2025 Guildford Town Centre Races: preview and startlists
Guildford’s cobbled High Street morphs into a flood-lit arena tonight (9 July) as the 41st Guildford Town Centre Races roar back for a key Rapha Super-League showdown and Round 3 of the National Circuit Series
Guildford’s cobbled High Street morphs into a flood-lit arena tonight (9 July) as the 41st Guildford Town Centre Races roar back for a key Rapha Super-League showdown and Round 3 of the National Circuit Series. One tight, 1 km lap, packed pavements, elbows out: every corner could rewrite the leaderboards.
Here is our preview.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
What is it?
Organised since 1984 by the ever-enthusiastic Charlotteville CC, the Guildford Town Centre Races return on Wednesday 9 July for their 41st edition, turning the picturesque cobbled High Street into a amphitheatre for criterium racing once again.
Now three seasons deep as a National A fixture – the race stepped up from National B in 2023 – Guildford slots in as Round 3 of the 2025 Lloyds National Circuit Series, following last week’s openers in Otley and the Ilkley GP double-header. It also carries weight in the Rapha Super-League, acting as Round 9 of Rapha’s new series, so riders will be chasing championship points as keenly as glory on the night.
Expect a carnival atmosphere, packed pavements and – as ever – high-stakes, elbows-out action on Guildford’s tight, 1 km, part-cobbled circuit once the sun dips behind Holy Trinity’s spire.
Alex Morrice wins in 2023. Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Route
Guildford’s crit circuit is short-course theatre at its finest: a punchy 1-kilometre loop that wriggles around the historic heart of the town on a patchwork of cobbles, block paviours and glossy tarmac.
Riders launch outside Holy Trinity Church, immediately grinding up the buttery-yellow setts of the High Street. The road pinches beneath the portico, forcing a fight for position before the track bears right onto the wider upper High Street A3100.
A brief drag carries the bunch to the top of town where they execute a tight U-turn just before the speed table by Pizza Express – the sole pit area sits here. Then it’s gravity-fuelled chaos back down the same carriageway, on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, into a 90-degree right beside Rymans. Now on smooth tarmac, the course plunges past the market to the only real speed table on the lap – a jolt that unsettles bikes and nerves in equal measure.
A sharp left flick fires the bunch onto the narrower, paved lane of Market Street. A chamfered kerb marks the entry – hit it offline and you’ll feel it – before the road tilts up, funnelling riders towards another 90-left. Back on the cobbles, the pack sprints uphill to the line amid flagstones, shopfronts and crowd noise. The finish straight is barely 200 metres but bites at five or six per cent, making every lap a lactic-acid test.
Spectator hotspots? The cobbled run-in outside Trinity is grandstand stuff; the Market Street bend offers inches-away action; and the upper-High-Street U-turn lets you witness both brake-squealing entry and drag-race exit.
In short, Guildford’s route is a fast, technical circuit – all rhythm-breaking corners and leg-sapping cobbles.
Timings
Time
Race
17.45
The Spokesman Under 8 Boys and Girls Race
18.00
The Positano Under 10 & Under 12 Boys and Girls Race
18.20
The Geared Up Cycles Under 14 & Under 16 Open and Girls Race
18.45
The Foran Construction Local Heroes Open Race
19.40
The Greyfriars Vineyard Guildford Women’s Grand Prix
20.40
The Cycle Exchange Guildford Open Grand Prix
How to follow
Follow British Cycling’s social media channels for coverage.
Rapha UK’s Instagram will have more roadside content; look out too for Mobile Service Course, which will be at the race providing cowbells, Assembly coffee and Lucky Saint beers to fans. And there will be a special TEKKERZ Boot Sale too, for anyone wanting to get their hands on the team’s new kit.
Riders to watch
The Greyfriars Vineyard Guildford Women’s Grand Prix
With Anna Morris (National Circuit Series leader after Ilkley) and national circuit race champion Kate Richardson both skipping Guildford, and with many UCI Continental squads concentrating on European road race blocks, the door swings open for the rest of the peloton – and the only full-strength DAS-Hutchinson squad looks poised to stride straight through it.
