Tonight’s Fort Vale Grand Prix in Colne is Round 11 of the Rapha Super‑League and the penultimate clash in the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Series—prime territory for late crit-season points and bragging rights.
Tonight’s Fort Vale Grand Prix in Colne (22 July) is Round 11 of the Rapha Super‑League and the penultimate clash in the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Series—prime territory for late crit-season points and bragging rights. Defending champions Matt Bostock and Sophie Lewis return, but form riders Robyn Clay, Alex Beldon, Will Truelove, Anna Morris and others are ready to upset the script. Expect furious sprints and decisive moves as Britain’s crit elite fight for momentum before the series finale.
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
What is it?
The Lancashire town of Colne has hosted a Grand Prix since 2004, when Russell Downing beat Bradley Wiggins on the inaugural podium. Household names have painted their signatures on Colne’s tarmac ever since – Dean Downing, Graham Briggs, Ed Clancy, Brenton Jones – each adding to a roll-call that reads like a domestic-road hall of fame.
Fort Vale Engineering – the stainless-steel valve specialists based a few miles down the M65 – stepped up as title sponsor in the 2020s. Their backing secured the event’s future and, crucially, bank-rolled parity: a women’s race joined the programme for the first time in 2024.
The race forms Round 11 of the Rapha Super-League and the penultimate round of the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Series, making it one of just half-a-dozen nights each summer where the country’s elite crit specialists scrap for national points under the flood-lights.
Last year former winner Matt Bostock repeated the trick, while Sophie Lewis sprinted to the maiden women’s crown.
Route
Clockwise, 830 m long and almost pan-flat, the course is a trip round Colne’s Victorian shopfronts: Newton Street, through the bus-station pits on Craddock Road, then the drag up Market Street to the finish.
One-minute laps are routine for the elite racers; mis-time a corner and you’re spat out the back – with nowhere to hide once the bunch strings.
How to follow
The British Continental will be on the ground. Head to our Instagram for interviews and coverage.
Timings
The women’s race begins at 19.20, with the open race starting at 20.25.
Riders to watch
Women’s race
DAS-Hutchinson’s Sophie Lewis is the reigning champion and seems to be coming in the type of form that saw here win both Colne and the Beverley Grand Prix last year. She has been solid in 2025 too – seventh at Guildford, fourth at Otley – and with a blistering sprint finish she could be the card the team plays if the race is still together in the closing laps.
Sophie Lewis wins the 2024 Colne GP. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Another DAS-Huthinson rider, Otley’s Robyn Clay, has been virtually unstoppable over the last few weeks this year. She stormed to victory at the Tour of the Reservoir in June before winning both the Otley Grand Prix and the Guildford Town Centre Races. She now leads all three domestic competitions: the Rapha Super-League, the National Circuit Series and the National Road Series. Another win would be no surprise for the sprinter‑puncheur.
Clay’s teammate Morven Yeoman, a 21‑year‑old Scot with a powerful engine, has quietly been racking up the Super-League and Circuit Series points this year. In every key race she’s aggressive – at Guildford she “took the first dig, stringing the bunch into a line of rag dolls” on the cobbled climb. She can bridge splits and counter‑attack repeatedly, joining Clay’s move at Guildford and even countering solo over the cobbles. Consistently hitting the top placements (fourth at Ilkley and Guildford, third at Otley), Yeoman sits only a few points behind her teammate Clay in the National Circuit Series. A versatile all‑rounder, she has the legs to lead out her sprinters or get up the road herself.
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team). Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
National circuit race champion Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development RT) is having her finest season yet, just year after a being knocked off her bike by a driver. Now fully recovered, Richardson demonstrated her road legs with t the overall win at the Tour de Feminin in May and then showed her explosiveness with her national circuit race win. Second in Ilkley and flying high in the Rapha Super-League standings, you can count on Richardson to animate the race. Teammate Madelaine Leech returns to the circuit series after picking up 2nd in Otley and 7th in Ilkley. A fast finisher, she will be one to watch if it comes down to a sprint.
Lucy Glover, the 19‑year‑old Yorkshire sprinter, is another one to watch. As a first‑year junior in 2023 she won the Dudley Grand Prix with a ferocious sprint, becoming the youngest rider ever to claim an elite circuit race. Podiums at Witham Hall and Otley followed, along with silver in the British junior road race on a brutal course. Her rise continued last summer when she rounded out the podium at the senior Beverley GP. Fast and fearless in a bunch, she now races for the Smurfit Westrock UCI Continental squad, and her speed is no longer a secret.
