Sheffield’s steel heart will thrum with all-out crit racing on 16 July, as the Lloyds National Circuit Series and Rapha Super-League blast around its tight-and-shiny 1.4 km city-centre loop.
Sheffield’s steel heart will thrum with all-out crit racing on 16 July, as the Lloyds National Circuit Series and Rapha Super-League blast around its tight-and-shiny 1.4 km city-centre loop. One sultry summer night, cowbells ringing down Pinstone Street, national crit champions Cameron Mason and Kate Richardson will be itching to turn raw speed into glory.
Here is our preview.
Updated at 17.00 on 16 July.
Featured image: SWpix.com
What is it?
The Sheffield Grand Prix is one of Britain’s liveliest mid-week criteriums: a 1.4-kilometre, barrier-lined loop that corkscrews through the very heart of the Steel City and counts as Round 10 of the Rapha Super-League and Round 4 of the Lloyds National Circuit Race Series. The 2025 edition will be the event’s eleventh running, and once again lures the cream of the domestic peloton to Pinstone Street for an hour of threshold-breaking, cobble-rattling combat.
Last summer, Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) and Keira Bond (Alba Development RT) soloed statement wins. Previous past winners include Graham Briggs, Helen Wyman, Dean Downing, Tom Pidcock and Katie Archibald.
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The route
Think of the Sheffield Grand Prix lap as a pocket-sized classic squeezed into 1.3 kilometres of city-centre tarmac. On paper it looks benign – a net-flat figure with just 10 metres of climbing per circuit, an average gradient of –0.2 % and nothing steeper than five per cent – yet the terrain and topography tell a far richer tale.
Clockwise from the start-finish gantry outside Browns on Union Street, the bunch takes a sharp left, which launches them into a sweeping right-hander that drops them onto Pinstone Street as the peloton skirts the Peace Gardens.
Momentum carries the riders onto Surrey Street, where the course narrows, before a rapid left–right flick fires the field onto Norfolk Street and straight into eighty metres of downhill granite setts.
At the bottom of the drop they hook a long right-hander onto Arundel Gate. At the end of this long, flowing passage is the final slingshot round the Furnival Gate roundabout before the road tilts gently upwards back to the finish line on Union Street.
Riders to watch
Schwalbe Women’s Grand Prix
American Keira Bond (Handsling Alba Development RT) won Sheffield – her adopted hometown – in 2024 with a long solo break, and was a key member of the team that supported Eilidh Shaw to the National Circuit Series victory, yet this summer she’s not yet rediscovered last season’s form – only 75th at Otley and 35th in Guildford. A powerful rider by nature, with a cyclocross background, Bond is still capable of taking a flyer if the opportunity arises and her form returns.
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team). Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
There is no doubt about the form of Bond’s teammate, Kate Richardson. The new National Circuit Race champion and 2024 Lincoln Grand Prix winner has been a revelation this season. Winning the Tour de Feminin proved her international pedigree. Although she punctured at Otley, Richardson was instrumental for her team at Ilkley, powering to 2nd place behind Anna Morris. She sits second in the Rapha Super-League standings. Sheffield’s punchy, short-circuit profile suits her aggressive style.
Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson) has been unstoppable so far in 2025. Clay won both the opening National Circuit Series round at Otley and again at Guildford. Add in her Tour of Reservoir win and her incredible consistency throughout 2025 and it is easy to see why she currently tops the Rapha Super-League leaderboard by a healthy margin, heads up the National Circuit Series, and is also the National Road Series leader. Last summer Clay actually missed Sheffield, but this year the DAS firebrand arrives in peak condition. A classic sprinter-puncheur, Clay has both the explosive power and endurance to dominate Sheffield.
Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson) wins the Guildford Grand Prix. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Speaking of dominance, Clay’s team has also been all-conquering in the National Ciruit Series. At Guildford they packed six riders into the top seven. Morven Yeoman has been one of the team’s standouts, finishing 4th at Ilkley and 4th at Guildford, and earlier, she took 3rd at Otley. That consistency puts her just four points behind Clay in the National Circuit Series and deep in contention in any race. She has the legs to lead out Clay or to get up the road herself. Another DAS rider, Sophie Lewis, was 5th in last year’s Sheffield Grand Prix and has maintained solid form in 2025. She came home 7th at Guildford and was 4th in Otley. Lewis possesses a blistering kick after a hard race and has won multiple National Circuit Series rounds in the past, so she is one to watch if it comes down to a sprint. We could list the entire DAS team as contenders, but one other to note in particulart is Lucy Lee, who has quietly put together strong form this year. She finished 3rd at Guildford and was 5th at Sheffield last summer. Lee’s speed and punch make her a natural in the high-speed town circuits and is one of DAS’s most reliable top-10 finishers on all terrains.