Rapha Super-League leader Robyn Clay, fresh from ripping up Otley to claim the opening round and extending her cushion at the summit of the Rapha Super-League by 22 points, Clay has the kick – and, crucially, the lieutenants – to wrestle back the National Circuit Series jersey in Morris’s absence. She has been in blistering form this season – she won a rain-soaked stage of the Tour de Feminin this year and took a powerful victory at the brutal Tour of the Reservoir too.
Robyn Clay (centre) wins the Otley Grand Prix with Morven Yeoman (left) in third. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Sophie Lewis is another DAS-Hutchinson big gun: the former British track pursuit champion was 2023’s Otley GP winner and a triple National Circuit Series round victor, with the punch and sprint to match her pedigree. Lucy Lee likewise packs a punch: she already notched an early-season win at the Kennel Hill Classic in 2025, and has helped to animate the National Circuit Series so far. Meanwhile Morven Yeoman, still just 21, is a form rider, having finished third in Otley and fourth in Ilkley. Another top result will see her riding even higher in the National Circuit Series standings.
Outside the DAS train, look for Handsling–Alba Development’s Keira Bond to animate things. The 20-year-old American has burst onto the scene in Britain last year with victory in the Sheffield GP in 2024. She generally races with an aggressive, attentive style but her form is unknown having race little in 2025. Smurfit Westrock’s Lucy Glover should not be underestimated either. A former junior national champion, Glover won the Dudley GP in 2023 at just 16 and finished a high-quality fifth in last year’s Otley GP; her sprinting speed and confidence (now a first-year U23) make her a potent outsider. Glover’s teammate Alex Morrice, a local to Guildford, is another rider to watch. Two summers ago Morrice, then in Canyon//SRAM colours, ripped clear after just nine laps and never looked back, winning by half a minute and leaving Guildford’s crowds in raptures. The 25-year-old has already posted eighth at May’s Rapha Lincoln GP. Most importantly, she knows every camber and chamfer of this 1-kilometre loop.
Xan Crees at Otey. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Monica Greenwood (Team Coop–Repsol) is a veteran to watch – she’s extremely consistent at the sharp end (including a win at the 2023 Sheffield GP) and finished 7th at this year’s national circuit champs, so she will be alert to moves and dangerous if it comes down to a small sprint. Cyclocross ace Xan Crees (Fatcreations/ USE Components) could also surprise: she won the British cyclocross title in January 2025, so her endurance and bike-handling will serve her well on Guildford’s twisty streets.
Several others may pop up in the finale. Isabel Darvill (CJ O’Shea Racing) has a real predilection for crits – she took third in the 2024 national circuit champs and a top-10 at Otley – and would be a threat if she’s on form.
Madeline Cooper at Ilkley. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco’s Becky Gardiner and Montezuma’s Eventrex’s Madeline Cooper are also worth noting. Gardiner was in the mix at Guildford last year (finishing 16th) and will know the circuit well, while Cooper has been one of the most consistent domestic riders this year and will be out to justify that form. Her third place in Ilkley moved her up to 6th in the Rapha Super-League standings. Young Hess Cycling Team rider Holly Ramsey is another name to watch; still only a teenager, she brings UCI race experience from the Conti ranks, and, like Cooper, she has been outstanding domestically in 2025.
The Cycle Exchange Guildford Open Grand Prix
With Rapha Super-League front-runner Matt Bostock, National Circuit Series leader Finn Crockett and Otley Grand Prix hero Tim Shoreman all skipping this race, the High Street’s cobbles could crown a new headline-act. Guildford rewards brains, brakes and a 15-second kick, and the start-sheet still drips with riders who tick all three boxes.
