Diss CC’s Summer Road Race is back on Sunday 13 July, the first National B road race for almost a month, rolling out from Lophams Village Hall at 13:00 for 117 km of Norfolk’s quiet country lanes.
Diss CC’s Summer Road Race is back on Sunday 13 July, the first National B road race for almost a month, rolling out from Lophams Village Hall at 13:00 for 117 km of Norfolk’s quiet country lanes.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
Think of the Diss CC Summer Road Race as Norfolk’s annual stress-test for anyone with National B ambitions. Restored to the calendar after last summer’s enforced no-show due to roadworks, the 2025 edition rolls out from Lophams Village Hall at 13:00 on Sunday 13 July and serves up 19 full-gas laps of the Lophams triangle – 117 km of flat-but-never-easy tarmac for Elite, first, second and third cats alike.
Although nominally a stand-alone fixture, the race now anchors the Norfolk Cycle Race Weekend, which starts 24 hours earlier with circuit racing at the Lotus test track and a Regional B event organised by VC Norwich on the same loop on Sunday morning.
Route
The Lophams triangle is a dead-flat, 7 km loop etched through South Norfolk’s Grade 2–3 arable farmland, its three straight legs hemmed in in places only by dense, mixed hedgerows along the rural lanes.
The race covers 19 anti-clockwise laps – 117 km (73 mi) in total– each circuit featuring three sharp left-hand junctions and a false-flat rise to the finish line along Harling Road. The profile barely troubles the elevation charts.
The roads are exposed in places. Image: Google
Sunday’s forecast – warm mid-20s temperatures, sunny intervals and only a light south-westerly – should temper the worst of the cross-wind chaos, yet that same breeze will still strike riders broadside on the long, exposed drag down towards Garboldisham. The Met Office wind-rose for nearby Coltishall shows the SW quarter is the region’s prevailing direction, so even a modest puff can string the bunch into echelons if riders decide to turn the screw.
In short: pan-flat doesn’t mean easy, but with gentle winds and sunshine expected, raw wattage and race craft – rather than weather-proofing – are likely to decide who survives those 19 laps.
Riders to watch
Dan Bigham (HUUB WattShop) returned to domestic racing in blistering form in 2025, storming to a solo win at the DAP CC Road Race in late May. On the exposed flat circuit, he broke the race open with a long, powerful move – exactly the kind of scenario that suits this world-class time trialist. Bigham isn’t just a powerful road rider; he’s an Olympic and world medallist on the track (team pursuit gold at the 2022 Worlds, Olympic silver in 2024) and the holder of the British Hour Record. In short, he has the engine and savvy to light up a flat, windy race.
Clay Davies (Ride Revolution Coaching) is a proven winner at this level, demonstrated most recently at The Andrews Trophy in April, executing a perfectly-timed stealth attack to win solo. He really shines when the race fractures – exactly what we could see on this flat, potentially windy course. If a break forms, he’s likely to be one of the animators.
Image: Mark James
A promising U23 talent, Elliot Colyer (TAAP Kalas) has been quietly building good form. In 2024 he finished a very credible 5th in the PNE National B Road Race – a hard South Downs circuit – before jumping up a level by signing with TAAP Kalas for 2025. This June, he showed his mettle in the hills, taking second overall in the tough Mennock Pass Stage Race in Scotland. 6th place in the Halesowen Academy U23 Road Race earlier in the month confirmed him as one of the promising under-23s on the domestic circuit.
Three Charlies on the startlist all have the potential to shine. Charlie Crawt (Primo RT) has been knocking on the door all spring: sixth at the Andrews Trophy Road Race in late April was followed by 12th at the DAP CC Road Race and a top ten at the Derek Lusher Memorial. Charlie Genner (Telco’m – On Clima – Osés) has been in career-best shape this year. He triumphed at the hilly Chitterne Road Race in April 2025, riding away in a two-man break and out-sprinting Finn Dunton in the final kilometre. In the new Mennock Pass Stage Race, Genner held the lead overnight before slipping to 5th overall on the final stage. Now 27, Charlie Meredith is authoring one of 2025’s more intriguing comeback stories. Riding for Spanish amateur outfit Grupo Eulen-NUUK this season after several seasons away from road racing, the Devonian has traded UK anonymity for a string of eye-catching Iberian results: he opened the year with 3rd at Ereñoko Udala Sari Nagusia before climbing to 2nd overall at the Vuelta a Extremadura. May’s Bidasoa Itzulia confirmed the reboot: Meredith won the punchy 4 km prologue on Jaizkibel, doubled up two days later on the Hendaye–Irun finale, and again landed 2nd on GC.