Madeline Cooper has been one of the domestic scene’s surprise packages. The punchy under‑23 cyclo‑cross talent racked up strong finishes in 2025, prompting Spectra Racing to sign her mid‑season. She claimed third at Ilkley after breaking away on the climb and then joined the decisive move at Guildford, sprinting to second behind Robyn Clay. Those results put her third overall in the National Circuit Series with two rounds to go. Beyond crits, she won the BUCS university road title in May with a late attack and added a regional road title too – underlining real all‑round talent. Her rapid acceleration and strength to join moves mark her as a live contender in any select sprint.
Anna Morris (Private Member). Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Anna Morris, 29, has seamlessly translated her prodigious track engine into crit wins. A multiple world pursuit champion and record‑breaker, she won the Ilkley GP in June with a final‑lap surge, then upset the status quo by outsprinting series leader Clay and Kate Richardson to win the Sheffield Grand Prix. She carries incredible sustained power and uses it to launch decisive attacks. Sheffield sealed her second National Circuit Series victory of 2025. Remarkably consistent on the road – she is fourth in the Rapha Super-League after ten rounds – Morris will be a dangerous animateur or sprinter in any break.
Kirstie Drakeford, the veteran Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon rider, brings years of criterium and cyclo‑cross savvy to her team. She has hit form at the right time this summer, finishing 9th in Ilkley and then 8th in last week’s Sheffield Grand Prix. Another top ten finish is very possible.
Open race
Matt Bostock is undoubtedly Britain’s foremost criterium specialist. He rode to the British national circuit race title in 2022 and has racked up multiple crit victories in his career. This season, the TEKKERZ CC rider has led from the front: he sprinted to victory in the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, a result that extended his buffer atop the Rapha Super‑League standings. In Colne he’ll need to rider without the aid of his team, with the rest of the TEKKERZ CC squad either resting or unavailable to race (Milo Wills and the injured Ollie Wood are both non-starters).
Matthew Bostock (TEKKERZ CC) wins the Sheffield Grand Prix with Alex Beldon (MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK) finishing in second and Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team) finishing in third. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Aged 19, Alex Beldon (Muc‑Off–SRCT–Storck) has burst onto the domestic scene in 2025 with a string of impressive wins. He kicked off 2025 by taking the opening round of the Under‑23 National Road Series (the PB Performance Espoirs race) in March and added his name to the roll of Danum Trophy winners soon after. Beldon has since been a fixture at the sharp end of A‑races and crits. He rode to second place at the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, and that gutsy runner‑up spot vaulted him to second overall in the Rapha Super‑League standings. His consistency and strong sprint finish make him a rising talent to watch.
Beldon’s teammate Will Truelove has quietly put in a string of solid domestic performances. A consistent top‑10 finisher in Britain’s open criteriums and road events, he has contributed to Muc‑Off–SRCT–Storck’s success all season. After Sheffield he was sitting third in the Rapha Super‑League standings – proof that week‑in, week‑out consistency pays off. He helped power a Muc‑Off 1–2–3 at the Tour of the Reservoir mid‑season and has been instrumental for the team in road races and circuit races alike.
Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is a veteran campaigner whose form has been quietly excellent. The Lancastrian collected a podium at the Beaumont Trophy late in 2024 and has frequently been in the mix at National Circuit Series rounds this year. In fact, he has carried the leader’s jersey in the Series since Guildford. 7th place at the Sheffield Grand Prix was enough to defend his series lead – after that round Armstrong holds a 19‑point advantage on Will Truelove in the Series standings. He’ll be hoping to cement his position at the top tonight.
Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli). Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team) is best known as a three‑time British cyclo‑cross champion, but he’s also made a mark on the road. He powered away to win the British national circuit race championship in June, out‑sprinting Bjorn Koerdt to take the red, white and blue bands. He was the third member of the winning break at the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, behind Bostock and Beldon. With his horsepower and bike-handling skills, he is a contender in any race that breaks up into a select group.
DAS-Richardsons Frank Longstaff has one of the most impressive win‑tallies on the British scene in the past year. The Colchester sprinter, 26, holds the 2024 British national Madison title and rode to major victories on the road. He won the inaugural Cambridge Criterium in August 2024 – “arguably his biggest and highest‑profile victory to date” – and earlier that season claimed a stage at the UCI‑ranked Tour of Albania. Longstaff is an “out‑and‑out sprinter” in a 90 kg frame, and when a race collapses to a kick he’s hard to beat. Despite flying under the radar, his explosive sprint and track background make him a danger in any select‑group finish.