William Truelove at Ilkley. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck bring a strong squad, as usual, and while they boast leading domestic road races Adam Howell and Alex Beldon, who are threats in themselves, it is perhaps Will Truelove where the team’s best hopes lie. Second overall in the National Circuit Series, the Welsh 23-year-old is suddenly the man everyone must mark. He was fourth in Otley and third in Ilkley, demonstrating this critical form right now. What’s more, his 4th place in this race last year shows he knows how to succeed in this circuit.
Last year’s Guildford was won by TEKKERZ CC’s Rob Scott, who soloed to a dominant victory, but Scott isn’t listed this year, so his teammate Alec Briggs becomes the TEKKERZ man to watch. Briggs – the mastermind behind the Tekkerz crit project – is a pure speedster who regularly tops podiums on fast, technical circuits (he was 3rd here in 2024) and will be a major threat. Fellow TEKKERZ rider Milo Wills, just 17, bagged a breakout win in Ilkley last week and no-one would bet against him repeating the feat this evening. He and Oscar Amey were both part of Britain’s world‑champion cyclocross relay team in 2025, and both have very bright futures. Amey himself, also 17 and also in the field, is the reigning British junior cyclocross champion; he almost won the VIA Criterium last month in a daring solo raid that only team-mate Ollie Wood could thwart. On that evidence, this circuit should suit his skills.
Milo Wills wins in Ilkley. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The race route suits those with power. Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is a veteran all-rounder who regularly finishes in the top ten in National A races. 5th place in both Otley and Ilkley demonstrate he has the legs to punch with the best on a fast circuit. European U23 cyclocross champion Jente Michels (Alpecin–Deceuninck Development) should not be overlooked either: his brute strength and bike-handling from the bikes wash translate well to Guildford’s tight course; he was 4th in Ilkley and could go even better here.
Harry Macfarlane (Ride Revolution Coaching) was 5th here in 2024 and is a strong rider who excels on these tight circuits; he could well feature tonight. Also keep an eye on sprinter Jim Brown (Golden State Blazers), who has impressed in the States and at home this season already.
Daniel Barnes at Guildford in 2024. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Finally, watch out for Daniel Barnes (Spectra Racing) and Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB). Like Michels, Barnes is a cyclocross specialist in good form, demonstrated by 9th in Ilkley and a top 15 on Otley. Portsmouth is normally found racing on the Continent for his ProTeam. This is a home race for Portsmouth though, so he will be looking to apply his huge engine and aggressive racing style in front of the local crowds.
Provisional startlists
The Greyfriars Vineyard Guildford Women’s Grand Prix
Guildford’s cobbled High Street morphs into a flood-lit arena tonight (9 July) as the 41st Guildford Town Centre Races roar back for a key Rapha Super-League showdown and Round 3 of the National Circuit Series. One tight, 1 km lap, packed pavements, elbows out: every corner could rewrite the leaderboards.
Here is our preview.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
What is it?
Organised since 1984 by the ever-enthusiastic Charlotteville CC, the Guildford Town Centre Races return on Wednesday 9 July for their 41st edition, turning the picturesque cobbled High Street into a amphitheatre for criterium racing once again.
Now three seasons deep as a National A fixture – the race stepped up from National B in 2023 – Guildford slots in as Round 3 of the 2025 Lloyds National Circuit Series, following last week’s openers in Otley and the Ilkley GP double-header. It also carries weight in the Rapha Super-League, acting as Round 9 of Rapha’s new series, so riders will be chasing championship points as keenly as glory on the night.
Expect a carnival atmosphere, packed pavements and – as ever – high-stakes, elbows-out action on Guildford’s tight, 1 km, part-cobbled circuit once the sun dips behind Holy Trinity’s spire.
Route
Guildford’s crit circuit is short-course theatre at its finest: a punchy 1-kilometre loop that wriggles around the historic heart of the town on a patchwork of cobbles, block paviours and glossy tarmac.
Riders launch outside Holy Trinity Church, immediately grinding up the buttery-yellow setts of the High Street. The road pinches beneath the portico, forcing a fight for position before the track bears right onto the wider upper High Street A3100.