The individual pursuit world-record holder, Anna Morris (Private Member), has turned her engine to the crits with immediate impact. Morris launched away on the final lap of Ilkley to claim her first National Circuit Series victory and, in the process, leapfrogged to Serieslead. She missed the Guildford round so dropped down to 7th as a result. She has been strong on the road too, showing her consistency, meaning she is 4th in the Rapha Super-League. In Sheffield, she’ll either be the engine in any break or, if the race settles, a dangerous rider to bring to the line.
Kate Richardson (left), Anna Morris (centre) and Madeline Cooper (right). Image: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
Madeline Cooper, who has joined Spectra Racing on the eve of the race having ridden for Montezuma’s Eventrex until now, is one of 2025’s breakthrough names. She climbed with the best in Ilkley and sprinted to 3rd place. Then at Guildford, she was the only rider who could match the all-powerful DAS-Hutchinson team, forming part of the decisive break and snagging 2nd place behind Clay. Her consistency has earned her third place in the National Circuit Series and. 5th in the Rapha Super-League. At Sheffield, Cooper will be one to watch if a select group goes clear – her punch can put her in the move, and with her speed she can threaten a sprint from it.
The experienced sprint ace and former British road champion Jessica Roberts (Spectra Racing) has top-end speed (and a track-pursuit world title to her name) and she proved she’s road-ready by finishing 3rd in the 2025 national circuit championships this year. She was 6th at Otley but hasn’t raced since. She’ll nonetheless be one to watch. Finally, Xan Crees (Fatcreations/USE Components) is the reigning British Cyclo-cross champion and appears to be coming into crit form. She broke into the top 10 at Guildford (8th) and her cyclocross and gravel background gives her bike skills and power on punchy circuits.
All About Desserts Open Grand Prix
The newly crowned British circuit race champion, Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team), is a standout name on the start list. Mason sprinted to a fabulous victory at the national circuit championships in Aberystwyth, outkicking his breakaway companion Bjorn Koerdt for the title. Primarily known for his cyclocross exploits (he’s a multiple national CX champion), Mason’s bike-handling skills and explosive power make him a formidable crit racer on technical city circuits. Although he hasn’t raced many UK criteriums in recent years, his dominant win at the nationals proved he can thrive in this arena.
Cameron Mason (Alpecin Deceunick Development Team) wins the National Circuit Race Championship to become National Champion. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
TEKKERZ CC brings an embarrassment of riches to the race. The headliners are Matt Bostock and Alec Briggs, two of Britain’s premier crit specialists. Bostock is the 2022 national circuit race champion and fresh off a podium (third place) at this year’s championship, reaffirming his status as one of the fastest finishers in the country. A former UCI Continental pro and track rider, Bostock currently leads the Rapha Super League standingsand – with multiple National Circuit Series round wins to his name over the years – adds serious sprint firepower to the TEKKERZ squad. His teammate, Alec Briggs, is a crit maestro who “broke his duck” in the National Circuit Series last season by winning the Newark round. Known for his aggressive racing and bike-handling flair, Briggs will relish the technical corners of Sheffield.
TEKKERZ also unleashes two teenage sensations in 17-year-olds Milo Wills and Oscar Amey. Wills has been the revelation of the crit season: he burst clear to win the Ilkley Grand Prix and then outsprinted another top field to finish first in Guildford, powering to back-to-back National Circuit Series victories, stamping an exclamation mark on his breakout year. His fearless racing and sprinting prowess mean he won’t be intimidated by older, more experienced rivals. Amey, meanwhile, is another phenomenal junior talent. The reigning British junior cyclo-cross champion finished third at Guildford, backing up his second place at the VIA Criterium. Between Wills’s recent wins and Amey’s impressive palmarès, these two young riders could very well shake up the race.
