2025 Banbury Star CC Road Race: report and results

Edge Hill’s wooded ramp is never subtle, and neither was Sophie Holmes. The 24-year-old CJ O’Shea Racing rider detonated the bunch on the very first ascent of The Knowle, surged clear over its 15 % upper pitches and never looked back.

Featured image: Gary Hibbert

Report

Sunday’s event – round two of the 2025 British Women’s Team Cup and 92 kilometres long across four laps of north-Oxfordshire lanes – had been billed in our preview as a contest tailor-made for attacking climbers. The Knowle duly obliged. On the opening ascent, Holmes crested first and it was the last time she’d see the company all afternoon.

Behind her the road was littered with small groups trying to organise. Jenny Powell (Performance DT) soloed in no-man’s-land for a lap before Lily Martin (London Academy) jumped across. Their coalition never looked convincing; Banbury’s twisting back-roads simply don’t allow a steady tempo and every drag played to the leader’s rhythm. Course-side updates from Banbury Star’s volunteers showed the gap holding at about one minute twenty as the race sped towards half-distance, the bunch threatening to swallow the faltering chasers but never Holmes.

Edge Hill settled matters for good on the penultimate circuit. Martin ground inexorably clear of what was now a chasing trio, with Martin and Powell now accompanied by Isabel Rodriguez (Royal Leamington Spa CC).

Rodriguez was replaced by a charging Anna Boniface (FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing) on the final ascent but by the time the race tipped off the ridge for the final run-in to Horley the result felt inevitable, and Holmes was allowed to savour the lane ahead of the commissaire’s car before rolling across the finish tape alone – a victory forged inside the opening lap and defended for rest of the contest. Martin took a hard-earned second, four seconds ahead of Boniface.

Results

Pos	Bib	Rider	Age	Team	Time	Pts
1	60	Sophie Holmes	Senior	CJ O’Shea Racing	02:30:49	60
2	24	Lily Martin	U23	London Academy	+1 min 52 sec	52
3	14	Anna Boniface	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+1 min 56 sec	45
4	7	Lotty Dawson	U23	Brother UK – On Form	+1 min 58 sec	40
5	48	Ella Tandy	Junior	Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco	st	35
6	49	Grace Ward	Junior	Watersley R&D Cycling Team	+1 min 59 sec	31
7	3	Karla Boddy	Senior	Brighton Mitre CC	+2 min 0 sec	27
8	29	Penny Colloff	Senior	Loughborough Lightning	+2 min 1 sec	23
9	58	Katie Heald	U23	Team Empella	+2 min 3 sec	20
10	13	Ayesha Vose	Junior	Brother UK – On Form	st	17
11	54	Harri Martin	Senior	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+2 min 4 sec	15
12	35	Jennifer Powell	Senior	Performance Development Team	+2 min 5 sec	13
13	46	Lydia Watts	Senior	The Phoenix Collective	+2 min 6 sec	11
14	57	Heather Marshall	Senior	Private Member	+2 min 7 sec	9
15	52	Anouska Greenaway	Senior	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+2 min 9 sec	7
16	45	Philippa Mitchell	Senior	The Phoenix Collective	+2 min 10 sec	6
17	10	Cecilia Hime	Senior	Brother UK – On Form	+2 min 11 sec	5
18	18	Sasha Halsey	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+2 min 37 sec	3
19	1	Jihanna Bonilla-Allard	Senior	7 Hills Cycling Club	+4 min 38 sec	2
20	5	Ellen Bennett	U23	Brother UK – On Form	+5 min 50 sec	1
21	38	Sian Botteley	Senior	Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team	+5 min 54 sec	0
22	2	Pippa Inderwick	Senior	Army Cycling Union	+5 min 55 sec	0
23	15	Ella Brown	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+6 min 35 sec	0
24	27	Grace Sargeant	Senior	London Academy	+6 min 37 sec	0
25	25	Iona Mitchell	Senior	London Academy	+6 min 38 sec	0
26	56	Lili-Keau Juntakereket	Senior	Private Member	+6 min 42 sec	0
27	17	Rebecca Hair	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+6 min 44 sec	0
28	11	Rosie Simmons	U23	Brother UK – On Form	+6 min 49 sec	0
29	47	Megan Cherry	Junior	Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco	+8 min 21 sec	0
30	19	Gemma Mitchell	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+8 min 33 sec	0
31	43	Charlotte Wilson	Senior	FTP Fusion	+11 min 19 sec	0
32	6	Lily Brindle	U23	Brother UK – On Form	+13 min 0 sec	0
33	32	Jacqueline Kinsey	U23	O’Shea – Development Team	+13 min 16 sec	0
34	50	Caitlin Bower	Senior	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+15 min 38 sec	0
35	28	Esme Wiley	U23	London Academy	+15 min 45 sec	0
36	44	Olivia Gardner	Senior	Team V-Sprint Racing	+15 min 46 sec	0
37	4	Genevieve Billington	Senior	Bromsgrove Olympique CC	+15 min 53 sec	0
38	55	Sian Reynolds	Senior	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+15 min 59 sec	0
39	33	Peggy Simpkins	U23	O’Shea – Development Team	+16 min 7 sec	0
40	36	Laura Sheppard	Senior	Royal Air Force CA	+17 min 20 sec	0
41	40	Rebecca Clarke	Senior	FTP Fusion	+17 min 27 sec	0
42	16	Elektra Georgiakakis	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+19 min 14 sec	0
43	34	Jennifer Lemen	Senior	PDQ Cycle Coaching Property Elite	+20 min 58 sec	0
44	51	Olivia Channon	Senior	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+22 min 31 sec	0
47	20	Rebecca Richards	Senior	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing	+15 min 57 sec	0
48	53	Poppy Kisley	U23	Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT	+12 min 13 sec	0
49	42	Elaine Simpson	Senior	FTP Fusion	+9 min 32 sec	0
50	8	Bethany Goodwin	Junior	Brother UK – On Form	+8 min 16 sec	0
53	9	Caitlin Harvey	U23	Brother UK – On Form	+49 min 18 sec	0
DNF	31	Hannah Graveney	Senior	O’Shea – Development Team		0
DNF	37	Isabel Rodriguez	U23	Royal Leamington Spa CC		0
DNF	39	Lauren Booth	Senior	FTP Fusion		0
DNF	41	Sophie Rotheram	Senior	FTP Fusion		0
DNS	12	Amelia Staunton	Junior	Brother UK – On Form		0
DNS	21	Charlotte Deykin	Senior	Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon		0
DNS	22	Rebekah Nash	Senior	Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon		0
DNS	23	Imogen Edwards	Senior	University of Liverpool Cycling and Triathlon Club		0
DNS	26	Lucy Neatham	Senior	London Academy		0
DNS	30	Jayati Hine	Senior	Loughborough Lightning		0
DNS	59	Marli Labuschagne	U23	Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon		0