2025 Wheldrake 200 Road Race | YBC: preview and startlist
At 200 km, Sunday’s Wheldrake 200 is the longest one-day road race on the British calendar. It is the third outing for Yomp Bonk Crew’s “200-k” experiment: the first two editions ran on the Upton circuit as the Upton 200. The concept now migrates to the pan-flat Wheldrake–Thorganby loop south of York but keeps the energy and flair that has made Yomp Bonk Crew one of the most inventive forces in domestic racing.
Here is our preview.
At 200 km, Sunday’s Wheldrake 200 is the longest one-day road race on the British calendar. It is the third outing for Yomp Bonk Crew’s “200-k” experiment: the first two editions ran on the Upton circuit as the Upton 200. The concept now migrates to the pan-flat Wheldrake–Thorganby loop south of York but keeps the energy and flair that has made Yomp Bonk Crew one of the most inventive forces in domestic racing.
At 200 km, the Wheldrake 200 marks the third running of Yomp Bonk Crew’s “200-k” concept. The opening two editions were held on the Upton circuit and branded the Upton 200; relocating to the pan-flat Wheldrake loop south of York brings the new name. Last season’s race was won in a three-up sprint by Cole Davis (Ribble Rebellion), while the inaugural 2023 edition was stopped after just 30 km when an unrelated road-traffic accident blocked the course.
At this distance it remains the longest one-day race on the domestic calendar – longer than any National A and even the UCI 1.2 Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic. The event is promoted by the prolific Yomp Bonk Crew, whose ever-creative roster of races has become a lifeline for Britain’s open-road scene.
Route
The Wheldrake 200 is a Yorkshire paradox: billiard-table-flat lanes that still shred legs by stealth. After a roll-out from race HQ the bunch reaches the finish line for the first time and the lap board flashes “10 laps to go.” That means 185 km remain – ten trips round an 18.5 km loop that runs south of York, skims through Wheldrake, then sweeps into Thorganby before heading back north.
Each circuit climbs a token 46 m, so there are no hills to hide on—only cross-winds, tight village corners and four hours of stop-start pressure. The route is identical to the one used for the 2024 North West, Yorkshire & North East Regional Road Race Championships, so expect another fast, tactical war of attrition.
Riders to watch
Two of last year’s top-ten finishers at the Upton 200 return for Sunday’s test: Royal Navy work-horse Stephen Swindley (4th) and Moonglu Spatzwear’s Ben Pease (9th). Both have already proved their staying power this spring Swindley has already shown solid spring form with 10th at his home Royal Navy Cup and a fifth place at Chitterne and Pease – the Ronde van Wymeswold winner in 2024 – ground out 30th after four savage hours over Michaelgate at Lincoln – so expect them to relish every kilometre of attrition.
The headline story is still Tyler Hannay. At the end of March, the 21-year-old Manxman was wrapping up the six-day Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup – Tour of Thailand for 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines; he cut ties with the team on 23 April and now rolls to Wheldrake as a lone privateer. His palmarès backs up the hype. He sprinted to 3rd at the Jock Wadley Memorial in March, showing immediate sharpness on British roads. Last season, the former Junior Tour of Wales winner proved he can win at UCI level, snatching Stage 6 of the 2.2 Tour of Poyang Lake in China and later finishing 20th at the Chrono des Nations, a world-class 47 km time trial.
Fresh home from France is Jack Hartley. The Yorkshireman spent the early season hardening his legs on the Coupe de France circuit with UC Aube, having achieved back-to-back National B wins in 2024 – the GA Bennett Road Race and the North-East regional championships both taken from small breakaways. The latter was on this same Wheldrake circuit. If the race ends in a reduced gallop, few here finish faster.
Jack Hartley winning the 2024 North West, Yorkshire & North East Regional Road Race Championships. Image: Sarah Jane Swinscoe
Matthew Cole adds another layer of intrigue. The 20-year-old from Scorton has spent the spring racing for Continental outfit Hagens Berman Jayco, clocking 35th overall (and 28th on the final stage) at the 2.2 Tour of Rhodes in March. He has struggled for form since, but crucially, he already knows how a Yorkshire “200” feels – Cole finished 22nd at last year’s Upton 200, surviving the distance when many bigger names folded. Throw in a top-20 at the 2024 U23 National TT and you have a rider with big-engine credentials – perfect ingredients for a late ambush if the favourites stall.
Reflex Racing arrive with the most obvious one-two punch. Joshua Horsfield has been Mr. Consistent – ninth at the Portsdown Classic and 12th at the Danum Trophy – while team-mate Sam Walsham brings the knockout blow, having already won a round of the Darley Moor crit league and sprinted to second at the Clayton Spring Classic.
Dexter Leeming-Sykes hasn’t yet rediscovered the spark that catapulted him to a breakthrough 7th at the 2023 Rapha Lincoln GP. Nonetheless, the evidence is that his diesel is humming nicely: 10th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race and 14th at Capernwray road race are proof of that. If the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli rider can find his 2023 punch on Wheldrake’s pan-flat straits, the bunch may find him gone before they can organise a chase.
