Early signs for 2026: Portsdown, Kennel Hill and Capernwray in the works
From the exposed Portsdown circuit to the northern grit of Capernwray, organisers are already sketching the contours of the 2026 domestic road racing season.
The 2025 season isn’t yet done, but plans for next year’s racing are already starting to emerge. Organisers across the country are putting their names down for 2026, with several familiar fixtures already in the pipeline.
Down south, Seb Ottley has confirmed he fully intends to run both the Portsdown Classic and the Kennel Classic again. Both events have been submitted to British Cycling for early-season slots and, if approved, would return around the same weekends as last year. Ottley told The British Continental he “fully plans on running the events.”
Portsdown – known as the Perfs Pedal road race in its previous incarnation – has long been the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic road racing season, a tough early season test on an unforgiving circuit above Portsmouth. Kennel Hill, a newer addition which follows the 1982 World Championships road race course, quickly earned plaudits in its debut year in 2024 for delivering selective, honest racing.
Image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
Ottley and his team are also taking on the running of the Ravenna Rumble on the Trundle, part of the South Downs Hill Climb Series. Held on Knight’s Hill in West Sussex, the event has been a fixture in the calendar for nine years, most recently under the stewardship of Chris Wallis. With Wallis now supporting RCR, the team will deliver the event for 2025. Scheduled for Sunday 28 September, it offers equal prize money down to 10th in both the men’s and women’s categories, plus junior and team prizes. A unique Course Record Prize adds £10 for every second faster than the existing marks, currently held by Red Walters (2m48s) and Bithja Jones (3m30s), both set at the 2020 regional championship. Backed by Alta Via Bike Components, the Rumble comes with a sizeable prize pot and sits neatly the week before the new Zig Zag Hill climb.
Further north, Cold Dark North have confirmed that the Capernwray Road Race will return in 2026. Rumours of its demise proved unfounded, with the organisers posting on Instagram that plans are “already well underway” for what will be the race’s 10th edition in the spring. A much-loved National B, Capernwray has become a byword for proper northern road racing — tough climbs, slick organisation, and always selective racing.
All dates remain provisional until British Cycling finalises the 2026 draft calendar later in the autumn. But with organisers already committing, the outline of next year’s domestic road season is beginning to come into focus.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
The 2025 season isn’t yet done, but plans for next year’s racing are already starting to emerge. Organisers across the country are putting their names down for 2026, with several familiar fixtures already in the pipeline.
Down south, Seb Ottley has confirmed he fully intends to run both the Portsdown Classic and the Kennel Classic again. Both events have been submitted to British Cycling for early-season slots and, if approved, would return around the same weekends as last year. Ottley told The British Continental he “fully plans on running the events.”
Portsdown – known as the Perfs Pedal road race in its previous incarnation – has long been the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic road racing season, a tough early season test on an unforgiving circuit above Portsmouth. Kennel Hill, a newer addition which follows the 1982 World Championships road race course, quickly earned plaudits in its debut year in 2024 for delivering selective, honest racing.
Ottley and his team are also taking on the running of the Ravenna Rumble on the Trundle, part of the South Downs Hill Climb Series. Held on Knight’s Hill in West Sussex, the event has been a fixture in the calendar for nine years, most recently under the stewardship of Chris Wallis. With Wallis now supporting RCR, the team will deliver the event for 2025. Scheduled for Sunday 28 September, it offers equal prize money down to 10th in both the men’s and women’s categories, plus junior and team prizes. A unique Course Record Prize adds £10 for every second faster than the existing marks, currently held by Red Walters (2m48s) and Bithja Jones (3m30s), both set at the 2020 regional championship. Backed by Alta Via Bike Components, the Rumble comes with a sizeable prize pot and sits neatly the week before the new Zig Zag Hill climb.
Further north, Cold Dark North have confirmed that the Capernwray Road Race will return in 2026. Rumours of its demise proved unfounded, with the organisers posting on Instagram that plans are “already well underway” for what will be the race’s 10th edition in the spring. A much-loved National B, Capernwray has become a byword for proper northern road racing — tough climbs, slick organisation, and always selective racing.
All dates remain provisional until British Cycling finalises the 2026 draft calendar later in the autumn. But with organisers already committing, the outline of next year’s domestic road season is beginning to come into focus.
Featured image: Ian Wrightson/The British Continental
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