Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough Lightning) sprinted up the bruising drag through Walton-on-the-Wolds to claim a deeply emotional victory in Sunday’s Owen Blower Memorial (8 June) – her first National B win since 2023 and one she dedicated to friends Matt and Eddie, whose memory has powered her season.
Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough Lightning) sprinted up the bruising drag through Walton-on-the-Wolds to claim a deeply emotional victory in Sunday’s Owen Blower Memorial (8 June) – her first National B win since 2023 and one she dedicated to friends Matt and Eddie, whose memory has powered her season.
From the flag drop, the attacks began. Nothing went clear until Katie-Anne Calton’s (Team Boompods) successful solo surge ten minutes in. With the bunch looking at one another, Calton carved out a lead of almost a minute by the end of lap two. A swirling head-and-tailwind divided opinion behind: attacks fizzed, but no one committed to a concerted chase.
“It was a strange race,” Lancaster admitted to The British Continental afterwards. “With no full trade teams, everyone waited for someone else to blink.”
Image: David Nott
Calton has told The British Continental that her move was interrupted when an open junction allowed a car into the convoy.
“I didn’t really mean to attack; it was only ten minutes in, but I put in a surge and suddenly had a decent gap. With my team-mate Millie [Skinner] controlling the bunch I held about a minute for 40 minutes. Then I came to a junction and it wasn’t closed. A car slipped into the convoy, everything stopped and I was stood at the side of the road for about 30 seconds – all my advantage gone, and it wasn’t reinstated when I restarted.
“I appreciate these events are run by volunteers – that’s hugely valued – but it is bitter when a race is decided this way. My real concern is that situations like this are becoming regular; even five seconds off the back today the roads were open, and that just isn’t safe.”
Leicestershire Road Club, organisers of the Owen Blower Memorial, have been approached for comment. None had been received at the time of publication.
Image: David Nott
Calton was reeled in after her delay and, despite a flurry of counters through the finish straight each lap, the bunch refused to fracture.
“It became clear it was going to be incredibly hard for a break to stick,” Lancaster explained afterwards. “From then on I just sat tight, saved every match for the finish.”
The final lap ignited immediately after the bell. “The only thing I cared about was not getting boxed in,” Lancaster said. Sitting third wheel on the descent ahead of the rising finish, she waited for someone else to open up. “Knowing I’d gone too early here before, I sat tight,” she explained. “When a rider jumped I kicked, dropped a gear, and didn’t look back until I felt a gap.”
The uphill-run-in blunted rivals’ speed; Lancaster’s timing did the rest. As she crossed the line, Lancaster pointed skywards, dedicating the victory to friends Matt and Eddie, lost last year. Madeline Cooper (Montezuma’s Eventrex) finished second, with Mari Porton of Handsling Alba Development Road Team in third.
Image: David Nott
“This is a win that meant a lot to me,” Lancaster revealed. ” It is dedicated to Matt and Eddie, two people we unfortunately lost last year. Throughout this year their memory has helped drive me on, through the hard training days and down race days. Matt was one of the people who taught me to sprint back home and knowing that it’s my sprint which helps me win races like this fills me with a sense of pride.”
Lancaster’s victory – her first National-B win since 2023 – restores bragging rights for Lightning after a lean spring. Cooper’s runner-up spot consolidates her sparkling early-summer form, while Porton pockets her first national road race podium since leaving the junior ranks.
Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough Lightning) sprinted up the bruising drag through Walton-on-the-Wolds to claim a deeply emotional victory in Sunday’s Owen Blower Memorial (8 June) – her first National B win since 2023 and one she dedicated to friends Matt and Eddie, whose memory has powered her season.
Featured image: David Nott
Report
From the flag drop, the attacks began. Nothing went clear until Katie-Anne Calton’s (Team Boompods) successful solo surge ten minutes in. With the bunch looking at one another, Calton carved out a lead of almost a minute by the end of lap two. A swirling head-and-tailwind divided opinion behind: attacks fizzed, but no one committed to a concerted chase.
“It was a strange race,” Lancaster admitted to The British Continental afterwards. “With no full trade teams, everyone waited for someone else to blink.”
Calton has told The British Continental that her move was interrupted when an open junction allowed a car into the convoy.
“I didn’t really mean to attack; it was only ten minutes in, but I put in a surge and suddenly had a decent gap. With my team-mate Millie [Skinner] controlling the bunch I held about a minute for 40 minutes. Then I came to a junction and it wasn’t closed. A car slipped into the convoy, everything stopped and I was stood at the side of the road for about 30 seconds – all my advantage gone, and it wasn’t reinstated when I restarted.
“I appreciate these events are run by volunteers – that’s hugely valued – but it is bitter when a race is decided this way. My real concern is that situations like this are becoming regular; even five seconds off the back today the roads were open, and that just isn’t safe.”
Leicestershire Road Club, organisers of the Owen Blower Memorial, have been approached for comment. None had been received at the time of publication.
Calton was reeled in after her delay and, despite a flurry of counters through the finish straight each lap, the bunch refused to fracture.
“It became clear it was going to be incredibly hard for a break to stick,” Lancaster explained afterwards. “From then on I just sat tight, saved every match for the finish.”
The final lap ignited immediately after the bell. “The only thing I cared about was not getting boxed in,” Lancaster said. Sitting third wheel on the descent ahead of the rising finish, she waited for someone else to open up. “Knowing I’d gone too early here before, I sat tight,” she explained. “When a rider jumped I kicked, dropped a gear, and didn’t look back until I felt a gap.”
The uphill-run-in blunted rivals’ speed; Lancaster’s timing did the rest. As she crossed the line, Lancaster pointed skywards, dedicating the victory to friends Matt and Eddie, lost last year. Madeline Cooper (Montezuma’s Eventrex) finished second, with Mari Porton of Handsling Alba Development Road Team in third.
“This is a win that meant a lot to me,” Lancaster revealed. ” It is dedicated to Matt and Eddie, two people we unfortunately lost last year. Throughout this year their memory has helped drive me on, through the hard training days and down race days. Matt was one of the people who taught me to sprint back home and knowing that it’s my sprint which helps me win races like this fills me with a sense of pride.”
Lancaster’s victory – her first National-B win since 2023 – restores bragging rights for Lightning after a lean spring. Cooper’s runner-up spot consolidates her sparkling early-summer form, while Porton pockets her first national road race podium since leaving the junior ranks.
Results
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