The dark horses? Andrew Nichols, better known for hill-climb podiums, but 8th in the Danum Trophy and 6th in the Timmy James Memorial GP, showed that the Team Lifting Gear Products veteran still has the potential to pull off a big result on the road.
Provisional startlist
Entries open until midday Saturday, 17 May. Enter here.
At 200 km, Sunday’s Wheldrake 200 is the longest one-day road race on the British calendar. It is the third outing for Yomp Bonk Crew’s “200-k” experiment: the first two editions ran on the Upton circuit as the Upton 200. The concept now migrates to the pan-flat Wheldrake–Thorganby loop south of York but keeps the energy and flair that has made Yomp Bonk Crew one of the most inventive forces in domestic racing.
Here is our preview.
Featured image: Sarah Jane Swinscoe
What is it?
At 200 km, the Wheldrake 200 marks the third running of Yomp Bonk Crew’s “200-k” concept. The opening two editions were held on the Upton circuit and branded the Upton 200; relocating to the pan-flat Wheldrake loop south of York brings the new name. Last season’s race was won in a three-up sprint by Cole Davis (Ribble Rebellion), while the inaugural 2023 edition was stopped after just 30 km when an unrelated road-traffic accident blocked the course.
At this distance it remains the longest one-day race on the domestic calendar – longer than any National A and even the UCI 1.2 Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic. The event is promoted by the prolific Yomp Bonk Crew, whose ever-creative roster of races has become a lifeline for Britain’s open-road scene.
Route
The Wheldrake 200 is a Yorkshire paradox: billiard-table-flat lanes that still shred legs by stealth. After a roll-out from race HQ the bunch reaches the finish line for the first time and the lap board flashes “10 laps to go.” That means 185 km remain – ten trips round an 18.5 km loop that runs south of York, skims through Wheldrake, then sweeps into Thorganby before heading back north.
Each circuit climbs a token 46 m, so there are no hills to hide on—only cross-winds, tight village corners and four hours of stop-start pressure. The route is identical to the one used for the 2024 North West, Yorkshire & North East Regional Road Race Championships, so expect another fast, tactical war of attrition.
Riders to watch
Two of last year’s top-ten finishers at the Upton 200 return for Sunday’s test: Royal Navy work-horse Stephen Swindley (4th) and Moonglu Spatzwear’s Ben Pease (9th). Both have already proved their staying power this spring Swindley has already shown solid spring form with 10th at his home Royal Navy Cup and a fifth place at Chitterne and Pease – the Ronde van Wymeswold winner in 2024 – ground out 30th after four savage hours over Michaelgate at Lincoln – so expect them to relish every kilometre of attrition.
The headline story is still Tyler Hannay. At the end of March, the 21-year-old Manxman was wrapping up the six-day Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup – Tour of Thailand for 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines; he cut ties with the team on 23 April and now rolls to Wheldrake as a lone privateer. His palmarès backs up the hype. He sprinted to 3rd at the Jock Wadley Memorial in March, showing immediate sharpness on British roads. Last season, the former Junior Tour of Wales winner proved he can win at UCI level, snatching Stage 6 of the 2.2 Tour of Poyang Lake in China and later finishing 20th at the Chrono des Nations, a world-class 47 km time trial.
Fresh home from France is Jack Hartley. The Yorkshireman spent the early season hardening his legs on the Coupe de France circuit with UC Aube, having achieved back-to-back National B wins in 2024 – the GA Bennett Road Race and the North-East regional championships both taken from small breakaways. The latter was on this same Wheldrake circuit. If the race ends in a reduced gallop, few here finish faster.
Matthew Cole adds another layer of intrigue. The 20-year-old from Scorton has spent the spring racing for Continental outfit Hagens Berman Jayco, clocking 35th overall (and 28th on the final stage) at the 2.2 Tour of Rhodes in March. He has struggled for form since, but crucially, he already knows how a Yorkshire “200” feels – Cole finished 22nd at last year’s Upton 200, surviving the distance when many bigger names folded. Throw in a top-20 at the 2024 U23 National TT and you have a rider with big-engine credentials – perfect ingredients for a late ambush if the favourites stall.
Reflex Racing arrive with the most obvious one-two punch. Joshua Horsfield has been Mr. Consistent – ninth at the Portsdown Classic and 12th at the Danum Trophy – while team-mate Sam Walsham brings the knockout blow, having already won a round of the Darley Moor crit league and sprinted to second at the Clayton Spring Classic.
Dexter Leeming-Sykes hasn’t yet rediscovered the spark that catapulted him to a breakthrough 7th at the 2023 Rapha Lincoln GP. Nonetheless, the evidence is that his diesel is humming nicely: 10th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race and 14th at Capernwray road race are proof of that. If the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli rider can find his 2023 punch on Wheldrake’s pan-flat straits, the bunch may find him gone before they can organise a chase.
The dark horses? Andrew Nichols, better known for hill-climb podiums, but 8th in the Danum Trophy and 6th in the Timmy James Memorial GP, showed that the Team Lifting Gear Products veteran still has the potential to pull off a big result on the road.
Provisional startlist
Entries open until midday Saturday, 17 May. Enter here.
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