Adam Lewis (Team Skyline) capped off the domestic road season in England with a storming solo win at the Riders Collective GP, the final round of the East Midlands Road Race League. On a rain-lashed afternoon, he attacked from the day’s breakaway and rode clear over the final lap and a half to claim the honours.
Report
The race itself owed its existence to organiser Max Sillifant. When the Leicester Forest CC Road Race fell off the calendar, Sillifant stepped in to keep the fixture alive under the Riders Collective banner, ensuring the East Midlands retained a flagship end-of-season test.
The action came early. Around 45 minutes in, a nine-rider move established itself at the head of the race. The break gained reinforcements when Matthew King (Atom 6 – Decca Continental Team) led a chase group across, swelling the numbers to twelve. Among those present were Lewis, King, Tom Williams (riding in the colours of Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT), Ed Morgan (MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK), Sam Llewellyn (Team PB Performance), Will Perrett (DAS-Richardsons), James Satoor (Bridgnorth CC), Oliver Snodden (Mandene Racing) and Charlie Genner (Telco’m – On Clima – Osés). With strong legs and committed riding, the group quickly carved out a gap on the bunch.
As the laps ticked down, cohesion gave way to aggression. The rain began to fall with around six laps remaining, adding another layer of difficulty as riders began to test each other. With two laps to go, the first serious digs came, and with a lap and a half left, Lewis launched what proved to be the winning move. He took the bell with just 15 seconds in hand but pressed on relentlessly, doubling and then tripling his advantage before hitting the line with around 45 seconds to spare.
“The break established around the 45-minute mark,” Lewis explained afterwards. “We all worked very well together to hold off the chasing groups and bunch. After a few attacks with 2 laps to go, I made my move with a lap and a half to go, crossing the line for the bell with around 15 seconds advantage. I managed to push out the gap over the final lap, finishing solo with around 45 seconds lead as I crossed the finish line.”
Behind, the remnants of the move fought out the minor placings. Williams proved fastest in the sprint to take second, with King rounding out the podium. Morgan, meanwhile, came home in eighth, despite an untimely puncture with one lap to go, enough to seal the end-of-season top spot in The British Continental’s national road race rankings — a fitting reward for his consistency across the year.
Results
Provisional results.
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Lewis | Team Skyline | N/A | +60 |
| 2 | Tom Williams (U23) | Private Member | N/A | +52 |
| 3 | Matthew King | Atom 6 – Decca Continental Team | N/A | +45 |
| 4 | James Satoor (U23) | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | N/A | +40 |
| 5 | William Perrett | DAS Richardsons | N/A | +35 |
| 6 | Charlie Genner | Telco’m – On Clima – Osés | N/A | +31 |
| 7 | Sam Llewelyn (U23) | Team PB Performance | N/A | +27 |
| 8 | Edward Morgan | MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK | N/A | +23 |
| 9 | Oliver Snodden | Mandene Racing | N/A | +20 |
| 10 | Ashley Hutchison | VC St Raphael | N/A | +17 |
| 11 | Matt Clarke | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | N/A | +15 |
| 12 | Ethan Squires (Junior) | BCC Race Team | N/A | +13 |
| 13 | Clay Davies | Ride Revolution Coaching | N/A | +11 |
| 14 | Michael Chadwick | Doncaster Wheelers CC | N/A | +9 |
| 15 | Bernard Galea | Primera-TeamJobs | N/A | +7 |
| 16 | Sam Walsham | Reflex Nopinz | N/A | +6 |
| 17 | Sean Dawson | Bridgnorth Cycling Club | N/A | +5 |
| 18 | Joshua Ravn | Wold Top Pactimo | N/A | +3 |
| 19 | Jake Jackson | MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK | N/A | +2 |
| 20 | Spencer Corder (U23) | Beeston Cycling Club | N/A | +1 |
| 21 | Sam Chaplin (U23) | Cycling Sheffield | N/A | +0 |
| 22 | Barney Hall (U23) | Wold Top Pactimo | N/A | +0 |
| 23 | Ryan Williams (U23) | Cycling Sheffield | N/A | +0 |
| 24 | Cai Curtis-Roberts (U23) | 360 cycling | N/A | +0 |
| 25 | Benjamin Arey (Junior) | Halesowen A & CC | N/A | +0 |
| 26 | Matthew Gilmour (U23) | Primera-TeamJobs | N/A | +0 |
| 27 | William Pollard (U23) | Team PB Performance | N/A | +0 |
| 28 | John Bardsley (U23) | 360 cycling | N/A | +0 |
| 29 | Denholm Edwards (U23) | Cycling Sheffield | N/A | +0 |
| 30 | Hugh Aubrey (U23) | Beeston Cycling Club | N/A | +0 |
| 31 | Benjamin Myers (Junior) | Lee Valley Youth CC | N/A | +0 |
| 32 | Huw Cressey-Rodgers (Junior) | Team Pau | N/A | +0 |
| 33 | Reuben Corlett (U23) | AC Pays de Baud | N/A | +0 |
| 34 | Blake Roberts | Ride Revolution Coaching | N/A | +0 |
| 35 | Zachary Metheringham (U23) | Team PB Performance | N/A | +0 |
| 36 | Harvey Stroh | TAAP Kalas | N/A | +0 |
| 37 | David Bagdan | 6AM Cycling | N/A | +0 |
| 38 | Andrew Stephenson | Open Collective | N/A | +0 |
| 39 | Archie Wright (U23) | Loughborough Students CC | N/A | +0 |
| 40 | William Deely (U23) | Mud Dock Racing | N/A | +0 |
| 41 | Ben Waghorne | Cheltenham & County Cycling Club | N/A | +0 |
| 42 | Barnabas Pickford | University of Nottingham Cycling Club | N/A | +0 |
| 43 | Aidan James | Loughborough Students CC | N/A | +0 |
| 44 | George Peden | Team PB Performance | N/A | +0 |
| 45 | Noah Inman (U23) | Ashfield RC | N/A | +0 |
| 46 | Kaleb Herbert (U23) | Halesowen A & CC | N/A | +0 |
| 47 | Patrick Fotheringham | ATP Performance | N/A | +0 |