The MUC-OFF–SRCT–STORCK squad comes armed with its own set of contenders. Will Truelove has been Mr Consistent for the team this season, an almost constant presence in the top ten in every race he enters. Fourth at Otley and third at Ilkley suggest a win could be around the corner if things go his way. Backing him is National Road Series leader Adam Howell. Howell is relatively new to the cut and thrust of crit racing but has demonstrated he can learn quickly: his seventh-place finish in Guildford was enough to move him up to second overall in the Rapha Super-League standings (just behind Bostock). Just 19 years old, Alex Beldon is one of Britain’s brightest up-and-comers on the road and a rider in red-hot form, impressing with his 8th place at the National Road Championships road race. He’s not had the results he might have liked in the National Circuit Series so far, but such is his talent, he cannot be discounted.
A linchpin of the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli team, Tom Armstrong comes into the Sheffield Grand Prix wearing the mantle of National Circuit Series leader. Consistently strong across the series rounds, he took a fighting fourth place in Guildford last week, which vaulted him into the overall lead by a seven-point margin. Armstrong is an aggressive racer who isn’t afraid to attack. Backed by a well-drilled Wheelbase squad, Armstrong will aim to keep the race fast and hard to capitalise on his endurance.
National Circuit Series Leader Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli). Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
A true wild card in this field, Will Tidball (Private Member) is better known for his track exploits – he is the reigning world champion in the scratch race on the velodrome. The 25-year-old Devonian, brings massive engine power and track-honed speed to the streets of Sheffield. Tidball proved his bunch racing prowess by capturing gold in Glasgow last summer, and he’s also a former European champion on the boards. Tidball crossed the line first at Otley at the beginning of the month before being relegated for what the commissaires judged to be an irregular sprint. That decision might have divided the armchair fans, but his pedigree and raw speed make him a rider the others can’t afford to ignore.
Two longer shots are Cai Davies (DAS Richardsons) and Callum Laborde (Ornata Factory Racing). Davies is a circuit race stalwart whose consistency marks him as a threat in any UK crit. Last season he was incredibly reliable in the National Circuit Series, racking up three top-ten finishes across the rounds. Davies might not have a marquee win to his name yet, but he’s almost always in the mix. Notably, he was part of the select lead group in Guildford until the final laps, showing he has the form to follow the decisive moves. Riding for the DAS Richardsons team, he’ll have teammates like Frank Longstaff and Will Perrett to work with – together they form a savvy unit. Laborde, an under-23 rider, was a consistent performer in the National Circuit Series last season, regularly challenging for a top-ten finish. Although he hasn’t raced any rounds in the Series yet in 2025, his road form this, which includes numerous top tens in National B road races, suggests he could be an outside challenger.
Sheffield’s steel heart will thrum with all-out crit racing on 16 July, as the Lloyds National Circuit Series and Rapha Super-League blast around its tight-and-shiny 1.4 km city-centre loop. One sultry summer night, cowbells ringing down Pinstone Street, national crit champions Cameron Mason and Kate Richardson will be itching to turn raw speed into glory.
Here is our preview.
Updated at 17.00 on 16 July.
Featured image: SWpix.com
What is it?
The Sheffield Grand Prix is one of Britain’s liveliest mid-week criteriums: a 1.4-kilometre, barrier-lined loop that corkscrews through the very heart of the Steel City and counts as Round 10 of the Rapha Super-League and Round 4 of the Lloyds National Circuit Race Series. The 2025 edition will be the event’s eleventh running, and once again lures the cream of the domestic peloton to Pinstone Street for an hour of threshold-breaking, cobble-rattling combat.
Last summer, Toby Barnes (Spectra Racing) and Keira Bond (Alba Development RT) soloed statement wins. Previous past winners include Graham Briggs, Helen Wyman, Dean Downing, Tom Pidcock and Katie Archibald.
The route
Think of the Sheffield Grand Prix lap as a pocket-sized classic squeezed into 1.3 kilometres of city-centre tarmac. On paper it looks benign – a net-flat figure with just 10 metres of climbing per circuit, an average gradient of –0.2 % and nothing steeper than five per cent – yet the terrain and topography tell a far richer tale.
Clockwise from the start-finish gantry outside Browns on Union Street, the bunch takes a sharp left, which launches them into a sweeping right-hander that drops them onto Pinstone Street as the peloton skirts the Peace Gardens.
Momentum carries the riders onto Surrey Street, where the course narrows, before a rapid left–right flick fires the field onto Norfolk Street and straight into eighty metres of downhill granite setts.
At the bottom of the drop they hook a long right-hander onto Arundel Gate. At the end of this long, flowing passage is the final slingshot round the Furnival Gate roundabout before the road tilts gently upwards back to the finish line on Union Street.