Steven Parsonage at the 2024 Beaumont Trophy. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Steven Parsonage (Richardsons – Trek DAS) began the season late, his start derailed after picking up an injury at DAS-Richardsons’ February training camp. He has made up for lost time since, however. He opened June with 5th at the Derek Lusher Memorial, surviving the windswept Norfolk lanes, then lit up mid-June’s GIANT Tugby Ronde van Wymeswold, finishing 2nd on GC after 3rd on Stage 1 and 4th in the road-bike TT – proof he can both sprint from a break and hold high power against the clock. His crit sharpness remains intact too, as shown by 11th in the National Circuit Series round at Guildford on Wednesday.
Joseph Smith (ESEG Douai) left the domestic scene this year to develop abroad, is racing for ESEG Douai (a French amateur team) – and the results are starting to stack up: 3rd on Stage 3 of the Tour de la Manche (23 May), 6th at the Grand Prix de Saint-Quentin (6 April), 7th at the Grand Prix de Masnières (8 May) and 8th at the Critérium de Soissons (2 June). Those results, earned against battle-hardened French seniors, suggest the former junior national cyclo-cross champion will be on the right side of any splits this weekend.
Joseph Smith riding for Wheelbase CabTech Castelli last season. Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
Joshua Horsfield (Reflex Nopinz) has been consistently strong in 2025 – ninth at the season-opener at the Portsdown Classic has been followed by several further top tens, including 4th at the wind-buffeted Wheldrake 200 Road Race in May. Finally, Horsfield’s teammate Sam Walsham has had some eye-catching results in 2025, none more so than his swashbuckling performance in the tough Peaks 2 Day stage race in March, which earned him second in the general classification. His aggressive style of racing could serve him well in Diss.
Diss CC’s Summer Road Race is back on Sunday 13 July, the first National B road race for almost a month, rolling out from Lophams Village Hall at 13:00 for 117 km of Norfolk’s quiet country lanes.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
Think of the Diss CC Summer Road Race as Norfolk’s annual stress-test for anyone with National B ambitions. Restored to the calendar after last summer’s enforced no-show due to roadworks, the 2025 edition rolls out from Lophams Village Hall at 13:00 on Sunday 13 July and serves up 19 full-gas laps of the Lophams triangle – 117 km of flat-but-never-easy tarmac for Elite, first, second and third cats alike.
Although nominally a stand-alone fixture, the race now anchors the Norfolk Cycle Race Weekend, which starts 24 hours earlier with circuit racing at the Lotus test track and a Regional B event organised by VC Norwich on the same loop on Sunday morning.
Route
The Lophams triangle is a dead-flat, 7 km loop etched through South Norfolk’s Grade 2–3 arable farmland, its three straight legs hemmed in in places only by dense, mixed hedgerows along the rural lanes.
The race covers 19 anti-clockwise laps – 117 km (73 mi) in total – each circuit featuring three sharp left-hand junctions and a false-flat rise to the finish line along Harling Road. The profile barely troubles the elevation charts.
Sunday’s forecast – warm mid-20s temperatures, sunny intervals and only a light south-westerly – should temper the worst of the cross-wind chaos, yet that same breeze will still strike riders broadside on the long, exposed drag down towards Garboldisham. The Met Office wind-rose for nearby Coltishall shows the SW quarter is the region’s prevailing direction, so even a modest puff can string the bunch into echelons if riders decide to turn the screw.
In short: pan-flat doesn’t mean easy, but with gentle winds and sunshine expected, raw wattage and race craft – rather than weather-proofing – are likely to decide who survives those 19 laps.