Will Tidball crosses the line in Otley. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Devonian Will Tidball (Private Member) is a British track champion (winning the scratch race in 2022 and the team pursuit in 2023) and famously became 2023 World Champion in the scratch race. On the road he hit the headlines in Otley after crossing the line first only to be later relegated for an irregular sprint. He’ll be looking to capitalise on his track power and fast finish the grab a result that counts tonight.
Tonight’s Fort Vale Grand Prix in Colne (22 July) is Round 11 of the Rapha Super‑League and the penultimate clash in the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Series—prime territory for late crit-season points and bragging rights. Defending champions Matt Bostock and Sophie Lewis return, but form riders Robyn Clay, Alex Beldon, Will Truelove, Anna Morris and others are ready to upset the script. Expect furious sprints and decisive moves as Britain’s crit elite fight for momentum before the series finale.
Featured image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
What is it?
The Lancashire town of Colne has hosted a Grand Prix since 2004, when Russell Downing beat Bradley Wiggins on the inaugural podium. Household names have painted their signatures on Colne’s tarmac ever since – Dean Downing, Graham Briggs, Ed Clancy, Brenton Jones – each adding to a roll-call that reads like a domestic-road hall of fame.
Fort Vale Engineering – the stainless-steel valve specialists based a few miles down the M65 – stepped up as title sponsor in the 2020s. Their backing secured the event’s future and, crucially, bank-rolled parity: a women’s race joined the programme for the first time in 2024.
The race forms Round 11 of the Rapha Super-League and the penultimate round of the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Series, making it one of just half-a-dozen nights each summer where the country’s elite crit specialists scrap for national points under the flood-lights.
Last year former winner Matt Bostock repeated the trick, while Sophie Lewis sprinted to the maiden women’s crown.
Route
Clockwise, 830 m long and almost pan-flat, the course is a trip round Colne’s Victorian shopfronts: Newton Street, through the bus-station pits on Craddock Road, then the drag up Market Street to the finish.
One-minute laps are routine for the elite racers; mis-time a corner and you’re spat out the back – with nowhere to hide once the bunch strings.
How to follow
The British Continental will be on the ground. Head to our Instagram for interviews and coverage.
Timings
The women’s race begins at 19.20, with the open race starting at 20.25.
Riders to watch
Women’s race
DAS-Hutchinson’s Sophie Lewis is the reigning champion and seems to be coming in the type of form that saw here win both Colne and the Beverley Grand Prix last year. She has been solid in 2025 too – seventh at Guildford, fourth at Otley – and with a blistering sprint finish she could be the card the team plays if the race is still together in the closing laps.
Another DAS-Huthinson rider, Otley’s Robyn Clay, has been virtually unstoppable over the last few weeks this year. She stormed to victory at the Tour of the Reservoir in June before winning both the Otley Grand Prix and the Guildford Town Centre Races. She now leads all three domestic competitions: the Rapha Super-League, the National Circuit Series and the National Road Series. Another win would be no surprise for the sprinter‑puncheur.
Clay’s teammate Morven Yeoman, a 21‑year‑old Scot with a powerful engine, has quietly been racking up the Super-League and Circuit Series points this year. In every key race she’s aggressive – at Guildford she “took the first dig, stringing the bunch into a line of rag dolls” on the cobbled climb. She can bridge splits and counter‑attack repeatedly, joining Clay’s move at Guildford and even countering solo over the cobbles. Consistently hitting the top placements (fourth at Ilkley and Guildford, third at Otley), Yeoman sits only a few points behind her teammate Clay in the National Circuit Series. A versatile all‑rounder, she has the legs to lead out her sprinters or get up the road herself.
National circuit race champion Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development RT) is having her finest season yet, just year after a being knocked off her bike by a driver. Now fully recovered, Richardson demonstrated her road legs with t the overall win at the Tour de Feminin in May and then showed her explosiveness with her national circuit race win. Second in Ilkley and flying high in the Rapha Super-League standings, you can count on Richardson to animate the race. Teammate Madelaine Leech returns to the circuit series after picking up 2nd in Otley and 7th in Ilkley. A fast finisher, she will be one to watch if it comes down to a sprint.
Lucy Glover, the 19‑year‑old Yorkshire sprinter, is another one to watch. As a first‑year junior in 2023 she won the Dudley Grand Prix with a ferocious sprint, becoming the youngest rider ever to claim an elite circuit race. Podiums at Witham Hall and Otley followed, along with silver in the British junior road race on a brutal course. Her rise continued last summer when she rounded out the podium at the senior Beverley GP. Fast and fearless in a bunch, she now races for the Smurfit Westrock UCI Continental squad, and her speed is no longer a secret.