Riders to watch
Schwalbe Women’s Grand Prix
American Keira Bond (Handsling Alba Development RT) won Sheffield – her adopted hometown – in 2024 with a long solo break, and was a key member of the team that supported Eilidh Shaw to the National Circuit Series victory, yet this summer she’s not yet rediscovered last season’s form – only 75th at Otley and 35th in Guildford. A powerful rider by nature, with a cyclocross background, Bond is still capable of taking a flyer if the opportunity arises and her form returns.
There is no doubt about the form of Bond’s teammate, Kate Richardson. The new National Circuit Race champion and 2024 Lincoln Grand Prix winner has been a revelation this season. Winning the Tour de Feminin proved her international pedigree. Although she punctured at Otley, Richardson was instrumental for her team at Ilkley, powering to 2nd place behind Anna Morris. She sits second in the Rapha Super-League standings. Sheffield’s punchy, short-circuit profile suits her aggressive style.
Robyn Clay (DAS-Hutchinson) has been unstoppable so far in 2025. Clay won both the opening National Circuit Series round at Otley and again at Guildford. Add in her Tour of Reservoir win and her incredible consistency throughout 2025 and it is easy to see why she currently tops the Rapha Super-League leaderboard by a healthy margin, heads up the National Circuit Series, and is also the National Road Series leader. Last summer Clay actually missed Sheffield, but this year the DAS firebrand arrives in peak condition. A classic sprinter-puncheur, Clay has both the explosive power and endurance to dominate Sheffield.
Speaking of dominance, Clay’s team has also been all-conquering in the National Ciruit Series. At Guildford they packed six riders into the top seven. Morven Yeoman has been one of the team’s standouts, finishing 4th at Ilkley and 4th at Guildford, and earlier, she took 3rd at Otley. That consistency puts her just four points behind Clay in the National Circuit Series and deep in contention in any race. She has the legs to lead out Clay or to get up the road herself. Another DAS rider, Sophie Lewis, was 5th in last year’s Sheffield Grand Prix and has maintained solid form in 2025. She came home 7th at Guildford and was 4th in Otley. Lewis possesses a blistering kick after a hard race and has won multiple National Circuit Series rounds in the past, so she is one to watch if it comes down to a sprint. We could list the entire DAS team as contenders,
but one other to note in particulart is Lucy Lee, who has quietly put together strong form this year. She finished 3rd at Guildford and was 5th at Sheffield last summer. Lee’s speed and punch make her a natural in the high-speed town circuits and is one of DAS’s most reliable top-10 finishers on all terrains.The individual pursuit world-record holder, Anna Morris (Private Member), has turned her engine to the crits with immediate impact. Morris launched away on the final lap of Ilkley to claim her first National Circuit Series victory and, in the process, leapfrogged to Series lead. She missed the Guildford round so dropped down to 7th as a result. She has been strong on the road too, showing her consistency, meaning she is 4th in the Rapha Super-League. In Sheffield, she’ll either be the engine in any break or, if the race settles, a dangerous rider to bring to the line.
Madeline Cooper, who has joined Spectra Racing on the eve of the race having ridden for Montezuma’s Eventrex until now, is one of 2025’s breakthrough names. She climbed with the best in Ilkley and sprinted to 3rd place. Then at Guildford, she was the only rider who could match the all-powerful DAS-Hutchinson team, forming part of the decisive break and snagging 2nd place behind Clay. Her consistency has earned her third place in the National Circuit Series and. 5th in the Rapha Super-League. At Sheffield, Cooper will be one to watch if a select group goes clear – her punch can put her in the move, and with her speed she can threaten a sprint from it.
The experienced sprint ace and former British road champion Jessica Roberts (Spectra Racing) has top-end speed (and a track-pursuit world title to her name) and she proved she’s road-ready by finishing 3rd in the 2025 national circuit championships this year. She was 6th at Otley but hasn’t raced since. She’ll nonetheless be one to watch. Finally, Xan Crees (Fatcreations/USE Components) is the reigning British Cyclo-cross champion and appears to be coming into crit form. She broke into the top 10 at Guildford (8th) and her cyclocross and gravel background gives her bike skills and power on punchy circuits.
All About Desserts Open Grand Prix
The newly crowned British circuit race champion, Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team), is a standout name on the start list. Mason sprinted to a fabulous victory at the national circuit championships in Aberystwyth, outkicking his breakaway companion Bjorn Koerdt for the title. Primarily known for his cyclocross exploits (he’s a multiple national CX champion), Mason’s bike-handling skills and explosive power make him a formidable crit racer on technical city circuits. Although he hasn’t raced many UK criteriums in recent years, his dominant win at the nationals proved he can thrive in this arena.