Riders to watch
Dan Bigham (HUUB WattShop) returned to domestic racing in blistering form in 2025, storming to a solo win at the DAP CC Road Race in late May. On the exposed flat circuit, he broke the race open with a long, powerful move – exactly the kind of scenario that suits this world-class time trialist. Bigham isn’t just a powerful road rider; he’s an Olympic and world medallist on the track (team pursuit gold at the 2022 Worlds, Olympic silver in 2024) and the holder of the British Hour Record. In short, he has the engine and savvy to light up a flat, windy race.
Clay Davies (Ride Revolution Coaching) is a proven winner at this level, demonstrated most recently at The Andrews Trophy in April, executing a perfectly-timed stealth attack to win solo. He really shines when the race fractures – exactly what we could see on this flat, potentially windy course. If a break forms, he’s likely to be one of the animators.
A promising U23 talent, Elliot Colyer (TAAP Kalas) has been quietly building good form. In 2024 he finished a very credible 5th in the PNE National B Road Race – a hard South Downs circuit – before jumping up a level by signing with TAAP Kalas for 2025. This June, he showed his mettle in the hills, taking second overall in the tough Mennock Pass Stage Race in Scotland. 6th place in the Halesowen Academy U23 Road Race earlier in the month confirmed him as one of the promising under-23s on the domestic circuit.
Three Charlies on the startlist all have the potential to shine. Charlie Crawt (Primo RT) has been knocking on the door all spring: sixth at the Andrews Trophy Road Race in late April was followed by 12th at the DAP CC Road Race and a top ten at the Derek Lusher Memorial. Charlie Genner (Telco’m – On Clima – Osés) has been in career-best shape this year. He triumphed at the hilly Chitterne Road Race in April 2025, riding away in a two-man break and out-sprinting Finn Dunton in the final kilometre. In the new Mennock Pass Stage Race, Genner held the lead overnight before slipping to 5th overall on the final stage. Now 27, Charlie Meredith is authoring one of 2025’s more intriguing comeback stories. Riding for Spanish amateur outfit Grupo Eulen-NUUK this season after several seasons away from road racing, the Devonian has traded UK anonymity for a string of eye-catching Iberian results: he opened the year with 3rd at Ereñoko Udala Sari Nagusia before climbing to 2nd overall at the Vuelta a Extremadura. May’s Bidasoa Itzulia confirmed the reboot: Meredith won the punchy 4 km prologue on Jaizkibel, doubled up two days later on the Hendaye–Irun finale, and again landed 2nd on GC.
Steven Parsonage (Richardsons – Trek DAS) began the season late, his start derailed after picking up an injury at DAS-Richardsons’ February training camp. He has made up for lost time since, however. He opened June with 5th at the Derek Lusher Memorial, surviving the windswept Norfolk lanes, then lit up mid-June’s GIANT Tugby Ronde van Wymeswold, finishing 2nd on GC after 3rd on Stage 1 and 4th in the road-bike TT – proof he can both sprint from a break and hold high power against the clock. His crit sharpness remains intact too, as shown by 11th in the National Circuit Series round at Guildford on Wednesday.
Joseph Smith (ESEG Douai) left the domestic scene this year to develop abroad, is racing for ESEG Douai (a French amateur team) – and the results are starting to stack up: 3rd on Stage 3 of the Tour de la Manche (23 May), 6th at the Grand Prix de Saint-Quentin (6 April), 7th at the Grand Prix de Masnières (8 May) and 8th at the Critérium de Soissons (2 June). Those results, earned against battle-hardened French seniors, suggest the former junior national cyclo-cross champion will be on the right side of any splits this weekend.
Joshua Horsfield (Reflex Nopinz) has been consistently strong in 2025 – ninth at the season-opener at the Portsdown Classic has been followed by several further top tens, including 4th at the wind-buffeted Wheldrake 200 Road Race in May. Finally, Horsfield’s teammate Sam Walsham has had some eye-catching results in 2025, none more so than his swashbuckling performance in the tough Peaks 2 Day stage race in March, which earned him second in the general classification. His aggressive style of racing could serve him well in Diss.
Provisional startlist
Entries are available on the start line.
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