A brief drag carries the bunch to the top of town where they execute a tight U-turn just before the speed table by Pizza Express – the sole pit area sits here. Then it’s gravity-fuelled chaos back down the same carriageway, on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, into a 90-degree right beside Rymans. Now on smooth tarmac, the course plunges past the market to the only real speed table on the lap – a jolt that unsettles bikes and nerves in equal measure.
A sharp left flick fires the bunch onto the narrower, paved lane of Market Street. A chamfered kerb marks the entry – hit it offline and you’ll feel it – before the road tilts up, funnelling riders towards another 90-left. Back on the cobbles, the pack sprints uphill to the line amid flagstones, shopfronts and crowd noise. The finish straight is barely 200 metres but bites at five or six per cent, making every lap a lactic-acid test.
Spectator hotspots? The cobbled run-in outside Trinity is grandstand stuff; the Market Street bend offers inches-away action; and the upper-High-Street U-turn lets you witness both brake-squealing entry and drag-race exit.
In short, Guildford’s route is a fast, technical circuit – all rhythm-breaking corners and leg-sapping cobbles.
Timings
How to follow
Follow British Cycling’s social media channels for coverage.
Rapha UK’s Instagram will have more roadside content; look out too for Mobile Service Course, which will be at the race providing cowbells, Assembly coffee and Lucky Saint beers to fans. And there will be a special TEKKERZ Boot Sale too, for anyone wanting to get their hands on the team’s new kit.
Riders to watch
The Greyfriars Vineyard Guildford Women’s Grand Prix
With Anna Morris (National Circuit Series leader after Ilkley) and national circuit race champion Kate Richardson both skipping Guildford, and with many UCI Continental squads concentrating on European road race blocks, the door swings open for the rest of the peloton – and the only full-strength DAS-Hutchinson squad looks poised to stride straight through it.
Rapha Super-League leader Robyn Clay, fresh from ripping up Otley to claim the opening round and extending her cushion at the summit of the Rapha Super-League by 22 points, Clay has the kick – and, crucially, the lieutenants – to wrestle back the National Circuit Series jersey in Morris’s absence. She has been in blistering form this season – she won a rain-soaked stage of the Tour de Feminin this year and took a powerful victory at the brutal Tour of the Reservoir too.
Sophie Lewis is another DAS-Hutchinson big gun: the former British track pursuit champion was 2023’s Otley GP winner and a triple National Circuit Series round victor, with the punch and sprint to match her pedigree. Lucy Lee likewise packs a punch: she already notched an early-season win at the Kennel Hill Classic in 2025, and has helped to animate the National Circuit Series so far. Meanwhile Morven Yeoman, still just 21, is a form rider, having finished third in Otley and fourth in Ilkley. Another top result will see her riding even higher in the National Circuit Series standings.
Outside the DAS train, look for Handsling–Alba Development’s Keira Bond to animate things. The 20-year-old American has burst onto the scene in Britain last year with victory in the Sheffield GP in 2024. She generally races with an aggressive, attentive style but her form is unknown having race little in 2025. Smurfit Westrock’s Lucy Glover should not be underestimated either. A former junior national champion, Glover won the Dudley GP in 2023 at just 16 and finished a high-quality fifth in last year’s Otley GP; her sprinting speed and confidence (now a first-year U23) make her a potent outsider. Glover’s teammate Alex Morrice, a local to Guildford, is another rider to watch. Two summers ago Morrice, then in Canyon//SRAM colours, ripped clear after just nine laps and never looked back, winning by half a minute and leaving Guildford’s crowds in raptures. The 25-year-old has already posted eighth at May’s Rapha Lincoln GP. Most importantly, she knows every camber and chamfer of this 1-kilometre loop.
Monica Greenwood (Team Coop–Repsol) is a veteran to watch – she’s extremely consistent at the sharp end (including a win at the 2023 Sheffield GP) and finished 7th at this year’s national circuit champs, so she will be alert to moves and dangerous if it comes down to a small sprint. Cyclocross ace Xan Crees (Fatcreations/ USE Components) could also surprise: she won the British cyclocross title in January 2025, so her endurance and bike-handling will serve her well on Guildford’s twisty streets.
