Friday 4 July is the Ilkley Cycle Races - Round 2 of the National Circuit Series and Round 8 of Rapha’s 16-race Super-League - where the country’s punchiest specialists will trade attacks all night.
Friday 4 July is Round 2 of the National Circuit Series and Round 8 of Rapha’s 16-race Super-League where the country’s punchiest specialists will trade attacks all night. Born in 2014 to mark Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Départ, the Ilkley Cycle Races creates a festival-like feel – kerb-to-kerb barriers, cow-bells, pop-up bars and free entry put you inches from the action.
Here is our preview.
Featured image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
What is it?
A town-centre criterium run over a 1.5 km circuit in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, featuring a stinging 8 % ramp up Riddings Road each lap before the riders dive back onto The Grove for the deafening sprint past Bettys. It’s Round 2 of the British Cycling Lloyds National Circuit Series – Otley kicked things off two nights earlier – and Round 8 of Rapha’s new 16-race Super-League points competition.
If the Otley Grand Prix is Britain’s criterium equivalent of Milan–San Remo – always balanced on the knife-edge between a late escape and a bunch gallop – Ilkley is the domestic crit version of Liège–Bastogne–Liège: the repeated climb up Riddings rewards punchier specialists who can attack, regroup and go again before the descent and flat run-in. Expect relentless accelerations, small splits and a winner who can both kick on the hill and muscle through a head-down drag race to the line.
The races were created in 2014 to celebrate Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Départ and have grown into one of the country’s marquee summer crit nights. Every barrier is ringside: hundreds cram the kerbs, cow-bells echo off shopfronts and even casual fans get swept up in the roar. Food stalls, bars and live commentary turn the centre of Ilkley into a festival, and it’s all free. Grab a perch on the outside of the Grove-Riddings corner, bring a bell, and feel the slipstream as Britain’s fastest crit racers blast past every two minutes.
Reece Wood wins the 2021 edition. Image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
The elite men’s race has previously been won by Alex Dalton (2014), Pete Williams (2015), Scott Thwaites (2016), Tobyn Horton (2017), Tom Moses (2018 and 2019), Reece Wood (2021), Sam Watson (2022), Matt Fox (2023) and Rob Scott (2024). Victors of the women’s elite race, meanwhile, have been Melissa Lowther (2014), Henrietta Colbourne (2015), Rebecca Womersley (2016), Annie Simpson (2017 and 2018), Emily Meakin (2019), Megan Barker (2021) and El King (2022), while newly-minted national road champion Millie Couzens won the 2023 and 2024 editions.
Route
Ilkley’s 1.5 km clockwise loop is short, steep and decidedly punchier than Otley’s: each lap hauls the bunch up 32 m of climbing (32 m/ km versus Otley’s 23 m/ 2.3 km), so it routinely splits the field and rewards attackers over pure sprinters. Expect constant accelerations and very few “easy” laps as teams try to force a selection early.
Because the circuit is so compact, a clean lap takes little more than two minutes; only Tom Pidcock, Max Poole and Matt Bostock have dipped under 2 minutes (1 : 59) on Strava’s leaderboard.
The lap sets off outside Bettys Café Tea Rooms on The Grove, then snaps through a sharp 90-degree right. That corner funnels the bunch straight onto Riddings Road’s 200-metre ramp, which tops out at roughly 14 % and is where you can expect the first big digs. Hold your position here or you’ll be chasing all night. From the crest the road drags on—false flat—along Albany Walk and into Parish Ghyll Drive.
Next comes the return to town: a twisting, high-speed descent that rewards nerve and precision. Whoever dives in first on the final lap often keeps the advantage. The course flicks right-left onto Wilton Road, then swings right again onto Grove Road for a long, arrow-straight dash toward the finish.
All those micro-climbs and corners mean Ilkley rarely ends in a full-mass gallop; instead you get a reduced-group sprint or a late solo/flier. It’s a circuit for punchy riders who can go deep on Riddings Road, recover on the descent and then do it again… and again… and again.
Timings
Time
Race
18.00
Ilkley CC Young Riders – Pedal on The Grove
18.30
Veterans’ Race
19.05
Men’s 2/3/4 Race
19.50
Orbea Women’s Grand Prix
20.50
Lister Horsfall Men’s Grand Prix
How to follow
The British Continental will be on the ground. Head to our Instagram for interviews and coverage.
Also keep an eye on Rapha UK’s Instagram for more roadside content. Rapha’s Mobile Service Course will be there providing cowbells, Assembly coffee and Lucky Saint beers to fans.
