Race on the brink: Alexandra Reservoir Tour needs entries before tonight’s midnight cut-off
Fifty-five names on the start sheet, a £2,000 prize pot on the table and barely hours left to fill the grid: organiser Steve Walton’s statement is a blunt SOS. Unless more women enter by 23:59 tonight, the future of the Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir – a National Road Series and Rapha Super-League fixture built on Mike Hodgson’s promise of parity – is in doubt
“The Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir urgently needs more riders for the 22 June event. At the closing date this Sunday we’re looking at a field of just 55. We need help in securing the future of a race that’s launched plenty of riders’ careers.”
So reads the stark opening line of a statement issued by race organiser Steve Walton on the eve of the entry deadline. Unless numbers swell before the British Cycling portal shuts at 23:59 tonight (Sunday 1 June), one of Britain’s most character-building fixtures risks unfolding on echoing roads.
We need help in securing the future of a race that’s launched plenty of riders’ careers
For years the “Reservoir” existed as a men-only staple. Then the late Mike Hodgson added a women’s race, naming it after local heroine Princess Alexandra. Hodgson’s guiding principle was parity – identical finish, identical coverage, identical £2,000 prize pot – and Walton is determined that principle should not die with him. “Mike’s wish was to give women as much coverage as men. We’ve honoured that. If there’s a reason riders aren’t entering, tell us now – or, preferably, get an entry in!” the statement continues.
This summer’s edition carries extra clout. The Alexandra Tour is not only a counting round of the National Road Series; it has also been folded into the inaugural Rapha Super-League, a sixteen-race, season-long contest designed to stitch Britain’s best events into one coherent narrative. League points, series points and that handsome purse are all on the line before most people have even had lunch on 22 June.
The route this year is due to skirt the reservoir on the moorland roads around Edmundbyers before returning east to a crowd-lined finish up Consett High Street – the same finale that drew huge crowds in 2019. Survive the “Res” and, as history shows, you can survive most things a British season throws your way.
We’d really love to know why we can’t attract more riders. The parity’s there, the prize money’s there, the course is iconic. This isn’t just about 2025; we want to build year on year.
Yet, as Walton’s statement points out, comparable fixtures have filled with ease this spring – East Cleveland mustered 108 starters and the Lincoln Grand Prix 129 – leaving him to wonder why the Reservoir is struggling to reach half capacity. “We’d really love to know why we can’t attract more riders. The parity’s there, the prize money’s there, the course is iconic. This isn’t just about 2025; we want to build year on year.”
Time, like the dam water itself, is slipping away. Entries remain open on the British Cycling website until 23:59 tonight, and riders or teams with queries can reach Walton directly via admin@tourofthereservoir.uk. He signs off with one final plea: “If there’s a reason you’re not riding, tell us now – or better still, get your entry in.”
“The Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir urgently needs more riders for the 22 June event. At the closing date this Sunday we’re looking at a field of just 55. We need help in securing the future of a race that’s launched plenty of riders’ careers.”
So reads the stark opening line of a statement issued by race organiser Steve Walton on the eve of the entry deadline. Unless numbers swell before the British Cycling portal shuts at 23:59 tonight (Sunday 1 June), one of Britain’s most character-building fixtures risks unfolding on echoing roads.
For years the “Reservoir” existed as a men-only staple. Then the late Mike Hodgson added a women’s race, naming it after local heroine Princess Alexandra. Hodgson’s guiding principle was parity – identical finish, identical coverage, identical £2,000 prize pot – and Walton is determined that principle should not die with him. “Mike’s wish was to give women as much coverage as men. We’ve honoured that. If there’s a reason riders aren’t entering, tell us now – or, preferably, get an entry in!” the statement continues.
This summer’s edition carries extra clout. The Alexandra Tour is not only a counting round of the National Road Series; it has also been folded into the inaugural Rapha Super-League, a sixteen-race, season-long contest designed to stitch Britain’s best events into one coherent narrative. League points, series points and that handsome purse are all on the line before most people have even had lunch on 22 June.
The route this year is due to skirt the reservoir on the moorland roads around Edmundbyers before returning east to a crowd-lined finish up Consett High Street – the same finale that drew huge crowds in 2019. Survive the “Res” and, as history shows, you can survive most things a British season throws your way.
Yet, as Walton’s statement points out, comparable fixtures have filled with ease this spring – East Cleveland mustered 108 starters and the Lincoln Grand Prix 129 – leaving him to wonder why the Reservoir is struggling to reach half capacity. “We’d really love to know why we can’t attract more riders. The parity’s there, the prize money’s there, the course is iconic. This isn’t just about 2025; we want to build year on year.”
Time, like the dam water itself, is slipping away. Entries remain open on the British Cycling website until 23:59 tonight, and riders or teams with queries can reach Walton directly via admin@tourofthereservoir.uk. He signs off with one final plea: “If there’s a reason you’re not riding, tell us now – or better still, get your entry in.”
Riders can enter here until midnight tonight.
Featured image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
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