Madeline Cooper has been one of the domestic scene’s surprise packages. The punchy under‑23 cyclo‑cross talent racked up strong finishes in 2025, prompting Spectra Racing to sign her mid‑season. She claimed third at Ilkley after breaking away on the climb and then joined the decisive move at Guildford, sprinting to second behind Robyn Clay. Those results put her third overall in the National Circuit Series with two rounds to go. Beyond crits, she won the BUCS university road title in May with a late attack and added a regional road title too – underlining real all‑round talent. Her rapid acceleration and strength to join moves mark her as a live contender in any select sprint.
Anna Morris, 29, has seamlessly translated her prodigious track engine into crit wins. A multiple world pursuit champion and record‑breaker, she won the Ilkley GP in June with a final‑lap surge, then upset the status quo by outsprinting series leader Clay and Kate Richardson to win the Sheffield Grand Prix. She carries incredible sustained power and uses it to launch decisive attacks. Sheffield sealed her second National Circuit Series victory of 2025. Remarkably consistent on the road – she is fourth in the Rapha Super-League after ten rounds – Morris will be a dangerous animateur or sprinter in any break.
Kirstie Drakeford, the veteran Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon rider, brings years of criterium and cyclo‑cross savvy to her team. She has hit form at the right time this summer, finishing 9th in Ilkley and then 8th in last week’s Sheffield Grand Prix. Another top ten finish is very possible.
Open race
Matt Bostock is undoubtedly Britain’s foremost criterium specialist. He rode to the British national circuit race title in 2022 and has racked up multiple crit victories in his career. This season, the TEKKERZ CC rider has led from the front: he sprinted to victory in the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, a result that extended his buffer atop the Rapha Super‑League standings. In Colne he’ll need to rider without the aid of his team, with the rest of the TEKKERZ CC squad either resting or unavailable to race (Milo Wills and the injured Ollie Wood are both non-starters).
Aged 19, Alex Beldon (Muc‑Off–SRCT–Storck) has burst onto the domestic scene in 2025 with a string of impressive wins. He kicked off 2025 by taking the opening round of the Under‑23 National Road Series (the PB Performance Espoirs race) in March and added his name to the roll of Danum Trophy winners soon after. Beldon has since been a fixture at the sharp end of A‑races and crits. He rode to second place at the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, and that gutsy runner‑up spot vaulted him to second overall in the Rapha Super‑League standings. His consistency and strong sprint finish make him a rising talent to watch.
Beldon’s teammate Will Truelove has quietly put in a string of solid domestic performances. A consistent top‑10 finisher in Britain’s open criteriums and road events, he has contributed to Muc‑Off–SRCT–Storck’s success all season. After Sheffield he was sitting third in the Rapha Super‑League standings – proof that week‑in, week‑out consistency pays off. He helped power a Muc‑Off 1–2–3 at the Tour of the Reservoir mid‑season and has been instrumental for the team in road races and circuit races alike.
Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) is a veteran campaigner whose form has been quietly excellent. The Lancastrian collected a podium at the Beaumont Trophy late in 2024 and has frequently been in the mix at National Circuit Series rounds this year. In fact, he has carried the leader’s jersey in the Series since Guildford. 7th place at the Sheffield Grand Prix was enough to defend his series lead – after that round Armstrong holds a 19‑point advantage on Will Truelove in the Series standings. He’ll be hoping to cement his position at the top tonight.
Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team) is best known as a three‑time British cyclo‑cross champion, but he’s also made a mark on the road. He powered away to win the British national circuit race championship in June, out‑sprinting Bjorn Koerdt to take the red, white and blue bands. He was the third member of the winning break at the Sheffield Grand Prix last week, behind Bostock and Beldon. With his horsepower and bike-handling skills, he is a contender in any race that breaks up into a select group.
DAS-Richardsons Frank Longstaff has one of the most impressive win‑tallies on the British scene in the past year. The Colchester sprinter, 26, holds the 2024 British national Madison title and rode to major victories on the road. He won the inaugural Cambridge Criterium in August 2024 – “arguably his biggest and highest‑profile victory to date” – and earlier that season claimed a stage at the UCI‑ranked Tour of Albania. Longstaff is an “out‑and‑out sprinter” in a 90 kg frame, and when a race collapses to a kick he’s hard to beat. Despite flying under the radar, his explosive sprint and track background make him a danger in any select‑group finish.
Devonian Will Tidball (Private Member) is a British track champion (winning the scratch race in 2022 and the team pursuit in 2023) and famously became 2023 World Champion in the scratch race. On the road he hit the headlines in Otley after crossing the line first only to be later relegated for an irregular sprint. He’ll be looking to capitalise on his track power and fast finish the grab a result that counts tonight.
Provisional startlists
Women’s race
Open race
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