Riders to watch
Orbea Women’s Grand Prix
DAS-Hutchinson enter the race as the team to beat after a dominant 1-3-4 result in Otley on Wednesday night. Spearheading the team’s attack is Robyn Clay, fresh off a surge to victory at the Otley Grand Prix. The win put Clay into the National Circuit Series leader’s jersey, vaulted to her to the top of the Rapha Super-League standings and confirmed the raw turn of speed and endurance that already carried her to the Tour of the Reservoir win in June. Note that she was second in Ilkley last year, only beaten by Millie Couzens. It would be no surprise to see her win tonight.
Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson) Series leader. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
DAS-Hutchinson’s threat goes well beyond Clay, however. Lucy Lee was 5th in this race last year and was particularly active in Otley. If the race becomes a war of attrition on Riddings Road then the 2024 Ryedale Grand Prix winner is well-placed to take advantage. The same goes for the young Scot, Morven Yeoman. Third at Otley and still only 21, Yeoman thrives on repeated short climbs.
The Handsling Alba Development Road Team offer a credible threat to DAS’ firepower. The new British Circuit Race Champion and 2024 Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix winner Kate Richardson was unlucky have a race in Otley derailed by a puncture. She is the archetypal rider for the Ilkley circuit, however, so will look to make amends. Teammate Madelaine Leech was runner-up to Clay at Otley and and brings huge power and a mighty sprint. She was 4th in this race in 2024.
National Circuit Champion Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team). Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The 2024 Otley Grand Prix winner Frankie Hall (Praties Cycling Team) loves a long-range bid for glory and was notably active in Otley. Give her 30 metres on the descent and she’ll be hard to reel back. Regional road-race champion and multiple National B victor this season, Madeline Cooper (Montezuma’s Eventrex RT) is one of the breakthrough riders of 2025. She climbs well, and 12th place in Otley suggests her form is in a good place. One of the peloton’s most aggressive animators.
9th at Otley and 9th in Ilkley last year and the British XC Marathon champion Anna Flynn (Spectra Racing) can use her off-road pedigree and bike-handling edge for Ilkley’s twisting drop into town. Finally, Anna Morris (Private Member) is a world-record-holding track pursuiter who turned that horsepower into fifth at Otley. If she makes the selection, her 4-minute power could decide the sprint from a select few.
Lister Horsfall Open Grand Prix
Wednesday’s controversial Otley victor Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) has demonstrated time and time again than he can finish off a bunch sprint. Ilkley’s extra climbing suits his punch; confidence is sky-high and Wheelbase will ride to defend his new National Circuit Series lead. Shoreman lines up with some equally capable teammates, including Tom Armstrong. Fifth at Otley, the Lancastrian thrives on repeated anaerobic efforts and isn’t afraid to gamble early. Third at the wind-blasted East Cleveland Classic and a self-confessed “all-in attacker”. Ilkley’s 14 % kicker is tailor-made for Tom Martin’s big-ring surges. If Shoreman is marked, Armstrong and Martin are the natural Plan Bs for a move over the top of Riddings Road.
Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) series leader. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck might be the dominant road racing team this season – flying high inThe British Continental road race rankings – but they also have crit firepower. Ilkley is arguably the team’s best chance of a win in the National Circuit Series, with riders including Alex Beldon, National Road Series leader Adam Howell and Will Truelove all well adapted to the repeated climbing efforts that will be required in Ilkley.
Sub-two-minute Ilkley lap-record holder, 2024 Otley winner and former national circuit race champion, Matt Bostock (Tekkerz CC) missed victory at Otley by a wheel after having his sprint disrupted on the finishing straight. He’s now the Rapha Super-League leader, however, and few can match his finishing speed and 5th in this race last year proves the climb is no barrier to success for Bostock either. Bostock has Ollie Wood and Alec Briggs as perfect foils. Wood, in particular, brings raw speed and track-bike handling that translates perfectly to town-centre crits; expect him to shepherd Bostock or launch a late flyer himself.
Matthew Bostock (TEKKERZ CC). Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Outside the ‘big three’ teams, look out for Jente Michels (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team).2023 U23 European cyclo-cross champion impressed with 12th on his UK crit debut in Otley. Bike-handling and explosive power could see the Belgian crack the home riders on this more selective course.
