SPRNT	st
48	21	Matthew Gibson	Saint Piran	st
49	75	Jack Lucas	Shipden A Fawcett RT	st
50	45	Joseph Smith	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	st
51	31	Harry Macfarlane	TAAP Kalas	+1:40
52	50	Matthew Leach	Addform – Vive le Velo	+2:18
53	46	John Bardsley	360cycling	+1 Lap
54	17	Olivier Mangham	Richardsons Trek DAS	+1 Lap
55	37	Matthew Ellis	THRIVA-SRCT	+1 Lap
56	76	Andrew Nichols	Team Lifting Gear Products	+1 Lap
57	90	Alfie Amey	TEKKERZ CC	+1 Lap
58	22	James McKay	Saint Piran	+3 Laps
59	60	Matthew Wilson	Ride Revolution Coaching	+3 Laps
60	67	William Perrett	Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling	+3 Laps
61	82	Jenson Young	Spectra Racing	+4 Laps
62	63	Will Thompson	Shibden-A.Fawcett RT	+4 Laps
63	28	Joe Wilson	Spectra Racing	+4 Laps
64	8	William Abbott	Primera-TeamJobs	+4 Laps
	2	Jack Hartley	Cycling Sheffield	DNF
	15	Max Rushby	Ribble Rebellion	DNF
	18	Alexander Pritchard	Richardsons Trek DAS	DNF
	51	Sam Walsham	Beeston Cycling Club	DNF
	73	Taylor Hill		DNF
	79	Andrew Stephenson	Open Collective	DNF
	84	Alexander Foster	Cycling Sheffield	DNF
	6	Josh Housley	HUUB BCC Race Team	DNS
	7	Ryan Williams	HUUB BCC Race Team	DNS
	9	Guido Blee	Primera-TeamJobs	DNS
	11	Max Fleming	Primera-TeamJobs	DNS
	13	Jim Brown	Ribble Rebellion	DNS
	14	Tom Couzens	Ribble Rebellion	DNS
	35	Benjamin Tuchner	TEKKERZ CC	DNS
	52	Edward Clancy OBE	CAMS	DNS
	54	James Jobber	Global 6 United	DNS
	56	Tom Cullen	Otley CC	DNS
	58	Robert Smart	Ribble rechrg Race Team	DNS
	70	Max Sillifant	Team PB Performance	DNS
	80	Ross Birrell		DNS
	83	Cole Davis	Ribble Rebellion	DNS
	30	Matthew Lock	TAAP Kalas	DSQ
	65	Oliver Snodden	SN Vitae Huub pb BimBam Coaching	DSQ
	71	Tom Mazzone	trainSharp Orro Elite	DSQ
	74	Joel Hurt	Prologue Racing Team	DSQ

National Circuit Series

Women

Individual

Rank	Name	Team			Points
1	Eilidh Shaw	Alba Development Road Team			165
2	Frankie Hall	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK			158
3	Keira Bond	Alba Development Road Team			157
4	Corinne Side	Spectra Racing			135
5	Isabel Darvill	Doltcini – OShea			135
6	Dannielle Watkinson	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon			121
7	Amy Perryman	TEKKERZ CC			117
8	Lucy Lee	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK			111
9	Samantha Fawcett	Spectra Racing			104
10	Jayati Hine	Loughborough Lightning			100

Team

Rank	Team		Points
1	DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK		516
2	Alba Development Road Team		424
3	Tofauti Everyone Active		247
4	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon		240
5	Loughborough Lightning		226
6	Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd		195
7	Team Boompods		189
8	Saint Piran WRT		176
9	Brother UK – On Form		159
10	Shibden Apex RT		119

Open

Individual

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Robert Scott	TEKKERZ CC	234
2	Matthew Bostock	Ribble Rebellion	214
3	Toby Barnes	Spectra Racing	184
4	Alec Briggs	TEKKERZ CC	171
5	Thomas Armstrong	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	168
6	William Truelove	THRIVA-SRCT	160
7	William Roberts	Saint Piran	154
8	Callum Laborde	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	145
9	Oliver Rees	Sabgal/Anicolor	124
10	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	104

Team

Rank	Team	Points
1	TEKKERZ CC	485
2	Ribble Rebellion	459
3	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	455
4	Saint Piran	349
5	Spectra Racing	343
6	THRIVA-SRCT	291
7	Cycling Sheffield	124
8	Ride Revolution Coaching	106
9	HUUB BCC Race Team	83
10	TAAP Kalas	79