Several others may pop up in the finale. Isabel Darvill (CJ O’Shea Racing) has a real predilection for crits – she took third in the 2024 national circuit champs and a top-10 at Otley – and would be a threat if she’s on form.
Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco’s Becky Gardiner and Montezuma’s Eventrex’s Madeline Cooper are also worth noting. Gardiner was in the mix at Guildford last year (finishing 16th) and will know the circuit well, while Cooper has been one of the most consistent domestic riders this year and will be out to justify that form. Her third place in Ilkley moved her up to 6th in the Rapha Super-League standings. Young Hess Cycling Team rider Holly Ramsey is another name to watch; still only a teenager, she brings UCI race experience from the Conti ranks, and, like Cooper, she has been outstanding domestically in 2025.
The Cycle Exchange Guildford Open Grand Prix
With Rapha Super-League front-runner Matt Bostock, National Circuit Series leader Finn Crockett and Otley Grand Prix hero Tim Shoreman all skipping this race, the High Street’s cobbles could crown a new headline-act. Guildford rewards brains, brakes and a 15-second kick, and the start-sheet still drips with riders who tick all three boxes.
Muc-Off-SRCT-Storck bring a strong squad, as usual, and while they boast leading domestic road races Adam Howell and Alex Beldon, who are threats in themselves, it is perhaps Will Truelove where the team’s best hopes lie. Second overall in the National Circuit Series, the Welsh 23-year-old is suddenly the man everyone must mark. He was fourth in Otley and third in Ilkley, demonstrating this critical form right now. What’s more, his 4th place in this race last year shows he knows how to succeed in this circuit.
Last year’s Guildford was won by TEKKERZ CC’s Rob Scott, who soloed to a dominant victory, but Scott isn’t listed this year, so his teammate Alec Briggs becomes the TEKKERZ man to watch. Briggs – the mastermind behind the Tekkerz crit project – is a pure speedster who regularly tops podiums on fast, technical circuits (he was 3rd here in 2024) and will be a major threat. Fellow TEKKERZ rider Milo Wills, just 17, bagged a breakout win in Ilkley last week and no-one would bet against him repeating the feat this evening. He and Oscar Amey were both part of Britain’s world‑champion cyclocross relay team in 2025, and both have very bright futures. Amey himself, also 17 and also in the field, is the reigning British junior cyclocross champion; he almost won the VIA Criterium last month in a daring solo raid that only team-mate Ollie Wood could thwart. On that evidence, this circuit should suit his skills.
The race route suits those with power. Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is a veteran all-rounder who regularly finishes in the top ten in National A races. 5th place in both Otley and Ilkley demonstrate he has the legs to punch with the best on a fast circuit. European U23 cyclocross champion Jente Michels (Alpecin–Deceuninck Development) should not be overlooked either: his brute strength and bike-handling from the bikes wash translate well to Guildford’s tight course; he was 4th in Ilkley and could go even better here.
Harry Macfarlane (Ride Revolution Coaching) was 5th here in 2024 and is a strong rider who excels on these tight circuits; he could well feature tonight. Also keep an eye on sprinter Jim Brown (Golden State Blazers), who has impressed in the States and at home this season already.
Finally, watch out for Daniel Barnes (Spectra Racing) and Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB). Like Michels, Barnes is a cyclocross specialist in good form, demonstrated by 9th in Ilkley and a top 15 on Otley. Portsmouth is normally found racing on the Continent for his ProTeam. This is a home race for Portsmouth though, so he will be looking to apply his huge engine and aggressive racing style in front of the local crowds.
Provisional startlists
The Greyfriars Vineyard Guildford Women’s Grand Prix
The Cycle Exchange Guildford Open Grand Prix
Share this:
Discover more from The British Continental
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.