Finn Crockett (VolkerWessels) is a Commonwealth bronze medallist and classics specialist, fresh from third at Otley. Loves rough-and-tumble finales and has a fast kick after a hard hour – perfect for Ilkley’s punchy profile. Finally, Jack Brough (AVC Aix-en-Provence) is a Continental-based Brit who was active in the National Road Championships road race last week, finishing in the top 20. The 2025 Trophée de I’Essor races aggressively and won’t wait for the sprint; a danger man if he gets up the road.
Friday 4 July is Round 2 of the National Circuit Series and Round 8 of Rapha’s 16-race Super-League where the country’s punchiest specialists will trade attacks all night. Born in 2014 to mark Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Départ, the Ilkley Cycle Races creates a festival-like feel – kerb-to-kerb barriers, cow-bells, pop-up bars and free entry put you inches from the action.
Here is our preview.
Featured image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
What is it?
A town-centre criterium run over a 1.5 km circuit in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, featuring a stinging 8 % ramp up Riddings Road each lap before the riders dive back onto The Grove for the deafening sprint past Bettys. It’s Round 2 of the British Cycling Lloyds National Circuit Series – Otley kicked things off two nights earlier – and Round 8 of Rapha’s new 16-race Super-League points competition.
If the Otley Grand Prix is Britain’s criterium equivalent of Milan–San Remo – always balanced on the knife-edge between a late escape and a bunch gallop – Ilkley is the domestic crit version of Liège–Bastogne–Liège: the repeated climb up Riddings rewards punchier specialists who can attack, regroup and go again before the descent and flat run-in. Expect relentless accelerations, small splits and a winner who can both kick on the hill and muscle through a head-down drag race to the line.
The races were created in 2014 to celebrate Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Départ and have grown into one of the country’s marquee summer crit nights. Every barrier is ringside: hundreds cram the kerbs, cow-bells echo off shopfronts and even casual fans get swept up in the roar. Food stalls, bars and live commentary turn the centre of Ilkley into a festival, and it’s all free. Grab a perch on the outside of the Grove-Riddings corner, bring a bell, and feel the slipstream as Britain’s fastest crit racers blast past every two minutes.
The elite men’s race has previously been won by Alex Dalton (2014), Pete Williams (2015), Scott Thwaites (2016), Tobyn Horton (2017), Tom Moses (2018 and 2019), Reece Wood (2021), Sam Watson (2022), Matt Fox (2023) and Rob Scott (2024). Victors of the women’s elite race, meanwhile, have been Melissa Lowther (2014), Henrietta Colbourne (2015), Rebecca Womersley (2016), Annie Simpson (2017 and 2018), Emily Meakin (2019), Megan Barker (2021) and El King (2022), while newly-minted national road champion Millie Couzens won the 2023 and 2024 editions.
Route
Ilkley’s 1.5 km clockwise loop is short, steep and decidedly punchier than Otley’s: each lap hauls the bunch up 32 m of climbing (32 m/ km versus Otley’s 23 m/ 2.3 km), so it routinely splits the field and rewards attackers over pure sprinters. Expect constant accelerations and very few “easy” laps as teams try to force a selection early.
Because the circuit is so compact, a clean lap takes little more than two minutes; only Tom Pidcock, Max Poole and Matt Bostock have dipped under 2 minutes (1 : 59) on Strava’s leaderboard.
The lap sets off outside Bettys Café Tea Rooms on The Grove, then snaps through a sharp 90-degree right. That corner funnels the bunch straight onto Riddings Road’s 200-metre ramp, which tops out at roughly 14 % and is where you can expect the first big digs. Hold your position here or you’ll be chasing all night. From the crest the road drags on—false flat—along Albany Walk and into Parish Ghyll Drive.
Next comes the return to town: a twisting, high-speed descent that rewards nerve and precision. Whoever dives in first on the final lap often keeps the advantage. The course flicks right-left onto Wilton Road, then swings right again onto Grove Road for a long, arrow-straight dash toward the finish.
All those micro-climbs and corners mean Ilkley rarely ends in a full-mass gallop; instead you get a reduced-group sprint or a late solo/flier. It’s a circuit for punchy riders who can go deep on Riddings Road, recover on the descent and then do it again… and again… and again.
Timings
How to follow
The British Continental will be on the ground. Head to our Instagram for interviews and coverage.
Also keep an eye on Rapha UK’s Instagram for more roadside content. Rapha’s Mobile Service Course will be there providing cowbells, Assembly coffee and Lucky Saint beers to fans.
