Handsling Alba Development’s Mari Porton capped her breakthrough under-23 season with a powerful sprint victory in the Maria Thompson Memorial, the last national road race on the 2025 women’s calendar. The event also brought the British Women’s Team Cup to a close, and Porton’s win – her first at National B level in 2025 – came after an aggressive finale on the rolling Handcross circuit.
Report
On a bright late-summer morning, 30 riders took the start for six laps of the 88km lumpy Sussex circuit at Handscross in a race honouring former Kingston Wheelers club rider Maria Thompson. The peloton was tightly controlled in the opening phase, but the climbs gradually began to wear riders down.
By the halfway point, the field had thinned to around 20, with Rebecca Carter (Brother UK – On Form), Catherine Hadfield (London Academy) and Bethany Goodwin (On Form) among those distanced.
Sasha Halsey (FTP-Fulfil-The-Potential-Racing) was the first to force a meaningful gap, briefly escaping before being reeled in. As the race entered its closing stages, however, the repeated climbs past the finish line began to split the bunch decisively.
With two laps to go, a quartet broke clear on the climb after the finish line, featuring Mari Porton (Handsling Alba Development RT), Lily Martin (London Academy), Gemma Mitchell (FTP Racing) and Lili-Keau Juntakereket (Private Member). Their advantage was short-lived, however, as a larger chase group bridged across, swelling the lead group to around a dozen riders.
“We sort of, there was a bit of a move that went two to go up this hill just after the finish, and four of us got away, but we got pulled back about half a lap in,” Porton explained afterwards. “So I counted on myself up the next hill, and I regretted it for a second, but it worked out, so I’m really pleased.”
Only Hope Inglis (Brother UK – Team On Form) could respond, and the pair quickly established a commanding gap. “Yeah, she was amazing, like super well done to Hope,” Porton added. “The breakaway worked really well. She was really strong today.”
Despite the efforts of the Wolfox CAMS Le Col team, Anna Sayers (Ful-On Tri) and others, Porton and Inglis built a margin of nearly a minute over the chase. In the sprint, Porton proved decisive. “Hope was on the front and, yeah, just a straight sprint really,” she said. “I started at about 200 [metres] to go from behind… I’m confident in my sprint, but you never know, because we’d worked really hard in the break.”
Inglis, who secured her best result of the season with second, was equally satisfied: “I always try and be attacking in races like this, but it doesn’t always work out. For once, we stayed away, we got a massive gap, and we worked really well together. It was a really fun race.”
From the chase group, Nadine Oehmcke (Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT) took third, while 17-year-old Carys Blowers (Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films) hung on for an impressive fourth against senior opposition. Martin’s challenge ended with a puncture at a key moment.
Inglis’s runner-up spot also helped to secure the overall British Women’s Team Cup for Brother UK – On Form, who finished ahead of FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing and London Academy.
“My main goal was to drop as many sprinters as possible, because I’m not a sprinter,” Inglis reflected. “I’m really happy with second, so I did what I could, but Mari’s really strong.”
Results
| Pos | Rider | Team | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mari Porton (U23) | Handsling Alba Development Road Team | +60 |
| 2 | Hope Inglis (U23) | Brother UK – On Form | +52 |
| 3 | Nadine Oehmcke | Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT | +45 |
| 4 | Carys Blowers (Junior) | Liv Cycling Club – Halo Films | +40 |
| 5 | Lili-Keau Juntakereket | Private Member | +35 |
| 6 | Amber Junker-Brameld (U23) | Brother UK – On Form | +31 |
| 7 | Anna Sayers | Ful-On Tri Club | +27 |
| 8 | Freya Taylor (U23) | Team Empella | +23 |
| 9 | Iona Mitchell | London Academy | +20 |
| 10 | Gemma Mitchell | FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing | +17 |
| 11 | Sasha Halsey | FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing | +15 |
| 12 | Anouska Greenaway | Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT | +13 |
| 13 | Hannah Graveney | O’Shea – Development Team | +11 |
| 14 | Caitlin Bower | Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT | +9 |
| 15 | Katie-Anne Calton (U23) | Team Boompods | +7 |
| 16 | Sasha Dyke | London Academy | +6 |
| 17 | Georgina Oakley | Loughborough Lightning | +5 |
| 18 | Sian Reynolds | Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT | +3 |
| 19 | Elektra Georgiakakis | FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing | +2 |
| 20 | Electra Morris (U23) | Brother UK – On Form | +1 |
| 21 | Grace Davies (U23) | Project 51 | +0 |
| 22 | Emma Naylor | London Academy | +0 |
| 23 | Rebecca Clarke | FTP Fusion | +0 |
| 24 | Alice Butcher | Wolfox CAMS Le Col RT | +0 |
| 25 | Catherine Hadfield | London Academy | +0 |
| 26 | Bethany Goodwin (Junior) | Brother UK – On Form | +0 |
| ⚠️ DNF | Rebecca Carter | Brother UK – On Form | 0 |
| ⚠️ DNF | Lily Martin (U23) | London Academy | 0 |
| 🚫 DNS | Lydia Baxter | FTP Fusion | 0 |
| 🚫 DNS | Alice Connor | London Academy | 0 |
| 🚫 DNS | Caitlin Harvey (U23) | Brother UK – On Form | 0 |
| 🚫 DNS | Libby Smithson (U23) | DAS-Hutchinson | 0 |