TEKKERZ CC brings an embarrassment of riches to the race. The headliners are Matt Bostock and Alec Briggs, two of Britain’s premier crit specialists. Bostock is the 2022 national circuit race champion and fresh off a podium (third place) at this year’s championship, reaffirming his status as one of the fastest finishers in the country. A former UCI Continental pro and track rider, Bostock currently leads the Rapha Super League standings and – with multiple National Circuit Series round wins to his name over the years – adds serious sprint firepower to the TEKKERZ squad. His teammate, Alec Briggs, is a crit maestro who “broke his duck” in the National Circuit Series last season by winning the Newark round. Known for his aggressive racing and bike-handling flair, Briggs will relish the technical corners of Sheffield.
TEKKERZ also unleashes two teenage sensations in 17-year-olds Milo Wills and Oscar Amey. Wills has been the revelation of the crit season: he burst clear to win the Ilkley Grand Prix and then outsprinted another top field to finish first in Guildford, powering to back-to-back National Circuit Series victories, stamping an exclamation mark on his breakout year. His fearless racing and sprinting prowess mean he won’t be intimidated by older, more experienced rivals. Amey, meanwhile, is another phenomenal junior talent. The reigning British junior cyclo-cross champion finished third at Guildford, backing up his second place at the VIA Criterium. Between Wills’s recent wins and Amey’s impressive palmarès, these two young riders could very well shake up the race.
The MUC-OFF–SRCT–STORCK squad comes armed with its own set of contenders. Will Truelove has been Mr Consistent for the team this season, an almost constant presence in the top ten in every race he enters. Fourth at Otley and third at Ilkley suggest a win could be around the corner if things go his way. Backing him is National Road Series leader Adam Howell. Howell is relatively new to the cut and thrust of crit racing but has demonstrated he can learn quickly: his seventh-place finish in Guildford was enough to move him up to second overall in the Rapha Super-League standings (just behind Bostock). Just 19 years old, Alex Beldon is one of Britain’s brightest up-and-comers on the road and a rider in red-hot form, impressing with his 8th place at the National Road Championships road race. He’s not had the results he might have liked in the National Circuit Series so far, but such is his talent, he cannot be discounted.
A linchpin of the Wheelbase CabTech Castelli team, Tom Armstrong comes into the Sheffield Grand Prix wearing the mantle of National Circuit Series leader. Consistently strong across the series rounds, he took a fighting fourth place in Guildford last week, which vaulted him into the overall lead by a seven-point margin. Armstrong is an aggressive racer who isn’t afraid to attack. Backed by a well-drilled Wheelbase squad, Armstrong will aim to keep the race fast and hard to capitalise on his endurance.
A true wild card in this field, Will Tidball (Private Member) is better known for his track exploits – he is the reigning world champion in the scratch race on the velodrome. The 25-year-old Devonian, brings massive engine power and track-honed speed to the streets of Sheffield. Tidball proved his bunch racing prowess by capturing gold in Glasgow last summer, and he’s also a former European champion on the boards. Tidball crossed the line first at Otley at the beginning of the month before being relegated for what the commissaires judged to be an irregular sprint. That decision might have divided the armchair fans, but his pedigree and raw speed make him a rider the others can’t afford to ignore.
Two longer shots are Cai Davies (DAS Richardsons) and Callum Laborde (Ornata Factory Racing). Davies is a circuit race stalwart whose consistency marks him as a threat in any UK crit. Last season he was incredibly reliable in the National Circuit Series, racking up three top-ten finishes across the rounds. Davies might not have a marquee win to his name yet, but he’s almost always in the mix. Notably, he was part of the select lead group in Guildford until the final laps, showing he has the form to follow the decisive moves. Riding for the DAS Richardsons team, he’ll have teammates like Frank Longstaff and Will Perrett to work with – together they form a savvy unit. Laborde, an under-23 rider, was a consistent performer in the National Circuit Series last season, regularly challenging for a top-ten finish. Although he hasn’t raced any rounds in the Series yet in 2025, his road form this, which includes numerous top tens in National B road races, suggests he could be an outside challenger.
Provisional startlists
Schwalbe Women’s Grand Prix
All About Desserts Open Grand Prix
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