Riders to watch
Orbea Women’s Grand Prix
DAS-Hutchinson enter the race as the team to beat after a dominant 1-3-4 result in Otley on Wednesday night. Spearheading the team’s attack is Robyn Clay, fresh off a surge to victory at the Otley Grand Prix. The win put Clay into the National Circuit Series leader’s jersey, vaulted to her to the top of the Rapha Super-League standings and confirmed the raw turn of speed and endurance that already carried her to the Tour of the Reservoir win in June. Note that she was second in Ilkley last year, only beaten by Millie Couzens. It would be no surprise to see her win tonight.
DAS-Hutchinson’s threat goes well beyond Clay, however. Lucy Lee was 5th in this race last year and was particularly active in Otley. If the race becomes a war of attrition on Riddings Road then the 2024 Ryedale Grand Prix winner is well-placed to take advantage. The same goes for the young Scot, Morven Yeoman. Third at Otley and still only 21, Yeoman thrives on repeated short climbs.
The Handsling Alba Development Road Team offer a credible threat to DAS’ firepower. The new British Circuit Race Champion and 2024 Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix winner Kate Richardson was unlucky have a race in Otley derailed by a puncture. She is the archetypal rider for the Ilkley circuit, however, so will look to make amends. Teammate Madelaine Leech was runner-up to Clay at Otley and and brings huge power and a mighty sprint. She was 4th in this race in 2024.
The 2024 Otley Grand Prix winner Frankie Hall (Praties Cycling Team) loves a long-range bid for glory and was notably active in Otley. Give her 30 metres on the descent and she’ll be hard to reel back. Regional road-race champion and multiple National B victor this season, Madeline Cooper (Montezuma’s Eventrex RT) is one of the breakthrough riders of 2025. She climbs well, and 12th place in Otley suggests her form is in a good place. One of the peloton’s most aggressive animators.
9th at Otley and 9th in Ilkley last year and the British XC Marathon champion Anna Flynn (Spectra Racing) can use her off-road pedigree and bike-handling edge for Ilkley’s twisting drop into town. Finally, Anna Morris (Private Member)
is a world-record-holding track pursuiter who turned that horsepower into fifth at Otley. If she makes the selection, her 4-minute power could decide the sprint from a select few.
Lister Horsfall Open Grand Prix
Wednesday’s controversial Otley victor Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) has demonstrated time and time again than he can finish off a bunch sprint. Ilkley’s extra climbing suits his punch; confidence is sky-high and Wheelbase will ride to defend his new National Circuit Series lead. Shoreman lines up with some equally capable teammates, including Tom Armstrong. Fifth at Otley, the Lancastrian thrives on repeated anaerobic efforts and isn’t afraid to gamble early. Third at the wind-blasted East Cleveland Classic and a self-confessed “all-in attacker”. Ilkley’s 14 % kicker is tailor-made for Tom Martin’s big-ring surges. If Shoreman is marked, Armstrong and Martin are the natural Plan Bs for a move over the top of Riddings Road.
Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck might be the dominant road racing team this season – flying high in The British Continental road race rankings – but they also have crit firepower. Ilkley is arguably the team’s best chance of a win in the National Circuit Series, with riders including Alex Beldon, National Road Series leader Adam Howell and Will Truelove all well adapted to the repeated climbing efforts that will be required in Ilkley.
Sub-two-minute Ilkley lap-record holder, 2024 Otley winner and former national circuit race champion, Matt Bostock (Tekkerz CC) missed victory at Otley by a wheel after having his sprint disrupted on the finishing straight. He’s now the Rapha Super-League leader, however, and few can match his finishing speed and 5th in this race last year proves the climb is no barrier to success for Bostock either. Bostock has Ollie Wood and Alec Briggs as perfect foils. Wood, in particular, brings raw speed and track-bike handling that translates perfectly to town-centre crits; expect him to shepherd Bostock or launch a late flyer himself.
Outside the ‘big three’ teams, look out for Jente Michels (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team). 2023 U23 European cyclo-cross champion impressed with 12th on his UK crit debut in Otley. Bike-handling and explosive power could see the Belgian crack the home riders on this more selective course.
Finn Crockett (VolkerWessels) is a Commonwealth bronze medallist and classics specialist, fresh from third at Otley. Loves rough-and-tumble finales and has a fast kick after a hard hour – perfect for Ilkley’s punchy profile. Finally, Jack Brough (AVC Aix-en-Provence) is a Continental-based Brit who was active in the National Road Championships road race last week, finishing in the top 20. The 2025 Trophée de I’Essor races aggressively and won’t wait for the sprint; a danger man if he gets up the road.
Provisional startlists
Orbea Women’s Grand Prix
Lister Horsfall Open Grand Prix
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